At least two coaches are in wheelchairs after the recent set of matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Europe. One literally, while the other….well, the other could be in the strict footballing sense despite his impressive past records. Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal in temporarily in a wheelchair after he fractured his hip during a bicycle accident, which could force him to miss the crucial World Cup qualifier against Norway. Following training on Sunday, van Gaal cycled back to the team hotel with his players and coaching staff but fell when putting away his bike. Van Gaal was driven on a golf cart by assistant coach Henk Fraser on Monday to take training ahead of Tuesday night’s clash. The coach, however, said, his brain was alert and he would be there to guide his boys.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos is indeed hale and hearty, at least physically. But the surprise defeat against Serbia, which has raised the fear of Portugal being out of the World Cup, has definitely put him under great stress and mental pain. While the fans back home have already demanded his resignation, he has also earned the wrath of the team’s biggest star – Cristiano Ronaldo. Once the match was over, a frustrating 1-2 defeat, Ronaldo, in full view of the public, refused to shake hands with the coach and could be spotted saying something in an angry manner. Santos tried to underplay the incident saying the footballer was unhappy with a goal disallowed in a previous match, but the cat seems out of the bag. Notwithstanding what his country’s scribes have to say, a coach’s future gets mostly doomed if his best footballer goes against him. The coach is indispensable, the footballer is not, is the theory accepted in most cases. Santos had done wonderfully in Euro Cup and Nations League, but sadly a reputation of a coach always lived on the present. Santos would definitely in a mental wheelchair in the eyes of the fans, unless Portugal manage to win the play-off to earn ticket for Qatar.