Meet the Englishmen managing national teams abroad
2025-01-07
Category: news

There aren't many outgoing Pakistan managers who would fancy themselves as England boss in their next job. But then Stephen Constantine is no ordinary national team coach.The 62-year-old Englishman has been taking charge of international sides for more than 25 years and with six different countries on his CV, no compatriot â past or present â has ever managed more.It's an odyssey Constantine started in 1999 when he received a surprise job offer to manage Nepal's national team while coaching in the USA. India came calling three years later after the former Millwall trialist had led the Gokhalis to the South Asian Games final. It kick-started a globe-trotting career that has seen him take charge of Malawi, Sudan, Rwanda, several club sides and India again, before his most recent post with Pakistan in 2023.
So with all of the talk about a paucity of homegrown coaches with the right experience to take the England manager's job after German Thomas Tuchel's appointment, Constantine is keen to point out his credentials as an international specialist."[I could be England manager] standing on my head. Why wouldn't I?" says Constantine, who stepped down as Pakistan manager in November. "But they're not going to give me the England job because I'm not a name."I wouldn't even blink, where do I start? That's not me being arrogant, that's me thinking, 'I'm not going to teach them (England's players) how to play football, I don't need to', I'd have to help them manage the game and help get the best out of them."Constantine realises he won't have registered on the Football Association's radar when they picked Tuchel to be Gareth Southgate's successor back in October. In fact, he's happy to concede many of the committee who appointed the former Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss won't even have heard of him.
Although it's rare for an Englishman to manage the most successful men's national sides abroad, things are different when it comes to the women's game.Emma Hayes has one of the most coveted jobs in world football, managing the United States national team, while former Wales boss Gemma Grainger, born in Middlesbrough, was appointed Norway boss in January 2024.The experienced Constantine, though, is not alone among Englishmen currently plying their trade around the world.They are led by ex-England boss Steve McClaren at Jamaica and New Zealand's Darren Bazeley, who had 10 years as a player with Watford, in more high-profile posts. There is also former Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday defender Ashley Westwood at Hong Kong, and Southampton-born Gary White in a second spell at Chinese Taipei, having worked previously with the Bahamas.Scan the list of current national team bosses and there are very few nationalities represented more than England. Only Spain, France, Germany and Argentina are in the same bracket, suggesting English managers are some of the most coveted in international football. Constantine, though, claims those numbers are intrinsically linked to how well a country's national team does in major tournaments."Do you know why I want England to win the World Cup or the Euros? Because then every country is going to go, 'we have to get somebody from England'," says Constantine. "Why? Because if a country has just won the Euros or the World Cup, it makes a big difference all over the world."
The theory might have some credence considering four of the five most-represented nations have won the World Cup in the past 15 years, with England the exception. But while international success may help, there's no doubt English football's elevated profile provides a lift for some."The president of Montserrat approached [captain] Lyle Taylor and said, 'we want to talk to your old manager from Charlton and bring him here'," recalls ex-Leeds and Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer, who traded EFL touchlines for the Caribbean when he took over islanders Montserrat in 2023."I turned down jobs. After Birmingham, I had clubs approach me, but it wasn't the right time for me because I'd gone from Charlton, which was a stressful job, to Birmingham that was even worse. I felt like I needed a little break."Then the Montserrat offer came up and that was a good opportunity for me to do something different. International football is completely different to club football because you have every day to work with the team and implement the way you want to play, but international football isn't like that."
A busy contacts book clearly translates to job opportunities. When McClaren swapped a role as Erik ten Hag's assistant manager at Manchester United for the Jamaica national team last summer - having grown a successful reputation in the same position at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson - he spoke about being attracted to the job after previously working with the Jamaican FA while at Fifa.It works further down the rankings too, with Hong Kong gaffer Westwood starting on his path to an international career - which included a short spell at Afghanistan - after links from his time working as a coach at Blackburn Rovers opened doors for him in India. It's a far cry from his first managerial post with Kettering Town in 2012."After Kettering, I took up assistant roles under Michael Appleton at Portsmouth, Blackpool and Blackburn, who were owned by [Indian owners] the Venkys," recalls Westwood, 48."My name was associated with the Venkys and somebody involved with them was on the board at Bengaluru FC and my name got thrown in the mix. Appleton wanted to take a year out of football but at my age, I needed to carry on climbing the ladder and learning, so I took it."Coaching abroad was never on my horizon but you can never plan what's next in football. After three successful years in India, I went to Malaysia, back to India and then on to [national team jobs with] Afghanistan and now Hong Kong."
Appointing high-profile managers can also benefit the federation in some instances as Bowyer admits part of his appeal was that "Montserrat wanted me because of my contacts". It helped to bring in Nike as a kit supplier and attracted several new players of Montserratian descent from across the English football pyramid to declare for the Emerald Boys."If I'm honest, half of them are only there because I'm there, they've said that, 'because you're there, I'm going to come'," says Bowyer, 47."It's definitely a project. When I took over in September last year, a lot of our players were coming towards the end of their careers, so my main focus was trying to bring in some new, younger players. Now because we've brought in 10, 11, 12 new players and there are a couple more going to be added to that, there's going to be a future for Montserrat."
While Bowyer still has ambitions to return to EFL management in the future, some English coaches have developed a strong niche in the international game. But with no leagues other than the Fifa rankings to clearly define what represents a step up, particularly among the smaller nations, how do managers navigate career progression?"You need to do your due diligence, check where they are, what they've been doing before you go there - can you make an improvement and an impact," says Westwood. "That's certainly something I did with Hong Kong, knowing they were 159 in the world, they have good local players, a few players in the Chinese Super League, and there was an opportunity to improve them."Constantine admits there is some pragmatism too. "If someone offers me a job tomorrow and I don't have a job, I'd take it because you've got to be in the job to do the job in order to be appreciated, noticed or headhunted," he adds. "But it's never been about the money for me. It's always been about, 'I can help you make this better'."The Three Lions job might feel out of reach for many of England's international cohort, but the vision remains the same, wherever they are.
English-born international managers in charge of men's national teams, as of last international match:Gary White â Chinese TaipeiAshley Westwood â Hong KongMikele Leigertwood â Antigua and BarbudaChris Kiwomya â British Virgin IslandsRicky Hill - Turks and Caicos IslandsSteve McClaren â JamaicaLee Bowyer â MontserratCharlie Trout â Puerto RicoDarren Bazeley â New ZealandEnglish-born international managers in charge of men's national teams who left roles earlier in 2024:Gareth Southgate â EnglandLee Carsley â EnglandStephen Constantine â PakistanWarren Moon â Papua New GuineaEmmerson Boyce â BarbadosTerry Connor - Grenada