2015 What 5 Legendary Managers can teach us

[Dec]

In Football Manager Handheld 2015 we aim to be the best manager ever, but how can we do that? The easiest way is to look at what some of the World's best managers of the recent age have done well and then use that to our advantage. So here are 5 of the greats - Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger and Diego Simeone, and what they can teach us.

 

 Sticking with one club can create a super team

Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United for a very, very long time. Within this time he won more than any other manager in World football and even a memorable treble to go with a lot of doubles. The ability to stick at one club for such a time is very rare nowadays and doing so allowed him to have full vision over his side, improve it every year and shape the team the way he wants to in order to get on top and stay there.

 

 A slender, ugly win is better than no win

While many will criticise Jose Mourinho's tactics as "Anti-Football" his success in Italy, England and Portugal using them means it is no surprise he keeps doing it. With 2 underdog Champions League trophies to his name with Porto and Inter he has embraced that winning by one goal mentality as he gets the goal and then allows his players to control the ball and not concede for a big chunk of a game, holding onto what they have in order to rake the three points in rather than risk pushing for more and leaving themselves exposed for the opposition. At the end of the day Mourinho knows points win trophies and not goals.

 

 Getting players to fit your style reaps rewards

At Barcelona and now Bayern Munich Pep Guardiola has got a team that likes to play nice, passing football. Having the players at his disposal to fit his vision and selling those who don't allows him to set them up how he and they both feel comfortable with. A player in his natural game is a lot more effective and less error prone than one who is asked to do something unfamiliar to him. Guardiola recognises this so makes sure that every player he has suits his passing style of play in order to dominate both home and abroad.

 

 Investing in youth can lead to a profit and success

Arsene Wenger may not be classed as a great winner of trophies as of late but his faith in youngsters and ability to find gems allows the team to constantly feature in the Top 4 in one of the World's most competitive leagues while turning over a profit. A good youngster may only cost £2m while he knows that one that has developed and is performing can go for £30m allowing the club to invest in other things such as multiple new players or a new stadium. A good deal to secure the club's future both financially and competitively.

 

 A well organised underdog can beat even the best

At Atletico Madrid Diego Simeone has done an amazing job of cracking the big two in Spain. Winning the league in 2013/14 he has proved that while Atletico Madrid's team isn't the strongest or richest in the league yet with a few good signings and good harmony a team can beat even the best. Simeone's managerial style hasn't been stand out as his buys haven't been particularly superb and his football isn't amazing yet what he has done is created team harmony and solid tactics. With this he proves that any little team can rival and beat the bigger teams with a bit of skill and luck.

[Nath]

Good read Dec very interesting!

[Ashez]

Interesting idea and a great read

[Eliseo10]

Wow Dec. You crossed to a different level with this Article. I will be honest with you. This is so good, so informative that I am jealous that you did it. Yes you read that right lol. I am jealous that I didn't come up with something so good! Fantastic read.

I have to add that I just realized that I followed most of these principles without knowing that they were used by some of the top manager in the world! Yes I stay in the same club, I invest in Youth players, I stick to my formation and I know when it is better to defend to secure a lead. and finally I have taken Underdog teams like Southampton and Aston Villa to continental glory by keeping compact well organized squads.

[Dec]

Thank you for the great comments, I didn't expect it to get any to be honest. It was just a rough idea I had and managed to make it work (I hope).

[JustM1kePlays]

Top work Dec.

This show the different approaches you can have as a manager.

I think the key is a blend of all of the above. If you can find the right balance you will be the ultimate manager. With a added bit of luck of course.

[BatiGoal]

Great read, Dec. Very refreshing.