Don't be fooled by Klopp, Zidane's new internation...

Jürgen Klopp is back in management with Germany and Zinedine Zidane is on the brink of being announced as the new coach of France. So with Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino already making the leap from the club game, international football is the new playground of football's best and most high-profile coaches, right? Well, the short answer is 'no'. Despite the flurry of big names moving into international management, it remains a route for those seeking redemption or a quieter pace of life away from the relentless intensity that comes with a top club job. - Forget whether Germany need Klopp. Does Klopp need Germany? - Can MLS capitalize on World Cup fervor in the U.S.? - Ranking every World Cup from 1930 to 2026 Semi-retirement might be too strong, but for Klopp and Zidane -- out of management for two and five years respectively -- international coaching offers them the chance to sate their appetite for an involvement in football while allowing them to retain the freedom both have enjoyed since leaving their most recent club jobs at Liverpool and Real Madrid. And, like it or not, Ancelotti (Brazil), Tuchel (England) and Pochettino (United States) took their international jobs after being fired from their most recent club position. With nothing on the horizon to match the high-profile club jobs they had grown accustomed to, each of them opted to try something different. As they all reflect on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it would be no surprise if they leapt at the first chance to jump ship for an opportunity to return to the UEFA Champions League. Had Pep Guardiola taken the opportunity offered to him by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to become the new Italy coach, that would have been a game-changer and a genuine coup for the international game. But Guardiola, just a couple of months after ending his 10-year stay at Manchester City, quickly made it clear that he was not interested in coaching the Azzurri. The FIGC is now lurching from one setback to another in its attempt to replace Gennaro Gattuso in one of the international game's most prestigious positions as coach of the four-time world champions. Andrea Pirlo, who spent last season coaching Dubai FC in the United Arab Emirates, looks like he has been ruled out of consideration due to links to a Russian betting company, and Ancelotti signed a new contract with Brazil before the team's round of 16 loss to Norway at the World Cup. So the two leading contenders are Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte -- two out-of-work coaches who have already had previous stints in charge of Italy. If international football was the new big thing in coaching, Italy -- despite their third successive failure to qualify for the World Cup -- would be a job that would appeal to elite coaches. But Enzo Maresca was never going to turn down the chance to succeed Guardiola at City to coach his home country, and Simone Inzaghi is too well-paid by Saudi Pro League team Al Hilal to consider a return to Italy for the national team job. It is a similar situation with the Netherlands, another great football nation. The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is still looking for a replacement for Ronald Koeman as Oranje coach following the round of 32 exit at the World Cup. Although Arne Slot is the bookmakers' favourite to take the job, the former Liverpool coach is expected to wait for a more desirable club offer, leaving the 74-year-old former Barcelona and Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal as frontrunner to become national boss for a fourth time -- 26 years after first taking the job. Former United and Ajax coach Erik ten Hag, now technical director at FC Twente, ruled himself out of contention for the Dutch job earlier this month, so the leading names right now are Van Gaal, Ruud van Nistelrooy (out work since relegation from the Premier League with Leicester City in 2025), John Heitinga (fired by Ajax after five months last season), PSV Eindhoven coach Peter Bosz and Netherlands under-21 coach Michael Reiziger. If the KNVB is smart and assesses what really works at international level, it will hand former Ajax and Barcelona defender Reiziger the job and avoid the temptation of hiring the biggest name on their list. Luis de la Fuente has guided Spain to glory at the 2024 UEFA European Championship and this year's World Cup since being promoted from his role as U21 coach to succeed Luis Enrique, while Lionel Scaloni has delivered two Copa América titles and the 2022 World Cup as Argentina coach after also stepping up from the U20 role in 2018. And for all the criticism directed his way toward the end of his eight-year reign as England manager, Gareth Southgate transformed the fortunes of the Three Lions with two Euros final appearances and a World Cup semifinal after making the transition from U21 coach to senior manager in 2016. Didier Deschamps is perhaps an outlier -- a World Cup-winning player but a coach with an unexceptional club career -- after guiding France to World Cup success in 2018, but the former AS Monaco, Juventus and Marseille coach has certainly never been a celebrity coach. Big names and glamour appointments are great for headlines, and Klopp and Zidane are both capable of translating their club success to the international stage. But Ancelotti, Tuchel and Pochettino proved this summer that big reputations in the club game count for little in the international arena. Klopp and Zidane are answering the call from their own country, unlike Ancelotti, Tuchel and Pochettino, so their circumstances are different from the others. Ultimately, what succeeds in the international game are low-profile coaches who know the system and the emerging players capable of taking the next step, rather than celebrity coaches who have built reputations at the biggest and wealthiest clubs in the game. Maybe Zidane and Klopp can buck the trend, but the best coaches -- Luis Enrique, Diego Simeone, Mikel Arteta, José Mourinho -- will still be prowling the touchline in the Champions League next season.