Philippe Troussier

Philippe Troussier (born on March 21, 1955 in Paris), is known as the "White Witch Doctor" for his success with African club teams such as Asec Abidjan of the Côte d'Ivoire and the national teams of Nigeria, South Africa and Burkina Faso. Troussier is also known as a coach for his time spent with the Japanese national team.

The Frenchman arrived at Doha in 2003 to take over a national team that was going through a transitional period that saw (the golden generation) handing the baton to their inexperienced peers, forcing the Frenchman to try out more than 120 players in the sea of eighteen months that were plagued with disappointing defeats and setbacks.

His era at Qatar ended after the 2004 Asian Cup of nations as Qatar failed to reach the second stage in poor style, a defeat in the opening match to mediocre Indonesia summed up Qatar's worst effort in the continental event.

Troussier coached Japanese national team from 1998 to 2002, winning the 2000 Asian Cup, placing second at the 2001 Confederations Cup and made the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup. He also coached the Japanese team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney to a fifth-place finish and 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up.

He was the head coach of the Moroccan national team, having taken over after the country's failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. However, he was fired after only two months in charge by the Moroccan FA due to a difference in opinion.

In March 2008 he returned to Japan to manage FC Ryuku a Japanese 3rd division team before he was replaced by compatriot Jean Paul Rabier.