Being a football manager seems like a dream job. You get to pick up a huge salary and spend the day ordering around millionaires and thinking about football. If you manage to get yourself sacked, you inevitably pick up a hefty sum as compensation.
Unfortunately, in soccer that means there is a disparity between their expectations and their ability to produce results.
They are a swiftly developing football nation, but there is still work to be done. All too often, however, the coach takes the blame for failings that run far deeper.
The current incumbent, Jurgen Klinsmann, was welcomed with open arms but is now on the receiving end of regular criticism for failing to transform the USA into a winning team.
In January 2013, Portugese coach Leonardo Jardim was sacked despite the club sitting 10 points clear at the top of the Greek Super League.
The problem stems from the clubs lacklustre performances in the Champions League. Not content with their domination of domestic football, the Olympiacos hierarchy wish to make an impact on the European stage. Thus far, they have failed.
In any job, it is important you have a boss who you like and respect. Unfortunately for the coach of Steaua Bucharest, his boss is Gigi Becali.
As well as being ruthless when it comes to giving managers the chop, Becali is not afraid to spout his views on football, claiming recently that, "there aren't any great bald football players". He's clearly not a fan of Zinedine Zidane, then.
Becali is also controversial away from sport. The country's LGBT community named him Homophobe of the Year in 2006 after he offered to personally fund a referendum on homosexuality.
Anything but the highest level of success is perceived as failure. Brazil's fans expect them to win every World Cup. If a coach fails to hit that extraordinary height, he is inevitably fired.
Next summer, Felipe Scolari will attempt to win a second World Cup for the national team. With Brazil on home soil, the expectation levels will be close to unbearable.
He has flourished in many environments. When he leaves a football club, it is generally on his terms. However, even "The Special One" has struggled to tame the beast that is Real Madrid.
Barcelona are famous for claiming to be "more than a club", but the same is true of rivals Real. Madrid are a national institution, and are subjected to incredible scrutiny by the Spanish daily sports press.
The situation is best summed up by the fact that Vincente Del Bosque was sacked after four years at the club which included won two European Cups, two La Liga titles, the World Club Cup and European Super Cup.
After the club's relegation and entry in to administration in 2012, the entire playing staff departed. Shortly afterwards the club's manager, Michael Appleton, left to join Blackburn Rovers: a measure of the desperation he felt.
Considering the club's well-publicised financial difficulties, most Pompey fans are grateful just to have a club to support. However, the take of managing the club through this period is one few coaches would be grateful for.
Much like Brazil, England is a country where the expectations are sky high. Unlike Brazil, England do not have the depth of talent to sustain those kinds of expectations.
Inevitably, the manager suffers, and the English media are particularly pernicious when it comes to dissecting their nation's coaches.
Michael Appleton has just become the third Blackburn Rovers manager to leave the club this season, following in the footsteps of both Steve Kean and Henning Berg.
Appleton was in charge for a mere 15 games and 67 days. His sacking is typical of the chaotic reign of Indian owners Venky's.
"I don't know if anyone would want the job. Three managers in a season - it looks like you lose a few games and you're sacked. Venky's don't seem to know how to handle a manager and the fans."
Way back in September, Giuseppe Sannino was dismissed having amassed just one point. He was replaced by Gian Piero Gasperini, who was then given the axe in February.
Alberto Malesani was then appointment, but lasted for only 19 days before Gasperini was recalled from gardening leave.
This is the man who sacked Jose Mourinho, the man revered as one of the greatest tacticians and man-managers in the wold.
He also dismissed Carl Ancelotti, despite the Italian winning a domestic double in his first season in English football.
Most recently, he dispatched Roberto Di Matteo, despite the former Chelsea player having triumphed in both the FA Cup and Champions League just a few months earlier.
No comments:
Post a Comment