'Wrong passport' works against Beenhakker

Leo Beenhakker, Trinidad & Tobago's Dutch manager, believes he is more qualified than most to coach England when Sven Goran Eriksson leaves the post after the World Cup finals but thinks he will not be considered because of his nationality.

Beenhakker led Real Madrid to three consecutive Spanish titles from 1987-89; won three championships in his home country with Ajax (1980 and 1990) and Feyenoord (1999) and coached the Dutch national side at the 1990 World Cup finals. He has also been in charge of Saudi Arabia.

His latest feat has been to mastermind Trinidad & Tobago's qualification for the World Cup finals for the first time in the Caribbean islands' history, making them the smallest nation ever to reach the finals. They face England in a group match in Nuremberg on 15 June.

But when Beenhakker, 63, was asked if he would be interested in taking charge of England he retorted with a knowing smile: "I have the wrong passport! I have a very weird passport - I'm from Holland."

The coach, whose Trinidad contract expires after the finals in Germany this summer, insists he will not be sending his CV to the FA because "I suppose everybody in the world of football would know of me after being in this game for 40 years.

"They [the FA] are not even talking about the foreign coaches. It has to be an English coach or a British coach, but I always thought that you look for the guy who is best qualified, prepared and who is available whether he is Japanese, Dutch or British.

"England is a magical country. We all know football started here and it is one of five or six jobs you couldn't say no to and that's why I'm surprised about this discussion. I don't understand it at all."

Beenhakker is in London with Trinidad for their match against Iceland tonight at Loftus Road, their first match since they qualified for the finals by beating Bahrain in November.