Welcome Aboard, Watch Out for the Door on Your Way Out

Yes it’s time to review the latest slate of suckers, no I mean Managers in La Liga for the 2008-9 Season. Managers can’t win for losing. Yes they get paid the big bucks, but they get all the blame from the fans, players, staff management and press. This time around there are only 4 Foreign Managers in the Primera, very strange? (Schuster, Pellegrini, Aguirre and Kresic) Why the sudden decrease? That means 16 Spanish Managers. Is this the Golden Age of Managers, to go with the Golden Generation of Players? And only 8 manager changes in La Liga? (Guardiola, Lopez, Arconado, Emery, Marquez, Muñoz, Kresic, Tapia) Which means 12 Managers did the business and kept their job. Interesting…some stability? Well let’s run down the list at the top of the table and let me know what you think.

 

foto_298655_cas.jpg

 

1 Bernard Schuster – Real Madrid

 

He’s back! Just friend of player, president and socio alike. Schuster did not bring to the club jogo bonito, but he brought harmony and a cohesiveness. He still has his detractors. Some may say the top of the table was weaker than normal. The real task will be this year as fans and background staff all yearn for La Decima. (The 10th Champions League Title) Will this be known as a cycle of stability at Madrid? Or will last year just be a fluke, riding on Fabio Capello’s coat strings? It should be a very interesting year.

 

2. Manuel Pellegrini – Villarreal

 

The mild mannered Chilean Manager has brought this club back to greatness once again. They will be participating in the Champions League for the 2nd time in history and this time they are bringing some very interesting signings with a lot of quality. Of course the majority are South American, but Pellegrini knows that market intimately and is quite a crafty buyer to boot. Will they have enough depth to vie for all 3 titles? I say yes!

 

3. Pep Guardiola – Barcelona

 

The new kid on the block with the biggest job, IMO. Catalan born and bred in the Cryuff style. Can this superstar on the pitch succeed off the pitch? Does he have the man management skills and tactical nuance to battle with the big boys? Bringing in Pep so far has saved Joan Laporta’s job, but just barely. He has spent the most money in La Liga and probably in World Football, this silly season. It will be very interesting to see how he will handle Ronaldhino and Eto’o should they stay at the Camp Nou. Is he in over his head? We shall see.

 

4. Javier Aguirre – Atletico de Madrid

 

Vasco had a very tough year last season. He had to break the mental barrier of Los Pupes. A disease that literally used to affect the team in the 2nd half of the season, so that they were always the nearly men. Nearly Europe that is. Kudos to Aguirre for building mental strength and fortitude. Looks like he is making some quality signings, especially in defense. Looks like Atletico is going to have another good year.

 

5. Manolo Jimenez – Sevilla

 

President Del Nido and company decided to stay with the ex player and youth team coach. Sevilla had an extremely tough year with the death of Antonio Puerta early on and the loss of Juande Ramos. They missed the CL and now have to settle for UEFA Cup. Is Manolo the man to bring Sevilla to the glory of two years ago? Not sure.

 

6. Juan Roman Lopez – Racing de Santander

 

The ex Malaga jefe, did wonders last year to earn promotion for the Anchovies back to La Primera. And his prize, well the Manager position at Racing. Can Lopez fill Marcellino’s shoes? Does this small team from Cantabria have the depth and money to compete in the UEFA Cup? Is the team a Celta Vigo or a Sevilla? The reinforcements have been little to none, thus far. The future looks hazy.

 

7. Gregorio Manzano – Real Mallorca

 

The Spanish Manager made do with what he had and eked out tremendous results. Unfortunately, Mallorca’s parent company has filed for bankruptcy and so they are selling all of their key/star players. Where they will stop, no one knows? Arango is probably the next one out the door. But Manzano is making some bargain basement buys, so you never know? I would put my money on Manzano to pull out another mid table performance and Copa Del Rey run.

 

8. Gonzalo Arconada – UD Almeria

 

No one can repeat what Unai Emery did last year at Almeria, so hopefully expectations will be managed accordingly. Arconada had a stellar year with Numancia in the second division. They clearly outshined the rest of the pack and earned promotion quite early. But playing in the Primera is a whole other ball game. Almeria has made some very good signings with Piatti from Estudiantes, a record signing for the club. But the jury is still out with the little team from Andalusia. The sophomore slump is boding.

 

9. Miguel Angel Lotina – Deportivo La Coruña

 

The long time Vasco coach had a remarkable year with Baby Depor last year. The team is currently in pre-season preparing for their Intertoto matches at the end of the month. Will Depor return to Europe with a bang? We shall see. Will Lotina continue to play 5 at the back? I hope not. Lotina has made some selective transfers that on the surface complete a very balanced team. Look for another good year for the team from A Coruña. One step at a time.

 

10. Unai Emery – Valencia

 

Into the fire, head first. One of the hottest Managers in La Primera last year who played with a very attacking style. Now for something completely different? The bad news: dressing room drama, an enormous squad with the majority of players either not wanted or inconsistent at best that screams out for a major renovation. Financial debt mounting that is relying on the Nou Mestalla as it’s salvation. No Champions League, just UEFA Cup. The good news: two of the hottest players in World Football. A coach with 4 years of Football Managerial experience and some fresh ideas. Who’s worried? Me.

 

There’s no sure thing in La Liga, especially when it comes to the Managerial revolving door. But if I look at my crystal ball, here’s what I see. Look to Atleti to have another good year. Yes Atleti! Look to Villarreal to beat their every other year glory with a coach who has learned from his past CL Run. Chaos will continue at the Camp Nou and at the Mestalla. While being on the top of the table will be a one hit wonder for Racing and Almeria. Both teams should be weary of relegation. The former with fixture congestion and the latter with a coach in over his head. What do you think? Does the future look bright for Depor? Is Mallorca going to surprise us again? Who will be the hottest coach this year?

 

Next week I will review the Managers in the 2nd Half of the table. I cannot wait for the new season to start.

Valencia Synchronized

Have you ever had a situation where the unrelated events of a day or a week start building and interconnecting? Synchronicity. Like, there are no accidents? Well that’s the kind of futbol week I’ve had.

Last Tuesday I was catching up on some Times Online podcasts. Co-host Guillem Balague’s was talking about the Valencia situation. To paraphrase him, Koeman had made a drastic mistake in getting rid of Canizares, Angulo and Albelda and the situation was becoming untenable. He pretty much told us the same when he was on with us last month. On Wednesday I was trolling through the blogs I normally read and found an article written by Guillem here. Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find him answering one of the emailers. According to him, it was Soler himself who called for the purge and that may be, along with some dire financial instability, why Koeman hasn’t been rewarded with a firing. The chants that had gone up, “Vete (Leave) Quique!” have now turned on the Dutchman. Another interesting sidenote is that Balague believes that Koeman’s second mistake at Valencia was that he disrespected this opportunity, treating it as a stepping stone to a bigger and better position; most notably a return to Barcelona and succeed Frank Rijkaard in Catalunya. Alright, now you’re really going to think I’m stalking Balague, but on Thursday I finally got my copy of Balague’s, A Season on the Brink: a portrait of Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool from amazon.co.uk. I flipped through and added it to my huge list of books to be read, but the subject was just too strong to put down. I started reading it and I was just sucked in. Little did I know what kind of shadow Valencia would have over the whole book.

The book is ostensibly about the Rafa-lution at Liverpool FC and his first year on Merseyside, that saw them win the European Cup after only 10 months in charge. You get a very real picture of the man, a brilliant tactician and quiet leader of men. A true Madrileño: stoic and introspective, often to a fault. He reminds me of my dad in fact who comes from the same stock.

What you also get is that his years up to Valencia, the failures at Valladolid and Osasuna, not to mention the struggles with Extramadura and Tenerife, made him as a manager but his 4 years at the Mestalla marked him forever and it’s done a whole lot of damage to both himself and Los Che.

The popular opinion is that the Soler family is treating Valencia CF as a very expensive plaything, hiring the wrong people and managing it poorly, and that may be so, but as this book clearly shows the problems started even before the Soler’s won the election in 2004. During the 2004 season Benitez had some very public run-ins with his Sporting Director: Jesus Garcia Pitarch. It’s those heated exchanges that Rafa’s famous quote “I asked for a sofa and they brought me a lampshade” comes from. Sure, many of the problems were, like the quote says, over player acquisition or ironically about rotation of players, but he never felt truly appreciated for the monumental task he and his group of coaches had accomplished at the Mestalla: winning the league in 2001-2002 a mere 31 years after their last one, winning it again 2 years later and becoming UEFA Cup champions in 2001.

The often public exchanges between club President Jaime Orti and his manager couldn’t help but form divisions with the players. He left tearfully for Liverpool and the fractures between players (those that supported Rafa and those that supported the Orti and Pitarch were already there. Soler took over just as the train wreck of the previous administration was being whisked away. Soler did try to keep Benitez, offering to hike his pay, but he had already made up his mind.

Benitez’s Liverpool would be built with his Valencia model in mind. He soon found out though, that each club has its own internal life and what worked at Valencia wouldn’t necessarily work at Liverpool. Winning the Champions League was almost a distraction from succeeding in the league. What was also inescapable were the behind the scenes problems that harkened back to his time at the Mestalla: his relationships with star players, his prickly tendency to annoy his paymasters and the often public debate over his selection, tactics and transfer policy.

At Valencia in his absence, Claudio Ranieri took over, bringing a series of Italian signings like Marco DiVaio, Bernardo Corradi and Stefano Fiore. The fractures became huge chasms as the Italians were never really accepted by the club or supporters. The Ranieri era ended n a whimper, and ex-Getafe coach Quique Sanchez-Flores was hired with the intent to return the club to the structure under Benitez. Ironically, Quique and Soler’s Sporting Director Amedeo Carboni’s working relationship would also mirror his predecessor. Firing Sanchez-Flores at the beginning of this year and bringing in the much traveled Ronald Koeman has done nothing to stop the madness at Los Che leading them to consider the very real possibility of relegation. Players have been benched, new signings have been brought in, and the club has continued to lose.

We think that the problems at a club can be solved by removing a Coach, a Manager, a Sporting Director or a Club President, that the answers are short term, and the fortunes of a club can be turned by patching over the faults and turning over a new leaf. In Valencia’s case, and to certain extent Liverpool’s, much more needs to be done. I don’t have the answers, Los Che may be relegated if their current form continues, Koeman has two more games to right the ship or he’s gone as has been reported, and Liverpool owners have given Rafa the dreaded vote of confidence for his outbursts earlier in the year. We’ll see what the future holds.

I recommend this book highly, it is of course a minute by minute detail of an improbable Champions League run by the Reds, but it’s far more. Balague offers a portrait of a manager in crisis and a a Rosetta Stone to read the present situation at both clubs by.

fooball, soccer, liverpool, liverppol rafa benitez

Valencia, my eye.

Others have noted that it has been a rough week for former Dutch international Ronald Koeman, Barcelona dream-teamer under Johan Cruyff, and ex-manager of Benfica, PSV Endhoven and current top man at Valencia . I say he hasn’t had a rough enough week.

Since resigning from PSV on October 31, 2007, and accepting the Valencia job after the sudden firing of Quique Sanchez-Flores, he has done practically everything wrong. He arrives 5 days late after being hired, misses the weekend win against Mallorca, fails to get the club organized for a midweek Champions League match against comparative minnows Rosenberg, loses 2-0 at home in the Mestalla, and leaves Trond Henriksen, the Norwegian side’s coach unimpressed, calling the Spanish side’s performance “cowardly”. He then sits on-form winger and Spain international Joaquin for his lack of effort in training after only a few days in charge, benches three of his top players Santiago Canizares, David Albelda and Miguel Angel Angulo for and now even minority ownership at the club are calling his tenure at the club a joke.

The club have backtracked from their humiliating treatment of the three, they have released a statement that the 3 have only been dropped not ostracized, but everything out of the club is stating that this is only the beginning of the Koeman Revolution. Baraja, Vicente and even David Villa are on the outs, and young starlets like Boca Juniors midfielder Ever Banega and Ajax striker Klaus-Jan Huntelaar are rumoured coming into the squad for the January transfer window.

Is he crazy? This is a club that was top four as little as two months ago. Was there a lack of quality on the side? Sure, some like Angulo and Vicente were often injured and Canizares is riding on fumes, but this is a Champions League level team with proven strikers like Villa to play off of Morientes who still has a few years left, Timo Hildebrand was being groomed as Santi’s replacement and it had a proven spine built by a Champions League winning coach in Rafa Benitez. You can’t change a club’s heart in 3 weeks and then expect the rest to play for you. You can’t expect players who have thrived playing one way, and fit them into an outdated mix of Rinus Michel’s, Johann Cruyff’s, and Louis Van Gaal’s least creative tendencies.

Ronald Koeman was a fantastic player, a defender in the libero mold, who ran the famous Barcelona dream-team of Cruyff to the 1992 European Cup final. Since his retirement, he has commanded Dutch side Vitesse Arnheim to a UEFA Cup berth in 2001, took Ajax to the Champions League quarter finals before losing to AC Milan, but spent the next 3 years grinding out wins and ruining the legendary Dutch side’s fortunes, where he was ultimately fired after a 2004 loss to Auxerre in the UEFA Cup. He was hired to replace Giovanni Trappatoni at Benfica in 2005 but couldn’t get the Portuguese champs to more than a third place finish in the league, lost out in the League Cup to a soon-to-be relegated side, and won their only trophy in the Superliga which pits the League and Cup winners from the previous years. To add insult to injury, he left Benfica for while the Portuguese squad were still in contention for the Champions League that without him lost only to eventual champs Barcelona in the quarter finals. He then leads PSV to a dominant first half, but allows both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar to cut the lead until by the penultimate match all 3 teams were tied at 72 points. In the final game, Alkmaar loses, Ajax beats Willem II, but PSV wins on goal differential against (hold it), Ronald Koeman’s old squad Vitesse Arnheim.

Tintin was the wrong choice to turn the fortunes of a struggling champ like Valencia around. The numbers don’t lie. He lucked into a young squad at Ajax led by Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Van der Vaart and Christian Chivu, destroyed a Benfica that had been brought back to prominence by Il Trap, and finally replaced Gus Hiddink at PSV only to turn them into a dour, ill-conceived squad that eat Arsenal by an aggregate score of 2-1 over two legs, but then were held goalless and thoroughly dominated by eventual finalists Liverpool.

What will his time at Valencia be remembered for? If his past is any indication, he is living a charmed life, because few have done so little after being given so much.