Soccer coaches are an odd breed. They often don’t stay in the same place for very long, and they can’t help but be paranoid because they face so much blame whenever something goes wrong. As is always the case, there are some interesting characters and some intriguing storylines amongst the coaches this year at the World Cup. Here are six coaches that stand out as interesting:

Fabio Capello, Russia: The Russian head coach has followed the time-tested path used by so many coaches over the years — after failing miserably with one team, he took a step down the prestige ladder and now helms another squad. Capello is not a well-liked man in England — and that’s being kind. He was at the helm of the massively disappointing 2010 World Cup squad. Somehow he managed to keep that job, but he was unemployed before Euro 2012 came around thanks to a list of issues. Now he is in charge in Russia, and he is at the helm of a team that has a good chance to finish at least second in Group H and move on to the second round. If Capello doesn’t perform well here, he could really have to take a step down the ladder for his next job. Maybe Canada needs a new coach.

Jurgen Klinsmann, U.S.: Klinsmann is heading into his first World Cup as head coach of the Americans. The team won their qualification group and weren’t really threatened, but they have not looked particularly sharp along the way. The team has not taken strides forward in recent years, so Klinsmann needs to have a big tournament for his team. The bigger drama, though, is that Klinsmann and his team has drawn into brutal Group G with Germany. Klinsmann earned 108 caps for the German team as a player, and he scored 47 goals. More significantly, he was the coach of the German squad when they finished third in the 2006 World Cup. After that tournament he turned down an extension and walked away from the job. His assistant, Joachim Low, took over for him and is still on the job. Now he will be as eager to beat the Germans as they will be to beat him.

Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil: No man in this tournament will face more pressure than the Brazilian head coach in a Brazilian World Cup in which the Brazilians are favored. Scolari is no stranger to success with this team — he was the head coach in 2002 when the team struggled through qualification but then went on to win the World Cup. He resigned at the end of that year and soon took over Portugal, which he coached until leaving for Chelsea in 2008. Now he has been back in Brazil since November of 2012, and the eyes of a nation are resting on him.

Vicente del Bosque, Spain: How do you know you are having a successful career as a head coach? When your king names you a Marquis in recognition of your work. There is simply no better big-tournament manager in the world than del Bosque. He took over this team in 2008, and he is the only coach ever to have won a World Cup, a European Championship, and a Champions League title. His team may not be as strong now as they have been, but they are still an elite contender, and del Bosque will clearly have them ready.

Louis van Gaal, Netherlands: After finishing second in the 2010 World Cup, the Dutch fans went into Euro 2012 with massive expectations. Needless to say, then, they were not happy with the 15th-place finish. Van Gaal was named coach after that disaster, but he is not unfamiliar to Dutch fans. He was previously the head coach of the team from 2000 to 2002 when his team failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. Fans are impatient, and expectations are always high, so van Gaal will face plenty of pressure this year.

Jose Pekerman, Colombia: In 2004 Pekerman took over as the head coach of Argentina. They were knocked out of that tournament in the quarterfinals when Germany came out on top on penalties. It was a solid performance, and Pekerman could certainly have stayed in the position, but he walked away. He coached in Mexico for a while, and then he was out of coaching for more than two years before landing with Colombia in January of 2012. Now he faces very high expectations — probably unreasonably high back in Colombia because the country has been disappointed in their performance for so long. The notoriously flaky Pekerman is happy right now — he has even become a Colombian — but you can never be sure with him.

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