Title races can change perceptions of managers

BCR · Feb 27, 2014

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/12614?cc=5901

Remember the 2004 Intertoto Cup?

Those who answer in the affirmative are almost certainly in a small minority. They might include Sartid Smederevo, who recorded the biggest win in that year's competition -- an 8-0 thrashing of the equally low-profile UE Sant Julia -- or Cork City, who upset the odds to beat Malmo and NEC Nijmegen before acquitting themselves respectably against Nantes.

And then there's Manuel Pellegrini. The only trophy the Manchester City manager has to show for a decade-long stay in Europe came from the 2004 Intertoto Cup. It says something about the structure of a much-derided competition that his Villarreal team weren't even its only champions. Lille and Schalke also graduated to the UEFA Cup.

Admittedly, Villarreal's passage was not as simple as it seems. They overcame Odense, Spartak Moscow, Hamburg and Atletico Madrid en route to securing Pellegrini's last honour. Until Sunday, perhaps: the Capital One Cup final is an opportunity to show that he is not merely a manager who constructs teams that are easy on the eye but who never actually have anything tangible to show for their aesthetic appeal.

Others, such as his archenemy, Jose Mourinho, define themselves by the size of their trophy cabinet and almost certainly wouldn't bother to put the Intertoto Cup in it. Though it simplifies a long-running rivalry, Pellegrini against Mourinho can be interpreted as style versus substance.

Actually, both are part of a broader battle, which began last summer with the revolution at the top of Europe's most prestigious clubs. As an unprecedented number of teams searched for a new manager, the arrivals fell into two contrasting categories: those selected largely because of what they had won -- such as Mourinho, Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti and Napoli's Rafa Benitez -- and those chosen for other criteria, such as Pellegrini, Manchester United's David Moyes and Barcelona's Tata Martino.

It makes the latter, bolder category of appointment more intriguing.

Each man began with an initial impediment of having won far less than his new charge, yet it's scarcely seemed to hinder Martino or Pellegrini. For the unfortunate Moyes, replacing the most relentless accumulator of honours in managerial history has created a credibility gap that is widening by the game. In each case, silverware was deemed a secondary consideration as clubs emphasised other elements of coaches' candidatures.

Martino's closeness to Lionel Messi and the way he appeared to fit the Barcelona ethos accounted for his arrival; he was a continuity candidate for a club that routinely enjoyed huge success. So, too, was Moyes: He was chosen on the basis of his character, rationalising that his work ethic, determination and proven long-term commitment made him preferable to other, more obviously successful alternatives.

Pellegrini's appeal to City was twofold: a progressive brand of football that tallied with sporting director Txiki Begiristain's belief about how the game should be played, and a man-management style that renders him the opposite of his abrasive predecessor, Roberto Mancini. "The Engineer" was appointed to build bridges with those alienated by the Italian, who felt conflict could be beneficial.

Also, Pellegrini is more likely to argue with his critics that his players. It irritates him that he is deemed a "nearly man" rather than a high flier in his own right. There are twin elements to his defence: that before his European drought, he regularly made off with the honours in his native South America, and that, with the exception of his year at Real Madrid, his time at Spain was spent at Villarreal and Malaga, clubs with no natural right to pip Real and Barcelona to anything over the course of a campaign.

For years, it seemed as though Moyes, too, would be trapped in a catch-22 situation: Without managing one of the wealthiest clubs, he would not win anything, but, lacking trophies, he would not land a major job. Then, perceptions were radically reshaped last summer. Mancini, winner of four league titles in Italy and England, was removed to make way for Pellegrini as managers were rewarded for overachieving at lower levels. Barcelona, City and United took the view that a trophy-winning pedigree was not the be all and end all.

It is not the approach Chelsea have ever taken -- it is hard to imagine any of Martino, Moyes or Pellegrini at Stamford Bridge if Mourinho had headed elsewhere -- but the reality is that neither City nor United wanted the Portuguese. Though less controversial, Ancelotti hardly seemed to be considered, either. The 2012 Champions League victor, Roberto Di Matteo, remains unemployed, even after the midseason switches when Tottenham and AC Milan appointed the untried pair of Tim Sherwood and Clarence Seedorf. In those instances, the rookies' knowledge of their respective clubs outweighed their inexperience.

And so, the season amounts to a contest between those who have been there, done that and gotten the medals against the newcomers to title races who are unaccustomed to the burden of favouritism.

It's a battle that might well dictate the hiring policy of clubs in the future.

At the moment, the established order are nudging ahead. Real leapfrogged Barcelona on Saturday to lead La Liga, meaning Martino, who arrived at the Nou Camp with only the little-known 2007 South American coach of the year award to his name, trails Ancelotti, who is now on course to join the select band of managers to have won the league in four different European countries.

Mourinho is already a member but faces a fight with Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger, whose prize-winning days coincided and ended at a similar stage, and the up-and-coming Brendan Rodgers. Many suspect the Portuguese's experience and expertise in such situations will prove the determining factor, but it is the usual suspect against the unusual, the specialist in winning against, to use Mourinho's phrase for the Arsenal manager, "the specialist in failure."

Professional trophy gatherers are also flourishing in Italy and Germany. Antonio Conte is set to steer Juventus to the Scudetto for a third successive season. Pep Guardiola boasts a 19-point lead in the Bundesliga. Should he lift the Champions League as well, it will be seen as an endorsement of the policy of appointing proven winners.

But if, say, Martino conquers Europe and Pellegrini does a domestic treble, the interpretation might be that the manager is not the omnipotent, decisive figure imagined. Infrastructure and environment, transfer and wage budget, the calibre of player and the culture of winning might seem more important than the history of the man in the dugout. The reputation of the "supercoach" is at stake.
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Interesting little article. How many times have you seen a "uprising coach" only for it to falter? AVB comes into that, Wanderlei Luxemborgo from Brazil was the next Brazilian mastermind but he has now been fired more times than he has trophies I believe. Assistants becoming head coaches is another, how many of them go on and shine? Tito Vilanueva was looking good until the cancer came back, Steve Clarke was doing well, but then you have the likes of a Carlos Quieroz and Rene Muelensteen who just can't seem to cut it, even with a pretty decent backing behind them.

I wonder where Rodgers will fall in all of this.

Super G Ted'inho · Feb 27, 2014

BCR:6146503 said:

Interesting little article
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Little...?

johnsonsbaby · Feb 27, 2014

There's only so many multi-winning managers to go round - the rest of us have to settle for what we can get. Also every successful manager had to start somewhere, for Moyes it isn't going to be utd [charity shield aside]

BCR · Feb 27, 2014

johnsonsbaby said: ↑

There's only so many multi-winning managers to go round - the rest of us have to settle for what we can get. Also every successful manager had to start somewhere, for Moyes it isn't going to be utd [charity shield aside]
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Think that is also the note on Pelligrini. He is an almost man if you will. Almost at Madrid, Great Villareal team but ultimately almost, Malaga..... almost ( literally 1 min away from semi's). Some have a reputation without any silverware, yet some win silverware but then get found out ( if that makes sense, AVB could be used as he was good with Porto, or was it Porto was too good for the league?).

Title races can change perceptions of managers

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