Jon Carter of ESPN Soccernet wrote an article recently that was in line with a previous column I had written about whether great players making great managers.
After seeing both Marco Van Basten (Ajax) and Jurgen Klinsmann (Bayern Munich) get fired early this month, it leads you to believe that a longer apprenticeship and coaching pedigree might be needed before thrusting our star players into management.
When former Liverpool boss, and one of Europe's most highly respected coaches, Gerard Houllier was asked if players were taking on managerial roles too soon, he retorted: "Would a manager of a big company put somebody without experience into a key position in his company? No, he would not, but they do in football."
Football has shown itself to be willing to take risks on inexperience but, as the fledgling careers of Marco Van Basten and Jurgen Klinsmann came to end over the past few weeks, has also shown a naiveity when it comes to management decisions.
Football has shown itself to be willing to take risks on inexperience but, as the fledgling careers of Marco Van Basten and Jurgen Klinsmann came to end over the past few weeks, has also shown a naiveity when it comes to management decisions.
Neither manager was ready to take over their respective national teams when they ended their playing careers, but the powers-that-be decided to install a figurehead instead of a coach that would guarantee long-term stability. Klinsmann showed some early promise by leading Germany to the semi-finals in the 2006 World Cup, but his fragility was shown up in his ill-fated stint at Bayern Munich. His training methods garnered criticism, but the root of the problem stemmed from the fact that he had jumped from the pitch to the dugout far too quickly.
Van Basten, too, was scathing in his assessment of his own performance as boss of Ajax. "I came to the conclusion that my qualities are not enough to do better with this squad next season," he said upon resigning. Having spent far too little time as an Ajax youth coach, he cut his teeth with the Dutch national team and, despite more early promise and a flourish at Euro 2008, never totally convinced that he had the tools at his disposal to become a successful manager.
Great players do not automatically become great managers and, as a way of aiding a player's transition into coaching, the idea of them serving "apprenticeship" is appealing. Young players are forced to prove themselves during trials, reserve team games and training sessions, so why not a manager?
No comments:
Post a Comment