AC Milan will kick off their summer not searching for new players but instead club Vice-President Adriano Galliani must start his search for the second successive summer for a new manager after head coach Leonardo decided to step down from his position at the club with a year left on his contract. But the fact Leonardo has left so soon does just go to show you how hard the management business is these days and exposes the revolving door syndrome that lurks beneath the surface of the European game.
Leonardo, a remarkable player, likeable chap and decent manager to boot stepped down in an amicable manner as you might imagine, but just when it looked as the club was beginning to get an even footing once more, a departure like this is sure to set them back in their preparations and you have to question the decision to appoint him in the first place.
Upon his departure the Brazilian stated “We have decided together that the time has come to end our relationship, in the way we have always done, by talking,” said Leonardo in today’s press conference. I never thought I would sit on the bench.” Leonardo has been involved at Milan in various capacities for 13 years now, first as a player, and then ambassador, then an executive before going onto manage the side.
The defeat to Man Utd in the Champions League second round did still highlight that there’s some serious work to be done at Milan and after the one-year Leonardo experiment, although carried out with the best intentions, it was perhaps a bit short-sighted. Galliani said as much offering this; “I must say that I had to work hard last year to convince Leonardo to become the coach.” Ancelotti did recommend his appointment, but the fact that the hierarchy had to push so hard to convince Leonardo in the first place speaks volumes that he never really intended to hang around for too long.
Contrast this with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, a man with football in his blood. Guardiola though has moaned about the demands of modern management and the pressure created by the incessant media coverage of the game. He’s stated that he doesn’t imagine he’ll be manager of the club in five years time and that he may need a break from the game. Jose Mourinho too seems to be merely using Inter Milan as a stop off along his managerial merry-go-round waiting until something more appealing comes along.
This truly does put into perspective the accomplishments of the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Man Utd for 23 years and Arsene Wenger, manager of Arsenal for 13 years, not to mention the likes of Dario Gradi at Crewe, Guy Roux in his time at Auxerre, Graham Turner at Hereford and John Coleman at Accrington Stanley, one of football’s hardest workers.
It does expose the issue of a revolving door syndrome at the underbelly of football management at the moment. David Moyes is the fifth longest serving coach in the English football league at the moment despite only having coached the club for 8 seasons, with Merseyside rival Rafael Benitez already surprisingly as high as 9th place having coached Liverpool for 6 seasons. Leonardo’s one season at Milan does expose the short-termism that has gripped the modern European game, the hire and fire culture is terrible, but the poor choices of Chairman and boards all across Europe must be held accountable too.
Blackburn at the beginning of last season wanted to appoint Steve McClaren as manager, but fearing a backlash on the terraces from the Ewood Park faithful, they opted for former England Captain Paul Ince instead. But after 17 league games in charge Ince was sacked and Sam Allardyce was drafted in to save the club from relegation, whereas McClaren has just recently gone on to win the Dutch league title with FC Twente in his second season at the club. It would appear the wrong initial call was made, despite it being rectified by Fat Sam. The saddening thing about this though, is that this is not an isolated incident, just one of many every season.
I understand that football is a results-driven business and that the time afforded to managers these days is becoming shorter and shorter but it’s just getting a bit ridiculous. Real Madrid have been hindered by their propensity for continually changing managers and they have surrendered, albeit with a fight this season, their hegemony to the all-conquering Barcelona side as a result. Perhaps clubs all over the Europe will soon realise that in order to have any lasting success, you need to give managers a bit of time to make an impact, but in the case of Galliani and Leonardo at Milan, it helps if you pick the right one in the first place.
Anyone care to share an example of a manager pushed out too soon before he was able to make his own mark on the team? Or one that was just the wrong man for the job?
Written By James McManus
