When Big Club Coaches Get Sacked For Doing Bad...

...they automatically draw speculation on which big club they will arrive at next? Sounds like a strange thesis, wouldn't you say? Interestingly enough, this seems to be the odd trend.

AVB's signature Chelsea look of disbelief

Over the past few days, Andre Villas-Boas (pictured above), freshly sacked by Chelsea, has went from the career low of being dismissed by his first big club, to somewhat of a revival in the news with all the speculation involving which big club he will land at next. The Portuguese tactician is already linked with Serie A money spenders Roma and Inter, and I would imagine as the season dwindles down, clubs like Barcelona, Madrid, et. al will be thrown into the mix. How does this make any sense? In football, it just does.

You could argue AVB was a good coach in a bad situation, similar to Carlo Ancelotti last year; or that his ideals simply did not match those of the team, causing the negative results. Still, it is peculiar when someone recently fired for not doing the job correctly is desired by other firms days later. Would this make sense in your field of work? Nevertheless, in football, it just does.

Lets look at some more of these conundrums and how they turned out:

Who Rafa Benitez When June 2010 Verdict FAIL

Rafa Benitez with his own signature look of failure

All throughout the 2009-10 season, Rafa Benitez had the weight of Liverpool on his shoulders. Ultimately, the Spaniard lead the team to an undesired finish and was dismissed. For some reason...I blame Alberto Aquilani? Anyway, seven days later, Inter scooped up the goatee sporting gaffer to replace Jose Mourinho, the man who won Inter a treble weeks prior. After running Liverpool off the rails and arriving in the shadow of Mourinho, the "destined for failure" motto floated about Milano.

As it turns out, it was an epic fail. In spectacular fashion, Benitez was dismissed after Inter's Club World Cup win. Following the triumph, Benitez stated in the media reinforcements were needed in January...to a team that just won a treble and the Club World Cup. Puzzling comments and a dismal start to the season resulted in the sack for Rafa. Inter might have hoped for better in the situation, but really got what they deserved by hiring a recent failure.

Who Claudio Ranieri When Anytime Verdict FAIL

Claudio Ranieri's "not again" look of despair

The nervous looking Claudio Ranieri is the AVB scenario on repeat. His career is like a broken record that repeats 5 steps: 1) do well for a season 2) dismal results begin 3) pressure mounts because of dismal results 4) pressure boils over and equals firing 5) miraculously hired again. This has happened to Ranieri everywhere. Where is he now, you ask? At Inter. Doing what? Well, he skipped step 1), went straight to steps 2) and 3) and is nearing step 4). We'll probably be reading about his step 5) return to Chelsea in June.

Who Luciano Spalletti When Nov./Dec. 2009 Verdict WIN

Luciano Spalletti's "I have the balls to be bald in Russia" look

Just to prove the anomaly of hiring a freshly sacked manager is not as outrageous as it sounds, behold former AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti. Spalletti saw a few bad results at the beginning of the 2009-10 season and was forced out of the Capital. But, being the ever-so-awesome bald man that he is, was scooped up be Zenit St. Petersburg in a month and ultimately lead them to the title in his first year at the helm, something they had not won in 10 years. In this case, Zenit's gamble of hiring a coach who recently faltered paid off.

What do these instances mean? The football world is unpredictable. Keep your eyes on the Villas-Boas saga that will surely unfold over the next few months!


Photo Credits:
footballz.com
soccerisfutbol.com
topnews.in
britishblogs.co.uk

PSG: Why'd They Fire This Guy?

Why me?

As a supporter of the enticingly put together Paris Saint-Germain squad, I could not be happier to see experienced tactician Carlo Ancelotti at the helm. He has big club experience, a winning mentality, and a silverware cabinet any club coach would dream of. But I do wonder why exactly Antoine Kombouaré was dismissed. The reasoning for his dismissal is not really logical in traditional terms of output.

Common thought indicates he was sent home because the hot-seat got too hot for him. There were numerous reports of his possible dismissal throughout the beginning of this season, which mounted pressure until the end of the year. But how is this hot-seat different from any other in a major European League? Pressure is always there. You win, you stay. You lose, you go. This mantra did not exactly hold true in Paris for ol' Antoine, as PSG Director Leonardo ultimately sacked him.

Ironically, Kombouaré had PSG in first place at the holiday break and poised to make a serious title run in 2012. Moreover, last year's squad, without superstar reinforcements signed with Qatari money over the summer, were a mere four points from Champions League football. Pair these facts with likely additions on the way this January and one might have imagined the team would ride the Kombouaré bus until at least summer. The only detriment toward the above successes is PSG's failure in the Europa League. Though knocked out of said competition, Kombouaré still had the team on track to reach their season goals: a league title + Champions League Qualification.

Goal.com asserts the former PSG man's firing might have something to do with race. Though I think this argument misses the mark, it is troubling to think Kombouaré was "the only black coach left in the top flight of any of Europe's top leagues." That fact alone warrants thought about why there are not more black men in top coaching roles, but in this case, there were a few other factors at play that sealed the Kombouaré's fate.

A more likely reason for Kombouaré's dismissal is simply the situation he found himself in. Regardless of his successful season, Qatari money flowing into PSG at breakneck speed equates to big names and headlines. Granted, I don't think they will build the squad in "Manchester City fashion," but I do believe a relatively unsuccessful team will be made into a winner. Could Kombouaré keep control of big name signings with big egos and the responsibility of having to at the very least win the French League every year? As a relatively inexperienced coach, probably not. Thus, the feeling of big money owners at this junction is usually the desire to have a renowned gaffer who can win everything.

Smiles all around. Except for Antoine Whatshisname.

Enter a renowned gaffer. Carlo Ancelotti's (a) accessibility and (b) amicable relationship with Leonardo while at Milan, essentially forced Kombouaré's sacking. How could PSG pass up the chance to land Ancelotti? Even if Kombouaré had a stellar year and won Ligue 1, he most likely lacks the pedigree to win a Champions League at this point in his managerial career. Ancelotti on the other hand, has the prestige and experience to win the big one. Leonardo would have been kicking himself had Ancelotti agreed to join another big club in the summer, when the opportunity to snap him up in January had arisen. Therefore, right or wrong, this change was inevitable.

Though I'm glad to see such a successful manager lead a team I support, I still believe Kombouaré was dismissed unreasonably. He did mostly everything right with a powerful team at his disposal and acted honorably throughout. The unlucky former coach just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Regardless, I still can't help but question brazen business actions that occur when money is in abundance. Sometimes it's downright dirty. I hope to see Antoine Kombouaré on another sideline thriving very soon!


Photo Credits: 
goal.com
Sky Sports

Resignation Tendered

Immediately following AS Roma's shock loss to Genoa - one which saw the Giallorossi throw away a 3 goal lead - coach Claudio Ranieri tendered his resignation. As a Roma fan, I am relieved.

Last season, Ranieri picked up the pieces of Roma and rolled the dice successfully. He made countless bold moves during the campaign - substituting Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi at halftime in the Derby della Capitale (which is the boldest of moves in any Romanista's eyes) - which nearly won the capital club the Scudetto. But those same ballsy decisions have been the wrong ones this season. Everything decreed by the Tinkerman has worked against the squad and today's game was a prime and final example. Though his time in the capital was short and tumultuous, he must be thanked for his service and lauded for stepping aside when appropriate. True integrity and class.

Now to the future: it looks like Vincenzo Montella, il Aeroplanino and current coach of Roma's youth academy, will take the reins for the rest of the season. I am both excited and frightened by this. Montella is a smart man and has been doing good for Roma's youth team, but might run into some resistance when managing players who were very recently peers. Will egos get in the way? This is Rome...so yes. We can only hope that Montella can cope and see this season to a successful end.

That information aside, will we see Carlo Ancelotti take over at Roma in the summer? The wily tactician has widely stated his desire to coach his former club, where he played from 1979 - 1987. The opportunity to build a trophy winning side is imminent, since new owners will be in control soon. Add to that a world class gaffer with a winning mentality...this could mean big things, Romanisti.

Let's keep our chins up.