In the perfect picture of contrasting coaches' styles at this World Cup, Alejandro Sabella of Argentina stood near midfield dressed in a suit that looked appropriate for Wall Street, while Bosnia's Safet Susic stood nearby looking like he was headed for a workout.
Plenty of coaches are setting high standards for style this World Cup, with fitted jackets, gleaming shoes and ties in the national colours. Others look like they want to be comfortable exhorting their players and yelling at referees.
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Croatia’s Niko Kovac, a doppelganger of actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, has been a style star, wearing a fitted suit in the opener against host Brazil in Sao Paulo, but then losing the tie and jacket for a game in steamy Manaus.
“Very simple. For me, managing Croatia is a matter of great pride,” Kovac said this week.
“It’s a holiday for me every day, and our custom back in Croatia is, when it’s a holiday, you put on your Sunday clothes, and that’s it.”
Cesare Prandelli, who led Italy, and Costa Rica’s Jorge Luis Pinto certainly planned their World Cup wardrobes thoughtfully. Each dapper in their dark suits, they brought some style to their post-game handshake last week.
Then, there is the United States's coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a German who has turned California casual in his staple khakis and an un-tucked navy blue polo.
He will not wear red, though nobody really knows why, and team officials have never seen him in a tie – only a suit jacket when the occasion calls for him to go more formal.
Prandelli’s Dolce&Gabbana dark suits are classic, with a small Italian flag badge on the pocket.
“They have dressed us since 2006, when we won the Cup,” said Demetrio Albertini, the head of the Italian team’s delegation in Brazil and a vice president of the Italian football federation.
“It’s a great Italian brand and we’re honoured to wear their suits.”
Dolce&Gabbana published a book featuring photos of the Azzurri in formal and casual wear, in “a blend of tradition and national pride”. Proceeds go to a charity to aid a small Brazilian fishing village outside Natal, where Italy played its final Group D match against Uruguay.
Prandelli and Kovac are joined by Germany coach Joachim Loew on the World Cup’s best-dressed list.
Loew wears a fitted, dark button-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up and the top button undone, and grey slacks. The German federation has clothing contracts with Hugo Boss and Adidas, and Loew typically wears Hugo Boss for game days.
“It is very interesting to see the difference in styles between the more traditional and fashionable. To me, the most evident was the more natural shoulder of the Europeans and the South Americans versus the traditional Americans,” said Robert Nelson, sales director and brand manager for the company Vince Camuto in New York.
“Collar width and the mixing of colours was the next call out. The fashion-confident wore narrower lapels, some with narrow peak and paired with narrow shirt collars and narrow ties.
“Stronger colours like the deeper shades of blues and deeper shades of grey give these colours a more modern feel.”
The Greece coach Fernando Santos wore a dark suit and matching narrow tie for his game against Japan. When a ball came out of bounds toward him, he did not hesitate to boot it with his dress shoes.
Mexico’s Miguel Herrera has mixed it up, protecting himself from the pouring rain in an athletic jacket at Natal on June 13. When the weather cleared up, he switched to a dark suit and green tie for Mexico’s match with Brazil.
The Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli dances around the sideline in a white athletic polo tucked into grey polyester workout trousers by Puma with trainers.
No matter their formality, these coaches are getting noticed by a world audience.
“The coaches who have a role with Fifa World Cup soccer this year are quite diverse and distinct and can be cited as a great visual illustration of the global men’s market,” said Tom Julian, men’s fashion director at The Doneger Group, a retail merchandising and consulting firm based in New York.
“The mix of looks at the World Cup of soccer is welcomed, and it can allow for new ideas and product concepts to come to life.”
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