The success of a football team also depends on the quality of the manager in charge of the team. Behind most successful teams are good managers.
To succeed at the FIFA World Cup is not an easy task, which is why most countries to everything possible to attain success — including hiring top managers.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar features some of the best managers in the world. These coaches are expected to lead their respective nations to success.
Furthermore, they have been backed with almost everything they need, including fat salaries.
In this article, FootballOrbit brings you the highest paid coaches at the 2022 World Cup.
1. Hansi Flick — Germany (£5.5m)
Germany manager, Hansi Flick, is the highest paid manager at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He earns £5.5m annually.
Flick was the assistant manager of Germany under Joachim Low from 2006 to 2014 — when Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He joined Bayern Munich as an assistant coach in July 2019, under the management of Niko Kovac.
When Kovac left Bayern by mutual consent in November 2019, Flick was promoted to the interim manager position.
After a satisfying spell as interim coach, he was appointed on a permanent basis.
At the end of his first season, Flick led Bayern to the continental treble of the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League. Thus, completing the continental treble for the second time in the club’s history.
Moreso, he led the Bavarians to win their first ever sextuple after winning the FIFA Club World Cup in February 2021. Alongside Pep Guardiola, he is one of the only two managers to achieve a sextuple with their team.
His performances saw him named as the UEFA Men’s Coach of the Year.
On the 25th of May 2021, the German Football Association announced that Hansi Flick has signed a three-year contract to serve as the manager of the Germany national team. He replaced his former boss, Joachim Low.
After a disappointing group stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, Flick is expected to guide the team to a decent run in Qatar.
2. Gareth Southgate — England (£4.9m)
England manager, Gareth Southgate, is the second highest paid manager in Qatar — taking home £4.9m annually.
Southgate is a former English midfielder. He was appointed as manager of England in 2016.
His first tournament as England manager was the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Southgate led the country to the semi-finals.
He became the third manager (after Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson) to reach a World Cup semi-final with England.
At UEFA Euro 2020, he became the first English manager to reach the final of a European Championship and to reach any major tournament final since 1966.
The Three Lions eventually lost to Italy in a penalty shootout.
However, Southgate often gets criticised for his ultra-conservative approach.
3. Didier Deschamps — France (£3.2m)
As a player, Didier Deschamps captained France to win the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
He has been the manager of France since 2012. He led the team to the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the final of UEFA Euro 2016.
Deschamps led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup.
This made him become one of the 3 players that have won the FIFA World Cup both as a player and as a manager.
Furthermore, at Euro 2020; France got knocked out on penalities by Switzerland in the round of 16, following a 3-3 draw.
Deschamps was criticized for getting his team selections and tactics wrong.
4. Tite — Brazil (£3.1m)
Adenor Leonardo Bacchi — commonly known as Tite — is a Brazilian former player who has been the head coach of the Brazilian national team since 2016.
His first tournament with Brazil was the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where the Selecao crashed out at the quarterfinals.
In 2019, Tite led Brazil to win the 2019 Copa America on home soil. This was Brazil’s 9th Copa America title, their first in 12 years and their first trophy in 6 years.
Due to the impact of Covid-19, Brazil hosted the Copa America again in 2021. But Tite’s side lost 1-0 to Argentina in the final.
In February 2022, Tite revealed that he will step down as manager of Brazil after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Brazil are one of the favourites to win the trophy.
5. Louis van Gaal — Netherlands (£2.7m)
Louis van Gaal is one of the most decorated managers in football history, having won 20 major honours in his managerial career.
He has managed top clubs like Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
He is currently in his third spell as manager of Netherlands.
His first tenure was horrible as Netherlands shockingly failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.
While the second was more productive as he led the Oranje to a third-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
On the 4th of August 2021, Van Gaal came out of retirement to take charge of the Netherlands national team for a third time.
He replaced Frank de Boer, who left the position following the team’s disappointing Euro 2020 campaign.
Netherlands are one of the dark horses at the tournament.
6. Gerardo Martino — Mexico (£2.5m)
Gerardo “Tata” Martino was appointed as manager of Mexico in 2019.
He had earlier managed the likes Paraguay, Newell’s Old Boys, Barcelona and Argentina in his career.
He led Argentina to the final of the Copa America twice (2015 & 2016), losing both to Chile.
In 2019, Martino led Mexico to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup over rivals, USA, in a 1-0 victory. It was his first national title.
But in 2021 Martino’s side lost both the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League final and the CONCACAF Gold Cup to USA.
7. Lionel Scaloni — Argentina (£2.2m)
Initially appointed as a caretaker manager, Lionel Scaloni was made the permanent manager of Argentina in 2019.
He led the nation to a 3rd place finish at the 2019 Copa America.
Scaloni led Argentina to win the 2021 Copa America title after defeating hosts, Brazil. It was Argentina’s first trophy in 28 years.
Furthermore, Argentina won the 2022 Finalissima, after defeating Italy 3-0 at Wembley.
Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their opening group stage match of the World Cup in Qatar. The defeat is one of the greatest upsets in FIFA World Cup history.
8. Felix Sanchez — Qatar (£2.1m)
Unsurprisingly, Qatar manager Felix Sanchez is one of the highest paid manager at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
This is in consideration of how rich the nation is and the immense wealth they have poured out to ensure that they successfully host the global mundial.
A former Barcelona youth coach, Sanchez has spent most of his coaching career in Qatar.
First with the national youth teams before being appointed as manager of the Qatari senior team in 2017.
He led Qatar to win the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and to also reach the semi-final of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
But Qatar have been eliminated from the 2022 FIFA World Cup after losing their opening two games.
Furthermore, they became the earliest host nation to be eliminated from the tournament, and the second not to progress past the first stage.
9. Fernando Santos — Portugal (£1.9m)
Fernando Santos has managed several clubs in his career, including the 3 biggest football clubs in Portugal (Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon).
He became the manager of Portugal in 2014. Santos led the nation to win Euro 2016 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League.
They were the first two major titles in Portugal’s history.
The team reached the round of 16 at Euro 2020, where they lost 1-0 to Belgium.
10. Murat Yakin — Switzerland (£1.4m)
Murat Yakin was appointed as the manager of Switzerland in 2021. He led them to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in a group that also comprised of Italy.
He is the 10th highest paid manager at the 2022 World Cup, earning about £1.4m per year.
