It’s win or die in top-level football, and Suhail Seedat believes that the pressures and media scrutiny of management has a detrimental effect on the game. Do managers behave with less class than they used to as they become defensive about their jobs and their reputations? Has football in general forgotten the values and characteristics that make it so popular?
Banished to the stands following his diversionary and well executed ‘sarcastic’ applause to the fourth official, José Mourinho managed to steal the headlines in what became a rather turgid and untidy affair between two of the biggest clubs in the world. The pair have battled, rather than played, each other over the past three weeks and inevitably familiarity bred stalemate.
The decision to dismiss the very eager and haphazard Pepe to the changing rooms in the Champions League clash after a lunging and reckless challenge on the prefect of the Catalan Theatre School, Daniel Alves, changed the dynamics of the game sharply as the Spanish champions reigned supreme over their most fierce rivals.
Real Madrid were in hysterics, Mourinho remained chippy and cried foul against UEFA officials who have gone against him and claimed they have instead chosen to err towards the puritans of football, Barcelona. Feeding a weird sense of paranoia in the local Madrid press, Mourinho has been hell-bent, in an attempt to win decisions, on proving that Barcelona are the most protected club by the authorities.
In his post-match rant, Mourinho chose the option of acting prudish and facetious to deflect attention from what had been a poor tactical strategy. For a man who presents an image of scholarly excellence and sharp intuition, the venom spouted by the Portuguese manager suggested otherwise. The bitterness espoused towards Barcelona and UEFA scuffs the admirable qualities of the man as a manager.
In essence, the lack of humility and graceful acceptance of defeat against Barcelona does ask questions of the dying trait of sportsmanship in top-level football. Unlike other sports, where the battle remains on the field, the ring, or the track, football has decided to extend the narrative before and after the game encouraged by those who make money from such provocation.
Do managers need to now buck up their ideas to protect the fibre of the world’s most watched sport?
Football has evolved rapidly over the past 20 years, becoming a commercial machine, de-oxygenating all its surroundings in order to become the primary object within the community. Its power to influence socially and politically illustrates the strides, albeit unwelcome, into the different spheres of life. There is little chance of avoiding football, certainly in Europe.
Consequently, football clubs have become global brands and the quest to increase revenues and profits is seen as significant as to winning a trophy or to gain European football qualification. For the board, to maximise its corporate brand and sporting goodwill, the results on the pitch must reflect the claptrap from PR and marketing gurus who have exposed the club into new regions and territories.
The emphasis has shifted from chairmen and is now placed on the shoulders of the manager, who must constantly deliver. The change and progression in the business-football world has resulted in the dynamics of management also being altered. It’s a results based business, with an emphasis on business, as clubs worry about their bottom lines. Managers realise they have to win games at all costs to achieve their targets, but they have forgotten the primary objective of football: entertain the masses after a week of hardship from the working world.
Managers are seldom given the opportunity to build a dynasty in modern football, mirroring the business world where CEOs and chairmen are moved on after a disastrous financial year or performance in the public. Managers too know this, feeling they can build up a reputation within a league to uproot elsewhere.
Primal instincts dictate that once results fall away, the defensive barrier results in further deflection with blame being laid elsewhere. Pride, for a manager, is a huge commodity - the time spent at a club and being emotionally invested manifests affection and love for the surroundings.
Some managers build a cocooned environment to get the best out of the players, and, to some extent, the fans; a cauldron-like atmosphere can help drive the team to success, especially during the final and important stretch of the season. Siege mentality can work but the downside is it can result in loss of benevolence. That risk is worth taking for some managers, considering the circumstances that could mean the manager, rather than the players, is made the scapegoat.
That’s not to say the managers of yesteryear like, Sir Matt Busby, Bob Paisley and Jock Stein, can’t be replicated in the modern game. Nonetheless, the leading football figures fail to understand the beauty and essence of the game. What happened last Wednesday night was the direct impact of badgering and tedious playground luring into a fight - a fight which backfired in the face of the protagonist, which some may claim to be poetic justice.
Tags: Jose Mourinho, Managers
Superb article and the lack of ability to take defeat on the chin has now reached epidemic proportions in the game. We should therefore cherish those managers who generally manage to rise above it. Look lower down the leagues and it’s no surprise that managers know how to behave better - Brendan Rodgers and Brian McDermott are two in particular who stand out for their ability to avoid Cyclopean tendencies, although Neil Warnock perhaps even trumps Jose for un-sportsmanship!