The World Cup has always been a tournament of competing football philosophies. Ownership versus transition. Pressure versus patience. Youth versus experience.
This summer it has also become an unexpectedly exciting battle to determine who is the best-dressed man on the sidelines.
For decades, football managers dressed as if they were preparing for a rain shower. The great sideline figures of yesteryear often looked like men who had been called away from home at short notice. Somewhere along the way, however, the management wardrobe evolved.
At this World Cup, the technical area often resembled the front row of a fashion show in Milan, Paris or New York.
No coach embodies that transformation better than Carlo Ancelotti. The Brazilian manager carries himself with the effortless confidence of a man who has been showing for thirty years that he has nothing left to prove. The silver hair, Christopher Cloos St. Barth glasses, a perfectly cut dark blue blazer with the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) logo, a crisp white shirt and a dark tie during Brazil’s tournament opener in New York made him unique on the sidelines.
Ancelotti’s greatest strength has always been his calm demeanor. Players trust him because he rarely seems upset, and his wardrobe follows the same principle. While others pace, protest and wave their arms, Ancelotti often stands with his hands in his pockets and looks as if he has walked onto the pitch during a leisurely evening stroll in Milan.
Lionel Scaloni looks less like a soccer coach and more like the creative director of a boutique design agency in Buenos Aires. | Photo credit: AP
Lionel Scaloni looks less like a soccer coach and more like the creative director of a boutique design agency in Buenos Aires. | Photo credit: AP
If Ancelotti represents old-world elegance, Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni belongs to a completely different generation. The World Cup-winning coach dresses with the understated confidence of someone who understands modern fashion. There are no flashy watches or dramatic statements, but everything is appropriate, clean and thoughtful. He leads one of football’s most emotionally charged nations, yet he often seems remarkably composed amid the chaos. He looks less like a football coach and more like the creative director of a boutique design agency in Buenos Aires.
Didier Deschamps’ wardrobe feels unmistakably French. Watching him patrol the sidelines reminds us that France produces luxury fashion houses as naturally as it produces footballers. During the French tournament opener at MetLife Stadium, he wore his signature custom-made navy blue Francesco Smalto suit, paired with a light blue shirt and no tie.
If Ancelotti is Milan, Deschamps is Paris.
The Portuguese Roberto Martínez covers a different corner of the style spectrum. It often seems like he just came from a leadership seminar where he talked about innovation and organizational culture. His sharply tailored Sacoor Brothers suits, complete with pocket squares, complement his persona as football’s great communicator, able to discuss tactics with the detail of an academic and the enthusiasm of a motivational speaker.
Swiss Murat Yakin is perhaps one of the tournament’s most underrated style artists. Tight monochrome combinations, structured jackets and oversized optical glasses from Gotti Switzerland give him the appearance of a European businessman.
The Japanese Hajime Moriyasu belongs to a different style era. No manager wears a suit with more sincerity. While others chase trends and experiment with contemporary tailoring, Moriyasu remains true to the belief that a World Cup match deserves a good jacket and tie. His classic deep navy checked three-piece suit and double-breasted vest, along with his iconic white notebook, dubbed the “Death Note” by fans, make him a fashion icon in the dugout.
No manager wears a suit with more sincerity than Japan’s Hajime Moriyasu. | Photo credit: REUTERS
No manager wears a suit with more sincerity than Japan’s Hajime Moriyasu. | Photo credit: REUTERS
However, not everyone has embraced football’s fashion revolution.
England manager Thomas Tuchel’s wardrobe consists largely of practical jackets, quarter zips and training gear. Marcelo Bielsa also dresses with complete indifference to how he looks. While others arrive and prepare for magazine covers, Uruguay’s coach still looks like a professor who accidentally walked into a World Cup.
A notable absentee from this tailoring tournament is Pep Guardiola. Few coaches have done more to modernize the sideline wardrobe, replacing the traditional manager’s suit with designer knits, tailored jackets and cashmere, which probably cost more than the entire budget of some national federations. Guardiola helped create the modern image of the elite coach: part tactician, part cultural figure. Having recently left Manchester City, he has been absent from North America, although few would be betting on not seeing him with a national side at the next World Cup. If he does, the choice for the best-dressed coach may become a lot easier.
Published on June 24, 2026
