Carlos Alberto Parreira (File)

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Cape Town - The game of football is a great leveller. For centuries the sport has brought together people from all ends of the spectrum. Kings play with paupers, friends with enemies, giants with minnows.

In 19th century Britain, for example, football was one of the only mediums through which the well-oiled upper classes would even agree to associate with the working man.

This uniting spirit is undoubtedly part of the game’s enduring appeal and also a significant ingredient to the charm and success of the Soccer World Cup.

According to the Just-Football website, Argentinian sports daily Olé did some digging and published the salaries of all 32 managers who led their side to the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Approximate annual salaries in US dollars:

1. Fabio Capello (England): $9.9m
2. Marcelo Lippi (Italy): $4.1m
3. Javier Aguirre (Mexico): $4m
4. Joachim Loew (Germany): $3.3m
5. Berter van Marwijk (Netherlands): $2.7m
6. Ottmar Hitzfeld (Switzerland): $2.6m
7. Vicente del Bosque (Spain): $2.2m
8. Carlos Queiroz (Portugal): $2m
9. Pim Verbeek (Australia): $1.82m
10. Carlos Alberto Parreira (South Africa): $1.8m
11. Dunga (Brazil): $1.25m
12. Diego Maradona (Argentina): $1.2m
13. Takeshi Okada (Japan): $1.2m
14. Ricki Herbert (New Zealand): $1.2m
15. Otto Rehhagel (Greece): $1.15m
16. Paul Le Guen (Cameroon): $960 000
17. Marcelo Bielsa (Chile): $850 000
18. Vahdi Halilhodzic (Cote d’Ivoire): $740 000
19. Raymond Domenech (France): $720 000
20. Hun Jung Moo (South Korea): $600 000
21. Morten Olsen (Denmark): $570 000
22. Milovan Rajevac (Ghana): $540 000
23. Bob Bradley (USA): $400 000
24. Radomir Antic (Serbia): $447 000
25. Matjaz Kek (Slovenia): $360 000
26. Gerardo Martino (Paraguay): $360 000
27. Rabah Saadane (Algeria): $360 000
28. Reinaldo Rueda (Honduras): $350 000
29. Vladimir Weiss (Slovakia): $312 000
30. Oscar Washington Tabárez (Uruguay): $300 000
31. Kim Jong Hun (North Korea): $250 000
32. Shaibu Amodu (Nigeria): $180 000

A few facts and observations about the figures:

1) The phrase ‘I make more in a week than you do in a year’ is readily and freely applicable for Fabio Capello should he ever wish to wind up Nigeria coach Shaibu Amodu. It would be whole and true.

2) South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira earns the same in one month as the nation’s President Jacob Zuma in a year, a cause of some quite understandable recent furore in the Rainbow Nation.

3) Looking at the figures earnt by the other major Western European nations, Raymond Domenech might consider employing himself a new agent as soon as possible. Or, depending on your opinion of Domenech’s coaching abilities, one might argue his agent has done a stellar job keeping the guy in a job at all.

4) If you need to borrow a fiver, Fabio Capello is your man.

5) The English FA knows a bargain when it sees one / should be ashamed and ridiculed for it’s preposterous overspending (delete as appropriate).

So there you have it. In a World Cup of managerial salaries the final is England v Italy. And England are world champions!