All hail football’s “teacher coach”
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By Jesse Fink, 29 Apr 2009 Jesse Fink is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Bayern Munich, football, Jurgen Klinsmann, World Football
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, right, celebrates with forward Miroslav Klose at the end of the World Cup, Group A soccer match between Germany and Poland, at the Dortmund stadium, Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2006. Germany won 1-0. The other teams in Group A are Ecuador and Costa Rica. AP Photo/Murad Sezer
How the mighty fall. German superclub Bayern Munich has fired Jürgen Klinsmann after just eight months in the job, an amazing state of affairs when you consider that Klinsmann, Germany’s folk hero at the 2006 World Cup, was so in demand he could have signed anywhere and for just about any amount of money.
But after starting his club coaching career brightly, amid the attendant mists of hype and optimism, his reputation began to wane and, after crashing out of the UEFA Champions League and the DFB Cup, a 1-0 home league loss to Schalke 04 at the Allianz Arena in Munich sealed his fate. Bayern, a club used to sitting atop the Bundesliga perch, is also currently sitting in equal third with Hamburg and Stuttgart behind Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin, but only three points behind Wolfsburg with five games to play.
A not insurmounstable lead, but for the Bavarian giants, to even be in third at this stage of the season is unacceptable by any measure, let alone with a former Germany national-team coach at the helm and stars of the wattage of Luca Toni and Franck Ribery on their roster.
Brutal, perhaps, but this is not a club that mucks around – even with national heroes.
What Klinsmann’s story underlines is the danger to many clubs of falling for a “player coach” over a “teacher coach”.
A “teacher coach”, a term Iran manager Afshin Ghotbi introduced me to, is as exactly as it sounds: someone, usually a man who never achieved much as a player himself, who has done all the groundwork to assume a position of such responsibility, who has fastidiously studied every facet of the game, who is familiar with training and tactical innovations, who has gathered experience and wisdom through legwork and failure, who can impart valuable knowledge to his players and know they will listen and inspire them to become better footballers and human beings in the process.
Sort of a like a footballing Glenn Holland or a John Keating.
Ghotbi is one. Pim Verbeek is one. As is Guus Hiddink, Jose Mourinho, Klinsmann’s Bayern predecessor Ottmar Hitzfeld and his Nationalmannschaft replacement, Joachim Löw.
The Socceroos have had a few over the years, such as the aforementioned Hiddink, Terry Venables, Frank Arok and Joe Vlasits.
The “player coach” is the complete opposite: a manager that has arrived in his vaulted position by virtue of the career he had on the park and the notoriety he achieved as a result. Usually they are young, have scant qualifications and are ill-equipped to assume the mantle of life guide to footballers not that much younger or inexperienced than themselves.
Think of Alan Shearer, Gianfranco Zola, Ruud Gullit, Diego Maradona and, closer to these shores, Graham Arnold and Frank Farina.
They might luck out with one or two good seasons but over a longer period of time – if they are allowed to coach that long – and under pressure their deficiencies quickly become apparent.
In football, as in life, there is no substitute for experience and just playing football and scoring goals does not a coach make. That’s not to say “player coaches” can contribute some valuable things to a dressing-room, as we have seen with Maradona and the thrall in which he is held inside the sheds of the Albicelestes, but up against good teams and shrewd tacticians of the calibre of a Mourinho or Hiddink, the likelihood is sooner or later they will be found wanting.
And that, sadly, is precisely the fate that has befallen Klinsmann.
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Art Sapphire said | April 29th 2009 @ 7:50am | Report comment
Why are you comparing your so called “teacher” coaches like Hiddink and Mourinho with “player coaches” like Farina and Arnold. Its disingenuous.
Their is no substitute for football intelligence. It does not matter if you had an esteemed player career or not.
If you don’t have football intelligence then your chances of succeeding in the managerial caper are zero.
Its just that when a “player” manager fails everyone takes notice because of their fame.
What then do you call the hundreds of men of limited footballing ability who fail at the caper and get sacked every year?
Do we call them “failed teacher coaches” ?
Here is a list of so called “player” coaches with footballing intelligence and their managerial records.
Miguel Munoz – played 223 games with Real Madrid – Won 2 Euro Cups 1956, 57 as player.
He then became the longest serving and most successful manager in the clubs history.
In 14 seasons under his reign, Real won 9 La Liga titles, 2 European Cups 1960, 1966.
He also took Spain to Euro 84 Final in 1984.
Johan Cruyff – Football visionary – As a player won 3 European Cups with Ajax.
He became Barcelona’s longest serving and most sucessful manager in its history.
4 consecutive La Liga titles, 1 European Cup.
Giovanni Trapattoni – played 274 games with Milan won 2 European Cups.
6 Serie A titles and 1 European Cup with Juventus.
Not enough room here to list all the other titles he has won in his 30+ year managerial career.
Other players to have won European Cups as a player and as a manager include Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Rijkaard.
Marcello Lippi – played 274 games for Sampdoria – as manager 5 Italian titles, 1 UCL, 1 World Cup.
Finally, why is Zola mentioned in the same breath as Arnold and Farina.
The man played with football intelligence and is showing every sign that he will make the transition to successful manager.
Tom said | April 29th 2009 @ 8:05am | Report comment
Apologies to introduce an AFL reference to a football article, but I think Michael Voss is another example destined for the same fate.
Good article Jesse. Though you probably should restrain yourself from mentioning Ghotbi in every article from this point on. Although I admit the comparison with Daei is an interesting one.
Simmo said | April 29th 2009 @ 8:15am | Report comment
Lucas Toni?
whiskeymac said | April 29th 2009 @ 8:46am | Report comment
interesting and probably true in a lot of cases but certaily not all and there are some that have mixed successes…Hoddle was quite good (at Swindon anyway), then there’s Dalglish, Souness, Graham the list goes on (sorry, not so knoweldgable on other countries players but Capello and Mancini or Dunga even).
Venables also had a fantastic playing career didnt he?
Klinsmann i thought cld put much of his National success down to Low (or was that just a nasty rumour?) and the fact the germans were playing at home (which always helps). and Marco Van Basten was on the end of a smiliar fate at Ajax – and a very damning article in the guardian online earlier on this week….
will be interesting to see what happens to Shearer at Newcastle and Diego at Argentina….
i think though that there is a lot ot be said of being a good player not necessarily meaning you are a good coach or manager and you ould hope that those players who do make the transition also make the effort to study thegame from the dug out perspective. Hopefully the players retiring, or recently retired, from the socceroos who go into maangement learn the ropes like the more accomplished managers, be they from a “teacher” or “player” background.
Midfielder said | April 29th 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Must go nowbut in RL Bobby Fulton is arguably the best player ever and a very successful coach…will post latter..
Pippinu said | April 29th 2009 @ 9:39am | Report comment
A bloke who built his whole career on diving was never going to amount to much as a manager.
Luke W said | April 29th 2009 @ 9:41am | Report comment
The first thing that came to mind when I read this article was the system Queensland use in the State of Origin series. They have Mal Meninga as their head coach (a “player” coach if I ever did see one), but more importantly, Neil Henry as assistant coach. Meninga obviously provides the inspiration, passion and experience, while Henry brings the tactics and formations. Perhaps a mix of the two types of coaches is best, judging by the dominance of Queensland in recent years (which is definitely not due to the likes of Slater, Folau, Inglis, Lockyer, Thurston, Smith, Price and Civoniceva…)
whiskeymac said | April 29th 2009 @ 9:50am | Report comment
beckenbauer also….
This article sort of compliments Jeremy Wilson’s (of The Times) piece on Manager of the month (in which he choses Hodgson) wherein, at the end of the piece, he has a quote from Andy Roxburgh – which i will cut an paste below. I only add this because it highlights what other managers/ technicians consider to be essential ingredients to becoming a good coach.. and a past history isnt one of them:
Arsene Wenger describes him [ Roy Hodgson] as one of the “super competent” coaches in England football, while his thirst to learn and improve, even at the age of 61, is underlined by his ongoing involvement in coaching seminars with Uefa.
“‘He has a great eye for the game and he is a wonderful communicator,” said Uefa technical director Andy Roxburgh. “But the really good thing is that he can do it in any one of half-a-dozen languages. His real gift, however, is his practical ability on the pitch. He is an expert at organising teams, the tactical side of the game.
“He has a true talent for it. He is very pragmatic and very good at marshalling teams not to lose matches, but he can also organise the positive aspect with his players.
“Just a couple of weeks ago Sir Alex Ferguson talked to me about how the game has gone global. There are some managers who have that global view; Arsene Wenger, Gerard Houllier and Sir Alex himself.
“That global view is very important and Roy has it. It is about knowing the game in the country where you are working but being aware of the trends developing elsewhere, knowing the good players. Seeing that bigger picture is a great advantage.”
whiskeymac said | April 29th 2009 @ 9:54am | Report comment
sorry that last post should have said Jeremy Wilson from The Daily Telegraph (UK) not the Times…
Brian said | April 29th 2009 @ 10:02am | Report comment
At least Klinsman did better than Mattahuis or Brehme. On the wider topic whats important for a coach is to have played at some level but essentially coaching is about the brain and playing about physical abilities. Certainly the biggest coaching flop I can remember in terms of consistent failure was any ex-player – Kevin Keegan.