There can’t have been too many occasions in the history of European football when three of the biggest teams on the continent have all been looking for new managers simultaneously.
Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are on the hunt for new leaders, with their respective managers either quitting or being quitted at the end of the current season. In other words, just a few weeks away.
And that means there are three huge gaping holes at the top of the sport at a time when the managerial pool, although long and wide in terms of quantity, is pretty shallow in terms of quality.
Filling any one of these vacancies would be tricky at the best of times. Filling three at the same time is going to be a proper challenge.
The managerial pool, although long and wide in terms of quantity, is pretty shallow in terms of quality
At least two of those clubs, possible all three, were interested in Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso who has done an incredible job leading his side to within touching distance of winning the Bundesliga. But the former Liverpool and Bayern player poured cold water on those plans last week when he said he would be staying at Leverkusen for at least one more season.
Another name on the list for these European giants is Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim. Like Alonso, he is young, hungry and has got his current club firing on all cylinders, following up last season’s title triumph with another successful campaign that could see them claim back-to-back crowns. But while he has a lot of potential, he doesn’t have any experience of the big leagues, which makes him a bit of a risk.
Then, of course, there is Roberto De Zerbi, the darling of English football who can do no wrong in the media’s eyes despite having a remarkably mediocre first full season in charge of Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Italian has guided Brighton to the middle of the table with just a handful of wins in the last two dozen matches, yet everyone still seems to think the sun shines out his bottom. Even Jürgen Klopp was showering him with praise the other week when the two teams met at Anfield, which gives you a pretty big hint as to who the German thinks should fill his boots.
Simone Inzaghi at Inter Milan is building himself a solid reputation and is now closing in on his first Serie A title. But you could argue he already has one of the top jobs at a huge club, so why would he be tempted to leave? Money, I suppose. But that isn’t always everyone’s priority.
Another possible candidate is current Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann, who is still regarded as one of the brightest young talents in European management despite being unceremoniously sacked by Bayern after just one season.
Obviously, the German champions are unlikely to go back to Nagelsmann with their tail between their legs, but I wouldn’t put it past Liverpool or Barcelona to offer him a route out of the international arena and back into the domestic one. Their desire to do so could depend on how Germany do at Euro 24, but that will mean potentially waiting till July to have someone in place, which is not ideal.
Of course, the pool isn’t just limited to up-and-coming managers. There are some more experienced older heads available like José Mourinho, Joachim Löw, Zinedine Zidane and Antonio Conte. But most of those feel like they are either past their sell-by date or very high maintenance.
As I said, having three massive clubs on the managerial hunt at the same time is a rather unusual situation and certainly not one that I can recall happening often before.
Should be interesting to see how it all pans out over the next couple of months and see which team panics first and appoints Rafa Benitez.
Or Neil Warnock...
90 minutes of nothingness
In the modern era, big football games rarely live up to the hype. But I don’t think many recent matches have fallen as far short of expectation as last Sunday’s “must watch” encounter between Manchester City and Arsenal. (*)
It was a truly dire snorefest that would have needed to raise its levels quite considerably to be officially classified as ‘boring’.
Okay, maybe I am being a bit harsh, but when two teams that normally play fast, attractive football come up against each other you expect a lot more than a complete non-event.
Yes, both teams knew that a defeat would probably have serious consequences for their title aspirations. But I don’t think anyone thought that fear would translate into 90 minutes of utter tedium.
That the two teams ended up sharing the points was probably a fair outcome, if a rather predictable one. Having said that, for stealing 90 minutes of my life, and the lives of countless millions around the globe, I am not entirely sure either team deserved a point.
Meanwhile, if there’s one thing you can rely on in football, it’s Roy Keane not to mince his words. The former Manchester United legend, now a Sky Sports pundit, endured the aforementioned must-watch game and, like the rest of us, was entirely unmoved by the spectacle unfolding in front of him.
However, while he didn’t hold back from criticising both teams as whole, it was one player in particular that was on the receiving end of Keane’s legendary wrath – Erling Haaland. “The level of his general play is so poor, and not just today. He has to improve that, he’s almost like a League Two player,” Keane said.
Ouch!
This is a forward who scored 52 goals in all competitions last season and has 29 so far this time round, with 18 of those coming in the Premier League. By anyone’s standards that is a magnificent return for any player at any club at any level.
Keane’s harsh words prompted an immediate and passionate response from Haaland’s manager, with Pep Guardiola describing his number 9 as “exceptional” and the “best striker in the world”. I suspect most of us would probably go with Guardiola on this one.
While I can see what Keane means in that Haaland doesn’t have a lot to his game other than scoring, when you are that good at scoring you don’t need very much else to your game.
As far as I know, nobody has ever claimed that Haaland is the complete player, primarily because he isn’t. And he never will be. But there can’t be many who would dispute the claim that he is the complete striker.
Having said that, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in League Two for a season. The goal-scoring carnage would be epic.
(*) Contrast this game with last Thursday’s clash between Chelsea and Manchester United. No hype, all action, proper thrilling. Seems to prove it’s the pressure of being in the title race that makes great teams turn awful.
E-mail: james.calvert@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade