David Moyes and the Managers Who've Struggled with a Foreign Language

When Pep Guardiola gave his first press conferences as Bayern Munich manager, he impressed everyone with a strong command of German. Apparently, the Spaniard had learnt the language well enough to use professionally during his sojourn in New York City. Pep has even been known to switch between four different languages when addressing the press. 

Not every manager, however, shows such aptitude for foreign languages. In a Real Sociedad press conference this week, David Moyes showed that his Espanol needs a little work when he awkwardly threw a few words of his new homeland into the mix. 

Moyes' linguistic nightmare leads our list of the managers who have struggled with a foreign language.

David Moyes

Having taken four points from his first two games in charge at Real Sociedad, Moyes had enough swagger to start using Spanish in a presser this week. However, his linguistic assimilation was called into question when he merely showed that he can count to four, stating “They have been training with me dos, tres, cuatro times.”

To be fair to the Scot, it is very early days for him in Iberia. Perhaps by the end of the season he will be able to count up to 10. 

Steve McClaren

After a failed spell with the England team left his reputation in tatters, Steve McClaren made a move to FC Twente.

There, he assumed his alter ego: Schteeve McClaren.  

For reasons unknown, the current Derby boss substituted speaking Dutch for speaking English with a Dutch accent. Suffice to say, it did nothing for the Wally with a Brolly's reputation.  

Jurgen Klopp

Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp has a very good command of English, but sometimes he has struggled to make his point in Champions League press conferences. 

One such instance occurred prior to BVB's recent defeat at the Emirates, when he said, per the Daily Mail: "We know about the reasons but we've also had injuries with the foot that we've never heard about. Sometimes one comes through the other."

The German then proceeded to burst into laughter over a statement that very few people in the room understood.

Klopp then went on to explain his side's problems by saying: "Alles hat eine ende nur die wurst hat zwei." He couldn't explain it in English, but it literally means "Everything has one end, only a sausage has two."

Well, that clears everything up then. 

Louis Van Gaal

Any native English speaker will probably agree that Louis van Gaal has a good enough command of the English language to conduct himself as manager of Manchester United.

However, his Dutch countrymen may disagree.

When LVG speaks English, his accent is deemed to be stereotypically bad by native Dutch speakers. It is so bad, in fact, that it has been mocked in a Dutch comedy show (see above) and Dutch students learning English are specifically taught to avoid his pitfalls. 

There are even slightly condescending videos online of Dutch folks picking up on his English pronunciation mistakes. 

Mauricio Pochettino

When Mauricio Pochettino arrived at Southampton in January 2013, he spoke good enough English to converse with his staff and players. However, the Argentinian still insisted on using a translator whenever he faced the media.

Pochettino gave a perfectly reasonable explanation, stating that he didn't know the language well enough to give proper answers to complex questions. 

In recent months, the Spurs boss has been fielding post-match questions in English. 

Andre Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas is a complex man.

The Zenit St Petersburg coach has been known to talk himself out of job interviews by presenting impenetrable slideshows full of jargon and what the press once dubbed "AVBinglish." 

A mixture of Portuguese idioms and bafflingly obtuse phrasing led AVB to use terms like "solidificate," while famously asserting that Jermain Defoe can "smell crosses."  

Fabio Capello

When Fabio Capello was appointed England manager in 2008, it was clear that his English was not perfect. The Italian was accused of not being able to properly communicate with his players and he didn't help himself when he claimed he only needed to know 100 words in English.  

Capello never fully mastered English—despite four years of regular lessons—and once even claimed he couldn't speak with Wayne Rooney because the striker didn't speak his own native tongue properly! 

Claudio Ranieri

Warren Little/Getty Images

When Claudio Ranieri was unveiled as Chelsea manager in 2000, he was the first of a new breed of Premier League managers who spoke very little English.

Thanks to his lack of understanding, the Italian was constantly ridiculed in the press—particularly in the instances when he would try and speak very broken English to the media, rather than using a translator.

Ranieri used Italian speakers in his squad like Gianfranco Zola and Carlo Cudicini to relay instructions during training, and would send the likes of Gus Poyet to do post-match interviews. 

Jacques Santini

Juande Ramos left Tottenham having barely picked up a word of English, but he wasn't the only flop with linguistic issues who has been hired by the Lilywhites.

When Jacques Santini was unveiled in 2004, he did the brave thing and decided to answer his first press conference in English. However, it soon transpired that he should have let his translator do the talking. 

Sir Bobby Robson

The legendary Sir Bobby Robson coached in the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. He admitted that he never tried to speak Dutch as everyone at PSV Eindhoven already spoke English, but insisted that he had to try and learn Portuguese fast when he arrived at Sporting Lisbon in 1992.

The clip above of Robson flitting between English and Portuguese in a north-east accent seems to show that he was around 50 per cent proficient. 

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