Early this morning, the Tunisia camp announced that head coach Sabri Lamouchi was dismissed from his position. This termination comes less than 24 hours after Carthage Eagles suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their World Cup opener.
It must be stated that terminations DURING a World Cup are quite rare. The logistics of replacing a head coach in such a short tournament are huge; nearly all clubs promote from among the assistant ranks. While Sabri Lamouchi joined the ranks of a very small, and very unwanted, cadre of coaches, he also set a new record that’s all his own.
The Bloodbath of ’98
The first in-tournament termination occurred during the 1998 event.
Carlos Alberto Parreira, leading Saudi Arabia to their second World Cup, was dismissed the morning of June 20 after suffering defeats to Denmark (1-0 on 6/12/98) and host-nation France (4-0 on 6/18/98). Saudi Arabia’s elimination stood in stark contrast to their 1994 campaign, which saw them defeat Belgium and Morocco and advance into the knockouts. He was replaced by interim manager Mohammed Al-Kharashy and they drew their next match 2-2 against South Africa.
South Korea then said: “Hold my sochu.” They lost their opener 3-1 to Mexico, which was bad. They then suffered a 5-0 beatdown to the Netherlands in their next match, coincidentally played the evening of June 20. The South Korean federation had no doubt been emboldened after Saudi Arabia’s earlier termination. Manager Cha Bum-kun never made it into the dressing room; he was publicly terminated on the pitch after the final whistle. That’s cold. But it was effective: South Korea drew Belgium 1-1 to salvage a point.
But the firing mania wasn’t done! After two consecutive losses to England and Colombia left Tunisia effectively eliminated, the Tunisian federation said so long to Polish coach Henryk Kasperczak. His interim replacement, Ali Selmi, also led the team to a final match draw against Romania.
The Lopetegui Incident of 2018
While Julen Lopetegui’s dramatic firing from the Spanish team in 2018 technically occurred before the World Cup, it did happen 48 hrs. prior and that’s close enough for Hooligan. The current coach of Qatar (who made history leading the Maroons to their first point against Switzerland last Saturday) was abruptly sacked after it was revealed he had secretly arranged to become head coach of Real Madrid after the tournament.
Spain would win their group, only to fall to a foul of the host nation Russia in the Round of 16. They lost that 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
What Makes Sabri Lamouchi Special
So not only has Sabri Lamouchi become the first coach dismissed after only one game, he becomes the second coach sacked by Tunisia in the middle of a World Cup. Way to go, Sabri!
It must be noted, however, that Tunisia goes through coaches the way sick people go through tissues. Since January 2024, there have been four. We list them below, their tenure (in days), and their record:
- Montasser Louhichi (interim)
- 156 days. 1W 3L
- Faouzi Benzarti
- 113 days. 1W 3L
- Kais Yaâkoubi (interim)
- 13 days. 1W 1L
- Sami Trabelsi
- 328 days. 11W 5D 3L.
- Led them to R16 in AFCON.
- Sabri Lamouchi
- 160 days. 1W 1D 3L
