By John Duerden
The English Premier League is the world's most popular and is also the biggest soap opera. In recent weeks, Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho has been involved in very public, very verbal tussles with some fellow coaches, especially Chelsea's Antonio Conte.
The barbs, insults and accusations have made international headlines for much of the New Year. For those who lap it up, there are those who find it all a little tiresome. What cannot be denied is that it keeps the publicity machine ticking over.
But there are more important aspects to this. The English Premier League is the most international in the world in terms of players' nationalities as well as league's global profile.
There are also plenty of non-English coaches in the league and there have been complaints about how the bigger jobs are in the hands of foreigners. That is a different debate but all would agree that the likes of Mourinho and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and now Pep Guardiola at Manchester City have really contributed to the development of English football over the years, bringing new ideas and tactics.
There are some familiar names in the K-League and an injection of foreign knowledge and experience always helps. In the past, the likes of Gunes at Seoul and Sergio Farias, who won the 2009 Asian Champions League with Pohang Steelers, have added plenty of value.
However, with the new K League just weeks away, only one of the 12 teams has a non-Korean coach. The ideal ratio of foreign to domestic can be debated, but it should be more than one in 12.
Brazilian Andre Luiz Alves Santos is in charge of Daegu FC, which is not a team that is going to be challenging for the title. There should be three or four coaches in the dozen who are not from Korea.
There are reasons why. Foreign coaches tend to be more expensive and not just in terms of salary. They need flights, translators and housing. They take time to understand the local culture on the field and the Korean corporate culture that still exists in football.
One of the most famous tacticians from overseas in the league's history was Senol Gunes, who took Turkey to the 2002 World Cup semi-final and was named as world coach of that year by governing body FIFA. He came to take charge of FC Seoul in 2007. "It is important to have coaches and players from different countries and cultures because they all bring something new to the country," Gunes told me then.
"It can be about tactics, training or it can be about diet and lifestyle. Korea benefits from having new ideas in all aspects."
More than most Asian nations, Korea exports players to the rest of the continent as well as Europe. Yet most stay home.
"Having coaches from overseas gives players in Korea a chance to work with international coaches. It gives other coaches in Korea the same experience, and young players too. It does not mean that coaches from overseas are better, but they are different."
It is unlikely to happen this season but a more cosmopolitan array of coaches on K-League benches would be beneficial. It would help not just in terms of tactics and ideas, but because they may also indulge in a little Premier League-style arguments to get the papers and websites talking.
The English Premier League is the world's most popular and is also the biggest soap opera. In recent weeks, Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho has been involved in very public, very verbal tussles with some fellow coaches, especially Chelsea's Antonio Conte.
The barbs, insults and accusations have made international headlines for much of the New Year. For those who lap it up, there are those who find it all a little tiresome. What cannot be denied is that it keeps the publicity machine ticking over.
But there are more important aspects to this. The English Premier League is the most international in the world in terms of players' nationalities as well as league's global profile.
There are also plenty of non-English coaches in the league and there have been complaints about how the bigger jobs are in the hands of foreigners. That is a different debate but all would agree that the likes of Mourinho and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and now Pep Guardiola at Manchester City have really contributed to the development of English football over the years, bringing new ideas and tactics.
There are some familiar names in the K-League and an injection of foreign knowledge and experience always helps. In the past, the likes of Gunes at Seoul and Sergio Farias, who won the 2009 Asian Champions League with Pohang Steelers, have added plenty of value.
However, with the new K League just weeks away, only one of the 12 teams has a non-Korean coach. The ideal ratio of foreign to domestic can be debated, but it should be more than one in 12.
Brazilian Andre Luiz Alves Santos is in charge of Daegu FC, which is not a team that is going to be challenging for the title. There should be three or four coaches in the dozen who are not from Korea.
There are reasons why. Foreign coaches tend to be more expensive and not just in terms of salary. They need flights, translators and housing. They take time to understand the local culture on the field and the Korean corporate culture that still exists in football.
One of the most famous tacticians from overseas in the league's history was Senol Gunes, who took Turkey to the 2002 World Cup semi-final and was named as world coach of that year by governing body FIFA. He came to take charge of FC Seoul in 2007. "It is important to have coaches and players from different countries and cultures because they all bring something new to the country," Gunes told me then.
"It can be about tactics, training or it can be about diet and lifestyle. Korea benefits from having new ideas in all aspects."
More than most Asian nations, Korea exports players to the rest of the continent as well as Europe. Yet most stay home.
"Having coaches from overseas gives players in Korea a chance to work with international coaches. It gives other coaches in Korea the same experience, and young players too. It does not mean that coaches from overseas are better, but they are different."
It is unlikely to happen this season but a more cosmopolitan array of coaches on K-League benches would be beneficial. It would help not just in terms of tactics and ideas, but because they may also indulge in a little Premier League-style arguments to get the papers and websites talking.
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