Opinion – Marina Izidro: What to expect from a coach in England off the pitch

​There was a time when coaches were expected to know and talk only about football. At least here in England, it no longer seems to be the case.

The world we live in today is different than it was a few years ago. The perception that sport and politics do not mix is ​​over, not least because the great recent events have impacted the sports sphere. With Brexit, the exit from the European Union, the United Kingdom lost the right to free movement of people in the bloc, which included European athletes and coaches who until then could live and work here without needing a visa.

In the pandemic, the lockdown took fans out of stadiums. Now, there is a war close to us, thousands of British families are going to host Ukrainian refugees in their homes. The sanctions on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich have made football look inward and question where the fortune that helped transform the Premier League into the most powerful league on the planet comes from. Sport can no longer remain oblivious to issues like these.

As managers in England do not usually speak to the press, coaches end up being spokespersons and faces of the club. And that brings us to another point that may have accelerated the change in what is expected of them, off the field: the arrival of names like Jürgen Klopp to Liverpool, Pep Guardiola to Manchester City and Thomas Tuchel to Chelsea.

Klopp always seems to say the right thing at the right time and isn’t afraid to take a stand. Asked about Abramovich, he defended the British government and answered with another question, which many are now asking: when the Russian bought the London club, and at the time of the acquisition of Newcastle, “did anyone really care?”. Guardiola talks politics when defending Catalonia’s independence. And, aside from an occasional episode in which he was irritated by questions about the war, Tuchel has been praised for the honest way he treats the current situation at his club.

There is no expectation that technicians are specialists in geopolitics or human rights, but that they are at least minimally prepared and do not refuse to speak, especially if they are connected to the club where they work.

After the match against Chelsea on Sunday (13), Eddie Howe, who runs Newcastle – bought by a Saudi Arabian investment fund -, was questioned several times about the execution of 81 people in that country the day before. He refused to answer. Understandable, since he would speak ill of his own employer. But it didn’t go well.

Also after the game, Brazilian ESPN correspondent João Castelo Branco very politely asked Brazilian Bruno Guimarães if he thought about the origin of the club’s money before signing the contract. “It didn’t cross my mind,” said the Newcastle player. At a time when sportswashing is hotly debated in English football, the question was pertinent.

Days after saying he would only talk about football, Howe changed his stance. He stated that he was keeping up with the situation in Saudi Arabia and that a modern coach needs to know what is happening around the world.

Questions will not always be comfortable, but it seems increasingly expected that these professionals know how to express themselves on topics that affect, for example, the society in which they live. This can even have a positive impact on the career, if the results are good on the field, of course. Tuchel, with his popularity soaring, is an example.