Sepp Blatter has admitted he would much prefer England to appoint an English coach instead of another foreigner to succeed the departing Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The FIFA president told reporters that he thought the major football nations should employ only indigenous coaches.
“I am very surprised that England changed this way and are considering it again. I don’t think it has happened in other countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Argentina.”
British newspaper reports claimed at the weekend that Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari had emerged as a serious candidate to become the next England coach.
“I heard on the BBC World Service yesterday that Scolari, who was world champion with Brazil, and the Middlesbrough manager are being considered,” added Blatter.
“My personal opinion, and I was once a coach, is that when you speak to your players – and in a national team they are all one nationality – you should speak their language. This is the first thing in order to motivate a national team.
“But this principle has been over-ruled several times, so much so that we have had demands from different associations that when the manager goes on the sidelines to give instructions, he should be allowed to be helped by an interpreter.”
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