This is the era of the “super manager” in top flight European Football: Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Arsene Wenger, Marcelo Biesla, Antonio Conte, Simeone, Zidane, Pochettino, and Guardiola.
Some solid names with a number of championship trophies under their belts. But who on the list is regarded as the most influential coach in the world?
This coach has mentored numerous coaches from the start of their managerial careers and molded them into the great coaches they are today. He is great with players, and most players would agree, he has been a huge influence on their careers as well. Many of these players actually played for him, and with his influence, decided to become managers in top leagues with top clubs.
This man is a mysterious figure because he never gives interviews, only pre and post-match press conferences. His brand of football is a 3-3-1-3 formation with an attacking style and pressing high up the pitch. He’s all about promoting youth, pushing players to their limits, and he’s famous for his obsessive use of video at training and to prepare for matches.
But can this coach still be considered one of the best coaches in the world when his trophy collection is relatively small?
The answer is a resounding “hell yes”. He commands so much respect in the world of football, it’s crazy.
Find out who he is…I know you will be surprised!
While there’s a stark lack of formal data and research on parental rage at sports events, it probably wouldn’t do much to halt an alarming trend. Youth participation in organized team sports in a slow decline. Figures from a 2014 survey by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association report 26 million children aged six to 17 played team sports that year, down 4% from 2009. Not a huge drop, but noteworthy.
More than anything, pushy parents can hurt a child’s enjoyment of sport. As a youth coach, I have seen it all when it comes to pushy parents. They force their kids to play when they are injured. They scream and put all sorts of pressure on them to perform. The pay huge sums of money to put their kids in extra training with coaches who are there just for the money and don’t give a damn about the kids. I could go on for a long time…
The evidence can be also found on YouTube. Type “crazy sports parents” and kiss your afternoon goodbye as you watch shaky amateur videos of football coaches punching umpires; a mother landing a solid punch on a male soccer ref; and local news coverage of kids doused with pepper spray during an all-in parent brawl.
Please parents…allow your kids to be kids and enjoy sport like it’s supposed to be played and enjoyed. Read the article a few times; the evidence is there. It is alarming how many kids drop out of sport because of parents who just don’t get it. Don’t be that parent !!
Ander Herrera celebrated his 28th birthday with fellow Manchester United team mates and the celebration ended with parking tickets for all of them, except for David De Gea who arrived late. Keepers never get fined because we are psychic and know when to arrive late so we avoid the fine! LOL.
Given the United stars’ six-figure weekly wages, the £60 fine for each of them merely served as a reminder that no matter how much money you have or who you are, don’t park in a no parking zone as you will get a ticket.
Sometimes being late has its positives!
Please let me wake up and find out this story is just a dream. Why would a player of his stature need to be involved in a drug cartel ??
He has played in four World Cups and for European club sides Monaco and Barcelona, where he won the Spanish league four times and the Champions League twice.
The US treasury department says he acted as a “front person” in this drug cartel through his football school and several health and sports outlets.
I need to state that for now, these are just accusations and the player has co-operated with investigations and has made a voluntary declaration to the attorney general. So nice of him to co-operate…
I am a firm believer one is “Always innocent until proven guilty” – With such a solid playing career, I really hope he is innocent !!
Petr Cech, we all know him as being one of the top football keepers in the world, but little did we know he is also a talented ice hockey goaltender. With the huge pads and his height, he will most probably take up most of the net leaving attackers without much openings to aim at.
During a recent ice hockey testimonial for Martin Havlat, Cech is seen stepping onto the ice with ease, carrying a huge grin, padded up in hockey goalkeeping gear and accepting the crowd’s applause as he makes his way towards his temporary team-mates.
He showed he is no stranger to the ice and looked right at home in the miniature goal, showing quick reaction saves, but he couldn’t keep them all out…conceding three goals during the first period, which is all he played.
Moral of the story…a keeper will always be a keeper no matter what sport they play !! #KeeperUnion
Two players on Iran’s national soccer team were banned for life from playing for their country on Thursday, after they participated in a match with their club team in Greece against an Israeli team, an Iranian governmental official said.
The Iranian government does not recognize the state of Israel and has no official ties with the country. A longstanding rule by the country’s Islamic government prohibits Iranian athletes from competing against Israeli athletes in any contest or tournament, including the Olympics.
FIFA has rules that forbid political interference in countries’ national teams. There was no immediate reaction from FIFA on the decision by Iran to ban the players.
Please FIFA and Iran…do the right thing and have this ban overturned. I truly feel for these players! I’m sure all they want to do is play football for their country in the most important event in football which is the World Cup in Russia.
Over the years, I have had my fair share of horrendous dressing rooms, but I have also been fortunate enough to experience top class facilities as well. A few times, our team had to get changed in the middle of the African bush as there were no change rooms! Yes folks, that was pro football at its finest.
Sometimes I look back at my playing career and some of the things my teammates and I had to do are laughable. Most people will think I am lying as that does not happen in professional football. Well, as I have said many times before, in Africa it does happen and everything is possible. I just bust out a huge LOL!
Then comes Man City, with all the money in the world, and what they want they get ?? This too is laughable, but in a good way. We are talking about new, state-of-the-art dressing rooms. Man, do I wish I could experience this locker room. It is more like a 5-star hotel instead of a change room.
My favourite addition is the transparent tunnel. For a mere £9,000 per year, fans can also join the new “Tunnel Club”, allowing VIP’s to take advantage of this transparent tunnel. Where do we sign up?
I thoroughly wish this transparent tunnel was around 15-years ago so we could see Fabregas throw pizza at Alex Ferguson or the well publicized Viera vs Keane tunnel fight…what great entertainment!
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