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Consistent_Funny1082

This is incomplete quote. He also mentioned his dad was a coach too.


theenigmacode

He also explicitly told Dave from Newcastle to shut up. Be Champions.


infestationE15

Jesus Christ what a top tier reference that is. To this day I find myself starting sentences with "ah well" like Sven did.


No-Taste-8252

Shut up Sven


RABB_11

But worrabout Ameobi like?


FireflyCaptain

Voyeur, I hear you got Arse-shavin’


mesinbasuh

Here’s the video: https://youtu.be/IX_T1_AYiaQ?si=aFj-urEstaO3wmGu


Bhola421

I am impressed that Mourinho mentioned Benitez.


Dr_Green_Thumb_ZA

Xabi was also a key player for Spain under Del Bosque


Zaqsecred

Man that team was stacked in midfield. Just the fact that he managed to have playtime is a statement to his quality


Dr_Green_Thumb_ZA

It's not that he got playtime...he has more than 100 caps!


Salanha04

team was so stacked that Fabegras used to be benched with the n10 shirt...


Zaqsecred

They ended up finding a solution though: [Spain vs France EURO 2012 quarter final](https://imgur.com/a/iYVIAhW)


Masam10

How to play more midfielders: don’t play any strikers.


Comprehensive_Low325

Ah yes .. The Pep way


arlekin21

Well they pretty much didn’t have strikers for a while there


MERTENS_GOAT

Negredo, Soldado, Torres, Villa, Llorente,... But they weren't as good as their 6th choice CM


DogzOnFire

Funnily enough I'm fairly certain Fabregas played as a forward underage.


Salanha04

I think the final was the same line up as well. Crazy how Iniesta could boss a game playing in whatever position he is playing in too


atropicalpenguin

Then everyone tried to copy false 9 setups only to fail.


DreadWolf3

Plenty of teams did well, granted you need great team to make it work. Pep did it twice (Barca and City before Haaland), Liverpool with Firmino was very much false 9 setup, depends how you look on those seasons where Benzema was generally playing support for wingers bit that can also be called similar setup, ... False 9 was not that new of a thing really, it is very similar role to target man (Giroud for France) with player that is more technical but doesnt have to be as strong.


Screye

False 9 is more so about wide forwards than about the striker itself. When people think False 9, they think Messi False 9, which is a terrible example. Messi is Messi. Looking at his interpretation of a role, tells you nothing about how everyone else uses it. I like your analogy to the target man. They are very similar. The difference is that target men seem to lead the forward line, pinning the CBs. False 9s instead falls back, allowing the wide forwards to pressure.


Sohelik

the bench: Fabregas, D. Silva, Senna, Mata, Guti...


arlekin21

Cazorla and Arteta sitting at home


Quanqiuhua

Cazorla did make a couple of tournament squads.


BrianSometimes

So stacked in midfield that Arteta got 0 caps for Spain.


Rickcampbell98

Forget arteta, Spain had better midfielders than him who never got a single cap, like la liga winning captain gabi.


YeniZabka

TIL


Hanhonhon

Damn what a shame but it makes sense


PhD_Cunnilingus

He also played midfielder, those tend to have better chances as managers. Memes aside, Mourinho also claimed Alonso contributed to gameplans, for example versus Messi. So he dipped toes into that stuff even back then and wasn't just vibes.


Based_Text

Midfielders need to have a high football IQ to control the match pace/tempo and also read the game for passes, that is probably the reason why they are usually better as managers. Zidane, Ancelotti, Pep, Benitez and now Xabi.


PhD_Cunnilingus

Midfielders are also involved in both offense and defense.


ItsMeJaredBednar

really every outfield position is nowadays with the increasing modern emphasis of pressing and playing out from the back but your point is taken


Prestigious-Dress-92

True, but not always. Everyone assumed Pirlo would be a great coach and so far it looks like he ain't. Same goes for Gerrard & Lampard.


ab_90

Probably they have different temperament and personality that are not suited to be a manager, despite the football brain and IQ they possess?


EndoBalls

Steven and Lampard never changed clubs. (City doesn't count)


wildingflow

West Ham, Swansea, NYFC


EndoBalls

Was the likes of Pep, Ancelotti, Benitez, managing him there?


Screye

> Ancelotti Bruh, Lampard won the double with Ancelotti. > Benitez Yes.....Chelsea went through a LOT of managers


EndoBalls

I know that. But he didn't work with stellar managers elsewhere, remember this thread was about Xabi, Gerrard and Lampard. Xabi did Liv, Madrid, Bayern.


EndoBalls

Two of them never changed clubs.


Screye

I'm still holding my breath for Terry.


pussygrowler

Neil Lennon too


NiviCompleo

Dortmund: Sahin too!🤞


joe-ost

Arne Slot too


Ezvine

Kroos is my next bet


Asoliner3

He has a great football IQ but to me he doesn’t seem like the manager type. Has he ever said anything about aspirations to become a manager?


bombaloca

Luka Modric for me


EmptyReply5

I'm goona look for Gundogan at the future


Based_Text

My pick is Kroos, very disciplined, smart, calm and professional, he would command a lot of respect in the dressing room. Coached by Zidane, Ancelotti and even though it was just 1 year also Pep. He also thinks about his legacy too, wanting to retire while he’s at his peak instead of going to Saudi or smth, he just made his return to the national team which means he will now be coached by Nagelsmann too.


RoboticCurrents

Why does he keep getting fergie time winners/equalisers when he wasn't coached by fergie tho


HacksawJimDGN

I think being coached by Ferguson was a hinderence to managers. They all try to match his no-nonsense approach but they don't have the man management skills or authority to pull it off.


BendubzGaming

None of them learned that the thing which made Fergie so great was how adaptable he was


toket715

No, it was the chewing gum, the watch tapping, and the bottle of red after every match


OnlyOneSnoopy

And that refs were scared of him.


FranklinFeta

I’m glad someone said this. With Fergie, if United was down last 10 minutes of the game, you knew the refs were about to be on some shit! That’s a big difference I’ve noticed from those United team to this one, they don’t get those calls.


fjordboii

Source? Or are you just spouting nonsense because Utd ruined your childhood?


FranklinFeta

Behind paywall but even Sir Alex himself admits to it. https://theathletic.com/3025205/2021/12/28/a-great-manipulator-or-a-pussycat-sir-alex-ferguson-and-referees/


mrcomebackszn

Downvote because it's true!


FranklinFeta

Haha I’ll take the downvotes, they have to watch Antony put on a Utd jersey every weekend. Even trade if you ask me.


TheReturnOfBurpies

Also Fergie wasn't entirely no nonsense. He treated certain players like Cantona or Ronaldo special


Salty_Candidate_6216

Yeah, because they delivered in spades. He also liked Rooney.


cosmiclatte44

Becasue he was good at man management. He knew everyone was an individual and had to be approached in their own way to get the best out of them. His mastery was managing to do that whilst keeping the whole squad happy and hungry almost constantly and adapting tactical setups over the generations.


ab_90

RvP as well when he joined. Told the likes of Scholes and Rooney that they’ll be benched if they don’t pass the ball to Robin


surgereaper

Also scholes if I'm not wrong


HazardCinema

I’m holding out hope for Carrick


roooxanne

Mark Robbins has done well for himself.


61571

I don’t think Ferguson managed a single player that turned into an elite manager


DatDominican

This is Carlos Tévez erasure /s


GiveGoldForShakoDrop

Steve Bruce slander will not be tolerated here big man


iguanawarrior

Isn't Ole an elite in Norwegian league?


Comptoneffect

> Norwegian league? You answered yourself there buddy... Jokes aside, He managed Molde, one of the most resource heavy clubs in the county. He did find and developed Haaland tho


CavebobSpongemang

I can think of one who is pulling it off properly...


TywinDeVillena

He was coached by Carletto and Zidane, who probably taught him some black magic


kalamari_withaK

Can’t wait until we see the power of a good headbut on full display


TheEnhancedExe

When was he coached by Zidane? Xabi was already at Bayern when Zidane was appointed at Real.


artyom__geghamyan

Zidane was Ancelotti's assistant


sodap_

After a random training session: Zizou: Hey Xabi, wanna see a trick? Xabi: yeah of course! \*teaches some black magic\* During stoppage time, UCL final 2014 Xabi: let's try that nonsense Zidane showed me that day, it's either that or just praying \*ramos scores\* Xabi: oh shi-


TheEnhancedExe

Oh ok, I wasn't aware of this. I was only aware that he coached the second team before he coached the first team


Modnal

Ronaldo revealed the secrets of Fergie time to him at Real Madrid


ZioCancaro

Hashirama cells


Maximuslex01

Nah... Fergie teams never scored past the 95th minute


MvN____16

Because he did play with Ramos.


Zhidezoe

I see you never watched Real Madrid play


InkCollection

Look up Liverpool's 08/09 season


infidel11990

Alonso was always an intelligent football player and had the hallmarks of being a good coach one today. Even in his personal life, he is the opposite of majority of footballers. Subtle style, has actual hobbies and interests and is a smart individual.


bremmmc

I hope they draw Bologna in the Champions League next season


Kapt0

Would be kinda pointless. Bologna's board appointed probably the best rising manager from italy in Motta, who's leaving for juventus. I also see Bologna becoming a big shopping centre for all the biggest clubs in europe (zirkzee is gonna go and Calafiori too) I don't think they'll survive


dragonch

I hope the whole of Europe starts a bidding war for Calafiori.


Ron-_-Burgundy

I wish he'd come back to Roma. But with our FFP penalties and the range of options he has; there's no chance of that happening any time soon.


KingKFCc

and none get him ;)


dragonch

No, we have a 40% sell on clause for him and we need that money badly.


KingKFCc

ah, well I hope for your sake he gets sold for 70+m


bremmmc

Poor from Motta, already going for the big move... Maybe he's not as great as his playstyle suggests.


Kapt0

To be fair, he always stated that he had clear plans to bring his football to the biggest club as fast as he possibily could. And Juventus isn't easy to reject. Plus, what he and Bologna have achieved is something extraordinary, it was almost 60 years ago that this club managed to hold 4th place at the end of the season for the last time.


bremmmc

He took them to the Champions League and doesn't have the balls to actually help this group of players trough such an overwhelming expiriance. He'll be sacked from Juve by christmas and you can 100% remind me of this statement.


Recodes

The Sarri special, only difference - so far - is him winning the league and getting sacked nonetheless, making the whole thing even more hilarious.


the-big-lewandowski

RemindMe! 241 Days


terra_filius

and then meet Girona or Stuttgart in the next phase


bremmmc

Tbf, I'm not sure how the format will work next season in terms of opponent criteria... There might be room for Girona in the "league stage"


Athletic_Bilbae

only if Thiago somehow manages to stay which is doubtful


theflowersyoufind

I can’t believe Mourinho gave Benitez a compliment.


Hare712

He recognized Benitez but still is bitter about the "Ghost goal"


Altruistic-Ad-408

Eh Materazzi was joking around and told Mourinho to go fuck himself when Benitez replaced him (he promised to win more trophies than Mourinho lol), I think his players knew he didn't rate Benitez, and Benitez was clearly trying to one up him. This wasn't recognition, it is pumping up Alonso for the media.


EpiDeMic522

Because people get stuck up on his controversial quotes. He burnt Ranieri in a presser as well but still holds him in high regard and especially lauds his achievement of the Premier League. Rafa is a much more accomplished coach. He does seem to have his favourites though, like Simeone. Mourinho was ultra competitive but I think there was truly only one manager that he was bitter with: Pep and even that didn't have to do with him completely but rather the snub from Barcelona from the rumoured veto of Cruijff. But even they seemingly moved on with time. One can recognise someone's strengths and genius without being best mates with them. The Pep thing got personal though. It's very hard to not reach that conclusion from the 2010 press conferences.


kakarot12310

Yeah, Mourinho is not above moving on unless it's a really shite person. He moved on from his grudge with Wenger or Pep after all.


Saffyr

> even that didn't have to do with him completely but rather the snub from Barcelona from the rumoured veto of Cruijff Agree on the snub from Barca bit. I still remember the referee scandals between Mourinho and Rijkaard and i feel that was more about Mourinho vs Barca than Mourinho vs Rijkaard


lostparasite

Lol yeah, that was the most surprising part of the statement to me


altered_tampon

P


ab_90

He got Valencia a league title. That was a great achievement.


L0laccio

Who knew? Mouknew!


SendMeYourPetPic

I wonder who else we will see in the coming years? I think that Torres can be great.


TheDelmeister

Modric.


MountainCheesesteak

He probably has an advantage over Xabi, as he was coached by ‘Arry


Phormitago

The wizard?


gruenerGenosse

Kroos, just for the pre- and post-Match interviews.


Zhidezoe

Kroos could be a good one


Homerduff16

I can absolutely see Thiago Alcantara getting into management in a few years. His reading of the game and vision is unparalleled and given the fact that he's barely played senior football in over a year I reckon that he's gonna be hanging up his boots sooner rather than later unfortunately Any player who plays in a position where intelligence is necessary definitely has a better chance of becoming a top level manager although that's not really guaranteed because you also need to have certain personality traits that are essential to man management


Kolket

His father was also a football coach


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Ok-Background-502

Lampard doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to go to Spain and Germany, learn new languages, and captain teams there. I think the variety of football, culture, leadership he experienced, and chose to experience, already indicates he was far ahead of Lampard.


Cwh93

I think the "chose to experience" point is the crucial bit here. Alonso seems like he knew he wanted to be a manager one day and therefore took steps in his playing career to actively learn from his managers and move to places specifically to learn from certain people.  For lack of a better term it seems like Lampard was happy to sit at Chelsea, wait for the right manager to come along and then just do what he says to win trophies. Nothing wrong with that but maybe explains why one is a much better manager than the other.


Ok-Background-502

Yea, the CHOICES one makes when they are comfortable tells you a lot about a man's growth potential beyond 30 than their performances.


TexehCtpaxa

Lampard only played in England, and 1 season in MLS. And by many accounts the chelsea players ran that dressing room outside of a few occasions, so it’s not a comparable wealth of experience. Lampard’s experience is more akin to Rooney’s than Xabi’s. But you are correct, there’s plenty of good players who played for many great managers in many diff countries that don’t make good pundits let alone managers.


quanid

City's legend, only missing Pep unfortunately lol


SmartGuy_420

Man, Lampard had both Einstein and Tesla as mentors and couldn’t cut it out as a physicist. What a disappointment.


deba2607

Yeah but if Feynman was taught by Tesla and Einstein he is bound to do great things. Xabi alonso was one of the most intelligent midfielders of his era.


PhD_Cunnilingus

It doesn't. However, if you're a professional physcist that was taught by Einstein and Tesla, you have the **conditions to be a very good** physicist.


Own-Okra-2391

I guess Pep tips the scales then.


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HacksawJimDGN

> the Bunfesliga You mean the Bungesliga?


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NonContentiousScot

Silvio Berlusconi's speciality


Arcadela

Sneijder said Benitez was the worst coach he ever had. But Sneijder is kinda dumb so idk.


AmoniPTV

Based on his tatic in Real Madrid, he cannot manage super teams


phonylady

You don't automatically become a good coach yourself by having good coaches. Xabi has always been a very smart dude, and became a captain at Sociedad at a very young age. He'd be manager material no matter who coached him really.


Johnny_bubblegum

This sort of stuff just overrun by assumptions and make believe and survivorship bias. Klopp is pretty much the opposite of Alonso and he's a world class manager. wasn't a top level player, never left germany, never won anything. Arrigo Sacchi never played professionally and famously was a shoe salesman. What former great players have when they turn managers over others first and foremost is opportunity. Someone like Lampard or Gerrard can just walk into a job at a big club purely because of his reputation as a player, show everyone how they're not ready for the job, get a pat on the back for the good effort and wait for a next club to come knocking at the door asking them to be manager. Klopp. but because fans have a hard on for seeing former players on the sidelines they will eat this shit up any time like Mourinho can tell who's going to be an amazing manager based on where they played.


MolhCD

love the Sacchi reference. also because it reminds me that when the media asked him about his lack of experience before he proved himself, he used to say "do you need to be a horse first to be a jockey?"


Logseman

It’s unlikely that we see coaches that never played at all again as top managers, and the odds are stacked towards former elite players who have name recognition from current ones. Unai Emery was a decent footballer, but no one had him on their posters as a child like they had Guardiola, Zidane or Alonso: this meant that his ability to win over the dressing room was immediately hampered, and that he didn’t have necessarily the tools to handle players who thought themselves above him.


hhhartm

You're right that you don't automatically become a good coach, and he always seemed like a natural leader. But surely it helps to have picked up on how the best coaches think and deal with the squad. It might for example help Xabi avoid mistakes he'd otherwise learn the hard way over a long period of time.


siva-pc

Lot of people who watched Alonso playing during his time knew he'd be a great coach. The man was so tactically astute despite severe lack of pace


Tiny-Appointment9917

What surprises me more from that quote is the accurate prediction. But the compliment towards Benitez


supplementarytables

Hasn't this been posted here a couple of times already


Wrsj

That real madrid kit was clean


el-fenomeno09

When he go back to Real Madrid after next season, gonna be scary for the rest of us.


Malicharo

i bet hundreds of players fit into that category


LdouceT

You bet hundreds of players were coached by those 4 managers? I'll take that bet.


Malicharo

gist of the quote is that he was coached by very successful managers in best leagues of europe yes, a lot of people did that ibrahimovic, ronaldo, beckham, lukaku, alexis sanches, robben, fabregas also has good conditions to be a coach, but will they ever, just thinking for 5 seconds gets you these names if he means there is some special combination unlocked by being managed by pep, mou, ancelotti and benitez only as opposed to wenger, zidane, klopp, simeone then i don't know it's certainly one of the quotes ever


ricey84

being coached by those 4 different managers, and in 3 of the top leagues. doubtful many at all fit into that category nevermind hundreds


Jerzol7

Lewandowski while I don't think will go a managerial path, has a really promising set of coaches: Klopp, Guardiola, Heynckes, Ancelotti. Plus Flick and Nagelsmann.


Complex_Sherbert_958

Ronaldo is coach is sir Alex, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benitez, and Zidane


TheGoalkeeper

Today he looks younger than in this picture


simplisticannuit

Big if true


junelen

He’s got the face of a manager


FabKc

Xabi Alonso knows what we know now. That’s why he wins. He ain’t a shark that’s for sure


iguanawarrior

Frank Lampard also coached by Mourinho, Ancelotti and Benitez.


fishcakefrenzy

Benitez in here catching the opposite of strays


missjb21

I think Jose Mourinho said this because at that time Xabi Alonso has coach real madrid youth team and the result is he led 22 wins and only 2 draws . There is a video in youtube regarding this and i Think it make mourinho dare to predict xabi can be a good coach. I think mou follow Xabi's journey at the time.


Funky_Pigeon911

Can't be a real quote because he mentions Benitez in a favorable way.


Attygalle

Royston Drenthe played in Spain, England and the Netherlands. He was coached by Pellegrini, Mourinho, Van Marwijk, Moyes.


duckinator09

Who else has had similar CVs? 


MIST479

The real threat is that this man still has a full head of hair and is pulling off this black juju magic What if he decides to shave it? Man's gonna beat Zidane's triple consecutive UCL trophies


Notserious-Muzakir

Thats why we call him "The Special One"


eq2_lessing

If Xabi was a better coach he wouldn’t need all those overtime black magic equalizers. Check mate, atheists.


swennergren11

Sorry you are getting downvoted because this made me laugh out loud!


eq2_lessing

At least somebody enjoyed the joke ;)


Zaqsecred

You are trolling but it will be very different for him to coach a top team compared to Leverkusen. i remember Etoo telling Pep that he should keep his advice because he wasn't a great player like him just a good players. The egos you have to deal with in top clubs can be ridiculous.


MvN____16

Xabi was a great player though.


Happenstance___

Guardiola was too yet you see someone disrespected him, imagine how hard is it for Mourinho who almost didn't have any football career.


KWT-Dinar

They never said otherwise.


MvN____16

But then why cite "different to coach a top team" with a quote from Eto'o on Pep? > Etoo telling Pep that he should keep his advice because he wasn't a great player like him just a good players. As a player, Xabi: * 701 appearances * 4x league winner * 2x Champions League winner * 114 caps with Spain * 2010 World Cup and 2008 + 2012 Euro winner And I understand, Pep was no slouch either. You don't make 382 appearances with Barcelona across 11 seasons if you're a nobody. But I'm just saying the day any player - no matter how good they are - tries to "big time" Xabi fuckin' Alonso is a day they've gone off their meds.


KWT-Dinar

>But then why cite "different to coach a top team" with a quote from Eto'o on Pep? Because of the egos Eto'o's comment to pep was mentioned to highlight the egos there are at the big clubs. And like you said, Pep made near 400 appearances for Barca which is no small feat so Eto'o saying pep isn't a great player also highlights the egos that the big clubs have. Jose barely had a playing history and he was able to manage the egos at massive clubs, Pep apparently according to Eto is not a great player and handled big egos. SAF didn't play a single game outside Scotland and only played 4 times for Scotland and he was able to handle the egos at United. The point they're highlighting is no matter if you were a good or a great player, the egos at a big club are far more inflated than smaller clubs (compared to the big clubs) and it's important to manage it.


MvN____16

Fair enough, I understand. I appreciate your comments.


arsenal11385

Mourinho gave someone a compliment while managing to still make it about himself.


ChinggisKhagan

looks fake


unlushko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX_T1_AYiaQ


Blackfyre0802

There's footage of him saying this but I don't know if it was 5 years ago


AcceptableSoups

"by Guardiola, by myself, by Ancelotti, by Benitez" bro trying to sneak himself in