by Each generation has its great batch of coaches. Little by little, the pep guardiola, Jose Mourinho, carlo anceloti, Jurgen Klopp oh Diego Pablo Simeone, among many others, is coming to an end. Time is unstoppable and cyclical, and there are already others who are beginning to shine on the benches of Europe’s major leagues.
It seems that football is in good hands. There are several technicians who They stand out with less powerful teams than those led by the aforementioned protagonistsand they are rearing their head in the elite based on good results and, above all, with an identity and faithful style.
These are the cases of Francesco Fariolicoach of the only team that keeps up with PSG in France, Nice. Thiago Mottathe surprise of Calcio with its Bologna. Xabi Alonsothe only one capable of tying Bayern Munich short in the Bundesliga with his colorful Bayer Leverkusen. Sebastian Honess, architect of a Stuttgart that dreams of the Champions League. And of course, michaelthe fashionable coach in Spain who has taken Girona to the top of LaLiga giving a lesson to Barça, Madrid and Atlético.
Sebastian Hoeness, Francesco Farioli, Thiago Motta, Míchel and Xabi Alonso, the coaches of the moment in Europe / SPORT
MÍCHEL AND HIS GIRONA MAKE THE GREAT LALIGA TEAMS
A man from Madrid who speaks Catalan has made everyone fall in love with him The league, and much of Europe. he Girona Delaware michael He’s handsome, everyone likes him. And is not for less. With purposeful, attractive football that gives the ball the prominence it deserves, it always seeks to score more goals than its rival, and that is great news. For this reason, he has broken all the schemes in a competition dominated by Barça and Real Madrid.
Seconds in the table, tied on points with the real Madrid (45), the dream of winning the competition against three monsters like the culés, the whites and the Atlético de Madrid He is more alive than ever. A love story that can have the happiest possible ending, and that becomes stronger every day due to the way in which it has been built.
Míchel, during the game at Villamarín /EFE
michael He ensures that each player gets the best possible performance because he is an expert in generating situations that enhance the qualities of his players. An example of this are the roles given to Eric Garcia, Miguel Gutierrez, Yan Couto, Aleix Garcia oh Tsygankov. Each footballer has a custom-made ‘suit’ that could hardly suit them more. And that translates into statistics. 14 wins out of 18 possible and the prize of being the highest scoring team in the tournament with 42 goals.
However, the most notable thing about michael It is the way he conveys his ideas. Beyond having all the members of the squad plugged in, the club and fans blindly trust in the Madrid native. And is there anything more important than trust? Well that.
he Girona He plays each game as if it were his last, like a summer love who knows that, at the end of August, they will never see each other again. They enjoy the process, they live it intensely, and the results keep alive a flame that is still looking for suitors to extinguish it. Will they be able to keep up the pace? Only time has the answer.
FARIOLI’S NICE, THE ONLY SURVIVOR TO THE POWER OF PSG
The League 1 lives in a constant ‘déjà vu’. Every year a candidate presents himself to take control of France from the PSG. In the last eleven years only two teams have managed to ‘knock out’ the Parisian team: Monaco (2016/17) and the Lille (2021/22). This season, this candidate is the Nice Delaware Francesco Farioli. The Côte d’Azur team is five points away from the ‘megacreation’ of Al-Khelaïfi. To date they are the only ones who remain in the wake of the PSGand the ‘plan’ to take a turn in the French competition is supported by defense.
farioli has made a practically ideal ‘dance couple’ with dante and todibo. They mix experience and youth, tranquility and impetus. It complements each other very well. Scam Bulka between the sticks, who has finally found an ecosystem where he can be important (he has managed to send the legendary goalkeeper to the bench Sirigu), farioli boasts of directing the team with the least goals scored in the League 1. Nine goals against in seventeen games.
The solidity of Farioli’s Nice will try to stand up to PSG in France / Agencies
That he Nice being a strong team in defense does not mean that it is not rich in other aspects of the game, and farioli He has the ability to present games in very different ways. When looking for a clean release of the ball, he tries to attract rivals to find the free man, either on the outside (with the winger) or inside, where he accumulates players with good footing such as Thuram oh Samson. If you play long, they become important there. Moffi, Laborde and Diop to punish the rival’s weaknesses in transition.
he Nice He presses, he goes for the game, and he doesn’t hide. The difference with the PSG It is more than salvageable, and the calendar can play in favor of those of farioli, who unlike the Parisians, will be able to focus all their efforts on the domestic championship. At the moment, there is much left League 1 and in Nice they still have license to dream big.
MOTTA AND HIS BOLOGNA: LIVING AMONG THE BIG BOYS OF CALCIUM
he Bologna He has only had one chance to be in the Champions In its entire history, but it did not reach the final round. It was in the 1964/65 season. However, in Emilia-Romagna they are beginning to timidly dream of hearing the renowned anthem of the reigning competition next season. And if someone has to sing the ‘mea culpa’, in the best sense of the word, it is Thiago Motta.
The former Barça footballer has achieved something very complicated: ‘sneak’ with authority among the five big boys of the club. calcium. Installed in fourth place with 31 points, ahead of the current champion, the NaplesThey will fight with the knife between their teeth to maintain the fourth place that gives ticket to Champions.
Thiago Motta has managed to maximize a Bologna team that dreams of the Champions League / @BolognaFC1909
Last season was already a success. Ninth with 54 points, a more than good position considering that consolidating the position on matchday 7, relieving Mihajlovic. But the good hand of Speck It was seen during the last transfer market, where important pieces left the team. He sought to empower the outstanding ones who stayed, such as Orsolini, Zirkzee, Ferguson oh Lucumibringing in pieces that have helped offset the quality decline, such as Beukema, Freuler oh Saelemaekersamong others.
The key was revealed by himself Speck: ““The satisfaction is not seeing the classification, but seeing the team that plays football very well.”. Give a lot of value to how the results are achieved, and not to the results as such. And he has had a lot of influence on that, giving the club a lacking identity, and building a family that knows very well what they play.
he Bologna It is a physical, solid and efficient team, which is why they are the third with the fewest goals scored in the league. series TO (12), but they are not afraid of the ball. All the players are clear about the passing pattern and none of them hide when they have to ask for the ball. They minimize mistakes and punish those of the rival. For the moment, only Milan and Fiorentina They can boast of having defeated those of Speck.
XABI ALONSO’S BAYER LEVERKUSEN, CHOSEN TO CHANGE ‘KING’ IN GERMANY
Although more and more credit is given to Xabi Alonsodoes not receive all the recognition he deserves for his excellent work at the helm of the Bayer Leverkusen. He took the reins of the team in November 2022, in relegation positions, and little by little he has been molding the team to such a point that everything bears his stamp, even in what does not happen directly on the green.
he Bayer Leverkusen He seeks to dominate the matches, subdue the rival, drown him in his area. They associate constantly, always with an intention, all passes make sense. And everyone has the necessary confidence to push very high and take risks in sending. However, the most interesting thing about Xabi Alonso It is the ease he has to design situations that empower his players.
Xabi Alonso has turned Bayer Leverkusen into a winning team in record time / Agencies
He brings out the best in band footballers, such as Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong. But it does not eclipse those within, where its brightest star, the ‘magician’, is found. Florian Wirtzoh your great scorer, Victor Bonifacio. It is also very interesting the way in which he manages to keep the less common players engaged, who are making a difference when they play.
Leaders in the Bundesliga With 42 points (four more than Tuchel’s), they are also the team with the least goals scored in the tournament (12) and the second highest scorer (46). Fate, more capricious than ever, has wanted the biggest headache in the world Bayern Munich, which has not lost a league since the 2011/12 season, is being provoked by the ‘aspirins’ team. And all this, playing football in an impeccable way. In Germany, there are very few who do not want the team of Xabi Alonso finish the course on top.
SEBASTIAN HOENESS, THE ARCHITECT OF A STUTTGART WHO WANTS TO RETURN TO THE CHAMPIONS
Currently, receiving a compliment from Xabi Alonso It must be the most rewarding thing that can happen to a coach. That’s what he said about the coach Stuttgart before confronting him: “I like the way he plays. They are one of the best teams in the league. There are some parallels with our style.. “It’s nice that there are teams in the Bundesliga that play like that.”
The team of honesty It has very clear instructions: move the opponent from side to side to create spaces. As? Combining passes, opening the game, setting traps for their lines to advance and giving a lot of width and depth to their wingers. They attack spaces with great faith and constantly generate disruptive movements.
Sebastian Hoeness can return Stuttgart to the Champions League after almost 15 years of waiting / Agencies
In its first season, honesty has achieved that those who vibrated with him Stuttgart Delaware Champions of the 2009/10 season dream of returning to the best club competition in the world next season. They occupy third place in the Bundesliga with 34 points, one more than his great pursuer, RB Leipzig.
That team, which fell in the round of 16 against BarçaBringing together great players like cocoa, Hleb, Khedira oh Tasci, among many others, who were the great idols of an entire generation. Now, Guirassy, Silas, Millot or Antónalthough the list of great players it has honesty The staff is much more extensive, they will look for the same thing. Will they manage to become the big names of a Stuttgart than to savor the magic of European nights again?
