Breaking News
recent

Mauricio Pochettino, do Real Madrid really want Saints manager?

Article by e-Southampton Correspondent Bastian Houdini

Follow e-Football on Twiitter!

So… we've got arguably the world's most famous football team… we've got a manager of 2 moderately successful provincial football clubs and they appear to have been linked by the surprise appearance in the press of a "three-man shortlist" of potential candidates to replace Carlo Ancelotti should he fail to win the league or champions league trophies this year is for Real Madrid.

Let's look at the candidates, one at a time.

The Favourite

Zinedene Zidane, one of the world's best footballers in his time and intimately familiar with Real Madrid and its backroom politics as well as playing staff due to his involvement there already as assistant coach and sporting director.

"Zizou" as he's known would be a very popular choice with the fans and he has extensive experience in all competitions as a player, yet, does he have enough experience coaching and managing at a high level to really be the supreme leader required by a club challenging from multiple championships and cups every single year?

Whilst I'm sure the playing staff respect him and his experience and I'm equally sure he has much to teach, not least the art of the spectacular head-butt, but ultimately can he bring that singularity of purpose and absolute strength of will and focus required from the leading figure in a football club such as Real Madrid?

Maybe one day but I don't think he's there yet, I think he would be best served by getting experience outside of the familiar, go and learn how things work in England, Germany or in Italy, where he was also beloved of Juventus fans, then come back experienced and ready to take on the political and footballing challenges presented by Real Madrid.

The Outside Bet

On to Southampton's beloved Mauricio Pochettino, or MoPo as he's become known, what has he done to engage the interest of such a footballing giant?

Well, on the face of it his managerial career is not all that exceptional, an ex-international Argentine defender and playing legend at Espanyol, the very much poorer cousins of Barcelona, he started his managerial career very much in the mould of his mentor Marco Bielsa, taking over at Espanyol when they were 3rd from bottom of the league is the 3rd coach of the season in 2008/9 and guiding them to a comfortable 10th place. However, things did not end well and he was sacked with Espanyol bottom of the league in November 2012 with just 9 points from 13 matches played.

Then just 2 months later he is appointed Head Coach at Southampton football club in the English Premier league by then Executive Director Nicola Cortese, to replace the tactically naive and struggling Nigel Adkins. Pochettino's arrival galvanised the Saints, introducing a high energy pressing game which enabled them to defeat such top clubs as Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea to end the season in 14th place and 4 positioned above the relegation zone.

MoPo has always said he is at Southampton for the long haul, loving the programme sold to him and being given resources to build the playing squad he wishes from astute, or not so astute in the case of Dani Osvaldo, purchases, and some fabulous young players from the world-class Southampton academy.

However, with the falling out of Nicola Cortese and the Leibherr family, which owns Southampton FC, leading to Cortese's departure in January this year, there is a feeling in the air that should some other club or grand project come along to tempt him, he could be prised away from his adoring fans at Southampton on to a bigger stage.

The Experienced Journeyman

Ernesto Valverde is not that well known outside of his native Spain even though in his playing days he played for Barcelona and is a reasonably well travelled and experienced manager in Spanish and Greek football. Indeed, in Greece, where he coached Olympiacos on 2 separate occasions, the man is actually a bit of a legend… but I'm getting ahead of myself.

He is currently the coach of Athletic Bilbao, having arrived there last June after leading Valencia to 5th place (but not champions league qualification), he has also been in charge at Espanyol and Villarreal as well as the previously mentioned clubs.

He has experience in managing clubs in European competition and in highly politicised football clubs through his time with Olympiacos and Valencia as well a good CV and high recommendations from a lot of the players he has coached.

Conclusion

Given the Real Madrid tactic of recruiting "Galactico" coaches (not to mention players) for years now, are we now seeing a change of tack, none of those mentioned have anything like the profile usually expected for a coach of Real Madrid, with the possible exception of Zidane, and his reputation is based on playing not coaching.

So what's really going on?

I think we need to place this "leak" in context, what is the benefit of doing this in the public domain?

Is this actually designed to elicit responses from the named individuals, Mauricio Pochettino, Zinedene Zidane and Ernesto Valverde, or is it designed to give Carlo Ancelotti incentive, if such were needed, to up his game and push the Madrid players to deliver this year

Ultimately, none of the linked managers are especially suited for a club like Real Madrid, Zidane has the most intimate knowledge of the club but is very lacking in managerial experience, Valverde has extensive management experience but no real connection to the club or particularly successful managerial campaigns in Spain and Pochettino, who whilst he has a growing reputation still has yet to win anything as a manager.

My money's on the "kick up the arse" for Ancelotti but as a Saints fan I am sufficiently impressed with MoPo and his time with us that his latest comment that " Real Madrid are an amazing club, a great club and you never know what could happen in football" does leave me feeling a little nervous.

However I am holding on to his other comment that "… at the moment I am really happy at Southampton and that is my present right now. Nothing else ", I'm not naive enough to believe we could fight off Real Madrid should they want him but I've seen enough to know that I and many other Saints fans have our fingers crossed that he gets a suitably generous extended contract offer from the Leibherr's to stay on and continue what he has started with the Saints.

© e-Football 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football

No comments:

Powered by Blogger.