Extra time: Which Euro 2020 manager has the best watch?

International football is beset with stubborn clichés about the playing styles of different nations. We think of France’s “Gallic flair”, the “Teutonic efficiency” of Germany, Holland’s “total football” and England’s reliable ineptitude when the stakes get high. These stereotypes persist even while their actual veracity may be outdated. But what about the style choices of the team’s managers? Academics from Liverpool John Moores University explored this idea in a new report on The Conversation this week. It suggested that what managers wear in the dugouts may also have a subliminal bearing on their team. As the article explained: “Research has also shown that clothing has an impact on public perceptions of managers. This report on the clothing styles of French professional football managers identified three broad wardrobe choices managers tend to choose from to make impressions on their audiences. Some use the business suit to denote themselves as the professional “boss”. Others the “hands-on” tracksuit warrior look and then there’s the middle-ground, smart-casual “project leader” appearance (think Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola).” Sadly, the boffins failed to tackle the real item of interest here – how do the managers’ horological choices stack up? Forget the football, here’s how the battle… Read More