| Great footballers make great managers?! |
| Written by Darren Douglas |
| Friday, 08 May 2009 11:59 |
 There are different ways that professional footballers choose or end up becoming managers after the end of their playing careers. As with anything some paths are easier or more successful than others. What is certain is that Alan Shearer has started his managerial career in probably the deepest end that anyone ever has.It has been suggested in recent years that there are too many former players becoming managers with too few Uefa coaching badges and qualifications, let alone experience. The fact is that whilst this may be true, not a great deal has changed in this aspect over the years and it's hardly a new phenomenon. There are of course many examples of players who have jumped into management soon after the end of their careers and turned out to be unsuited to this side of the game. Just as frequently there have been plenty of other players who have taken to management and become some of the greatest exponents of the art. You only need to look at Brian Clough and Kenny Daglish, between them the two had remarkable playing careers, even taking into account Clough's early retirement through injury. Clough soon went on to manage Hartlepool United at the age of just 30, Daglish would become Liverpool's player-manager in 1985 at the age of 34. The two of them went on to win 6 league titles, 2 European Cups, 2 FA Cups and 4 League Cups. Clough and Daglish remain as two of only three managers to ever win the league title with two different clubs in England. One of Clough's former players Martin O'Neill is another example, he retired from a tremendous playing career after winding down at Notts County in 1985. His fledgling management path started less than two years later at non-league Grantham Town. Since then he has been highly regarded at almost every club he has managed as well as winning several trophies along the way. Whilst some progress in management up the football tiers, there are others who have taken on huge challenges when beginning and yet have produced remarkable results. Take the England manager Fabio Capello, he also had an illustrious career playing for Roma, Juventus and AC Milan. Rather like Kevin Keegan he was relatively absent from the game for a few years after retiring, aside from the odd punditry. Whilst Keegan went on to guide his clubs to promotions and 'stability', Capello has famously won the league title with every club he has managed and in every spell! Thankfully he is now guiding the England ship to South Africa for 2010, but when he was appointed manager of AC Milan in 1991 I'm sure there would have been many doubters. What it proves is that there isn't any necessary proven path to becoming a good manager, ultimately it all comes down to the individual and their skills and interest in man-management and tactics etc. Looking back at another England manager, the highly respected Sir Bobby Robson was once a very good player who represented England. He was a playing legend for Fulham and it was within months of his retirement that he found himself in the Fulham hot seat. Unfortunately his time there was an uphill struggle and led to him questioning his desire to manage. Despite his mishap at Fulham, Robson's playing reputation and desire got him the job at Ipswich soon afterwards. The rest is as they say history, Robson brought tremendous success to Ipswich Town and made them a formidable force throughout his thirteen year tenure. His next stop would take him to be England boss and though the road was naturally bumpy, by the time he left after the Italia '90 World Cup, he was a highly sought after individual. He achieved titles and trophies at many clubs afterwards, such as Porto, PSV Eindhoven and of course Barcelona. Perhaps most impressively he made Newcastle Utd a top three team with drive and potential, how they must rue the day he was forced out. This season there has been a tale of woe for two great players; Marco van Basten and Jurgen Klinsmaan. They both did reasonable jobs with their national teams before taking on their first club management roles with their former respective clubs Ajax and Bayern Munich. Neither have been terrible but that is hardly praise, both clubs have stalled in their league campaigns, particularly Ajax who failed to gain a Champions League place for next season. Consequently both of these legendary players have lost their jobs within their first season in charge, van Basten only staved off a sacking through resignation. Wherever you look you'll soon start to realise that a vast majority of managers were former players and they did not all necessarily begin with a full set of coaching qualifications. Marcello Lippi is an interesting case, when he retired from playing in 1982 he immediately returned to his old club Sampdoria to coach the youth team. He remained in this capacity for three years before managing various Serie B clubs and then eventually doing the same in Serie A until Juventus came calling. Other than his sabbatical after winning the World Cup with Italy in 2006, Lippi has been constantly involved in football since he started playing in 1969. This reflects Sir Alex Ferguson's career path as well, going straight from playing retirement in 1974 to managing at East Stirlingshire. These two managers are regarded as two of the most successful in the modern era, but neither took time away from football after playing. Instead they slowly worked their way upwards and onwards. Obviously for every Marcello Lippi there is a Bobby Charlton. As fantastic a player as he was he never got going as a manager. In the 1973/74 season he was player-manager at Preston North End, unfortunately his short tenure resulted in relegation. That was pretty much that, and after a short fraternisation with Wigan, Charlton never managed again. Alan Hansen has often been well regarded for his know-how and knowledge of the game, but he has always stated his disinterest with going into football management. It goes to show that one of the most important factors in becoming a successful manager is not only the intelligence but significantly the drive and determination to achieve- you need a combination. As Keegan and others have found out, good motivation will only get you so far (even if that is the England job!). Perhaps what is more interesting is working out how some great managers have come about after having very modest or non-existent playing careers. Probably the two that come to mind like that are Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho. With Wenger even though his playing career was small he at least had a connection, and he started out on the ladder when becoming coach of RC Strasbourg's youth team. Mourinho meanwhile had one of the more unorthodox journeys into management. When failing to make the grade as a footballer he instead devoted himself to becoming a coach/ manager. Years of studying for a sports science diploma and then coaching courses brought their reward when he became youth coach and then assistant manager of Vitória Setúbal. Mourinho has that determined quality to achieve and his next choice would contribute to putting him where he is today. Choosing to become the interpreter for Bobby Robson when the former England coach arrived at Sporting Lisbon cannot be underestimated. Robson became Mourinho's mentor and they would go on to Porto and Barcelona together, with the 'special one' becoming a trusted assistant. The case of Jose Mourinho therefore bucks the trend for becoming a top class manager. Most of the best managers are former players of a varying level, what characterises the great managers from the ones that fail may have something to do with what pushed them as players. Of course it isn't fool proof, Tony Adams managerial failings thus far pay testament to that. At the same time it is clear that it's not how you become a manager that matters but rather how you go about managing that does. It remains doubtful though if that or anything will save Shearer and Newcastle.. |