This week the dismissal of Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso dominated the debate in Europe about the skills a coach should have. Xabi had a 72% success rate and was sent away six months after taking over the team. His credentials were an undefeated German title with Bayer Leverkusen — a team that had never been champion. He also won a national Cup and was runner-up in the Europa League.
He did this with signature football: three building defenders, wingers who became wingers, mobile attackers, a midfielder who dictated the pace of the game and a number 10, Floriant Wirtz, with freedom. At Real Madrid he found Vinicius, Mbappé, Bellingham, Valverde and company. All great, but with very different characteristics from what I had before.
Xabi vacillated between trying to accommodate the players and wanting to implement his way of playing. In football there is nothing worse than hesitating. And this wavering stance meant that players and management did not buy the coach’s idea.
In December, before facing Manchester City, Pep Guardiola was asked what advice he would give his colleague. He replied, “Let him piss with his p… And, as he won’t be pissing perfume, he’ll do fine.” Pep, a historical enemy of Real Madrid, was mocking a saying that was created about him when he was a Barcelona player. As he expresses himself very well and always seems to be the owner of reason, journalists in Madrid began to say that he should “urinate perfume” because he would be so “clean and perfect”.
In fact, Guardiola was mocking, but also giving sincere advice to Xabi Alonso: do things your way, follow your convictions and believe in your potential. In his first job at a top-flight club, Alonso was caught halfway between his tactics and the players’ egos. He ended up being fired after losing a classic playing on the backfoot and betting on shots for Vini — totally the opposite of what his game proposes.
After all, what is a football coach made of? In this coaches’ urinal, is it better to coach or manage?
For me, the strategist first and the manager second. Until the strategist is needed again. For example, Jorge Jesus put together a devouring Flamengo in 2019. After his departure, Dorival Júnior, Rogério Ceni and Renato Gaúcho were successful in the Portuguese’s wake. Domenech Torrent, Jorge Sampaoli and Vitor Pereira, betting on tactical changes, failed. Tite wasn’t able to make the necessary shock to win again, but Filipe Luís, breaking the “Jorge Jesuítica” dynamic, did.
Jurgen Klopp was successful at Liverpool implementing his Rock’n Roll and then Arne Slot managed to win with more management than revolution in the first year. When he needed to modify pieces and the way of playing, he got lost. When Luís Enrique took over Barça, he had a path paved by Guardiola and his job was to manage Messi, Suarez and Neymar on the field. At PSG, he found a “tactical dirt road” and gave up medals to form a winning team in his own way. Abel Ferreira has remained at Palmeiras for years with a different squad profile, with fewer stars and more power to the coach.
Returning to Real Madrid, the club always opts for stars. The bet for the bench is for Alvaro Arbeloa, a former player who spent seven seasons as a professional at the club. Because if the newcomer doesn’t have much experience as a coach, at least he has a lot of experience at Real Madrid. In the bathroom, perfume will not come out, but it can come out clean.
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