The success of clubs depends on the managers.
Famous football players convince the number of people without football experience as coaches. Zidane, Guardiola and Ancelotti won the European Cup as footballers. Over time, there will be more and more guys like Nagelsmann who have not reached their football potential. Even former defender Klopp was a star of the Bundesliga 2, not the Ballon d’Or equivalent of Beckenbauer. In the world of sports directors, “people on the street” and football stars also compete. But in this profession, former players were often inferior to intelligent men. Marotta, the creator of champions Juventus and Inter, has been working in football clubs in management positions since his youth. And Monchi, the creator of Sevilla, was an average player, like the German Rangnick. But recently, famous former players have decided to try their luck.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Milan
Ibrahimovic now has one more trophy, now in the role of advisor to the Milan bosses. It is too early for the Swede to compete with Liverpool’s Edwards, who is “from the street”. But Zlatan has an ace. Edwards cannot give a lion’s speech after Liverpool’s crazy comeback. And Ibrahimovic spoke after Milan’s victory over Inter. One of the most dramatic games of recent times ended in a victory for Conceição. Ibrahimovic thanked the new coach, whom he approved instead of Fonseca. I congratulated the players for not giving up. And the loudest applause went to the Milan employees. Ibrahimovic jokes that his title is Zlatan. The advisor to the owners clearly has authority. While the old-timers on the board – for example Baresi – are involved in advertising campaigns, the Swede is preparing for new trophies. The club has a technical director and Ibrahimovic is more like a sports manager. Let’s see what influence Zlatan will have on transfers.
Deco – Barcelona
In Barcelona, Deco wanted to extend his working relationship with coach Xavi. But Hernandez said in an interview that the club was in a difficult financial situation and Laporta fired him. The president in Barcelona is more important than the sporting director. But Deco works in difficult conditions where it is impossible to register football players. Once again, Spain does not care about the laws of football. They proposed the temporary registration of Olmo and Victor. Lawyers will delay the process and buy time. And Deco makes lists of free agents. His work is difficult to evaluate. It is hard to be the director of a club with debts. The Portuguese from Brazil is not a master of finance; other people are responsible for that. But given the circumstances, Barcelona has an excellent squad. The academy came to the rescue, but Deku convinced the talents to stay. Since 2023, he has moved from the position of scout to the director’s chair. The Portuguese’s main achievement was to prevent the team from disintegrating.
Mark Noble – West Ham
Conversation in progress. Today, Mark changed the head coach of the Hammers. First, the former midfielder faithfully served the club for 22 years as a footballer. Arsenal released the London native from the academy, Mark became the main player of West Ham. A legend of the club, he never left the Hammers permanently, only on loan. Because of this, he did not win anything and ran in the lower leagues when West Ham was relegated. But after finishing his career, he became the boss. In this position, Noble celebrated the victory of Moyes’ team in the Conference League. And then, with the owners, I made a mistake. Replacing David with Lopetegui stole time from West Ham. Former famous players have problems with the choice of coach. But after the failure of the Spaniard, Noble persuaded Potter. The former manager of Brighton and Chelsea started work today. The team is not bad, but the results are sluggish, they scored 23 points, like Manchester United.
Lars Rikken – Borussia Dortmund
Rikken is appreciated in Dortmund because Lars scored the third goal in the 1997 Champions League final. They blocked Del Piero’s technical goal, the Germans left Juventus without another Champions League victory. Rikken can be compared to Götze. The potential was high, but not everything went well in the only team of my life. Rikken was in the bid for World Cup-2002, but injuries hampered the Metallica fan. Lars ended his career prematurely due to a series of injuries. He was personnel coordinator and headed the youth department. Having gained experience, he waited for the departure of director Zork and became sports director of Borussia. He took office a month before the Champions League final against Real Madrid. Terzic did not have his Rikken to come into play and score against Courtois. Lars trusted the young coach Sahin. He hopes the team’s results will improve over time.
Tomas Rosicky – almost Arsenal
Previously, Arsenal was managed by Edu Gaspar. The former midfielder helped Arteta build the current team. But as the season progressed, Edu left. He was convinced by Greek billionaire Marinakis, owner of Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos. Perhaps Edu was offended by the Londoners, and they responded by accusing him of a weak transfer campaign this summer. Now Arsenal need a manager. They called some nice specialists. Arteta tried to lure Begiristain, but Txiki wants to retire. Monchi was evaluated; he worked at Aston Villa with Emery. Now they have backed up this conversation with rumors about Rosicky. The former Arsenal attacking midfielder worked for a long time as sporting director of Sparta Prague. Tomas feels cramped at home and wants to return to England. Rosicky isn’t the only strong candidate. Luis Campos, whose contract expires this summer, plans to work in England. PSG.
Uh-huh Viana – Sporting/Manchester City
Former Barcelona player Begiristain leaves at the end of the season. Viana will replace him. The Portuguese was not as strong a footballer as Ibrahimovic and Deco. But he turned out to be a nice athletic director. Yes, he arrived at Sporting in crisis and trusted coach Amorim. Together they won two championships. Viana knows how to negotiate. Yes, he is a master at buying players below market value and selling them for a profit. Sporting is not Benfica, where intelligent agents play a big role. The Lions acted more solidly and trusted Győkeres and his partner. Viana is already influencing Guardiola’s choice of recruits this winter. Although they officially work for Sporting, Uzbek defender Khusanov and Egyptian striker Marmoush could join Manchester City with Viana’s blessing. Josep needs a faithful young partner. Uh-huh is only 41, spent a few years growing up in Newcastle and will now move to Manchester.
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