Madrid legend slams Benitez and Mourinho
-
Madrid legend slams Benitez and Mourinho
Former World Cup-winner Jorge Valdano has fiercely criticised the style of football produced by Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez, claiming it stems from their failure to find success as players.
The Argentinian, a legend at Real Madrid where he played, coached and was most recently sporting director, has criticised Chelsea boss Mourinho and Liverpool counterpart Benitez following the uninspiring Champions League semi-final tie between the English sides.
'Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion - and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a s*** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art. It's not: it's a s*** hanging from a stick,' he wrote in Spanish newspaper Marca.
'Chelsea and Liverpool are the clearest, most exaggerated example of the way football is going: very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct.
'But, a short pass? No. A feint? No. A change of pace? No. A one-two? A nutmeg? A backheel? Don't be ridiculous. None of that. The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semi-final neutralised any creative licence, any moments of exquisite skill.'
Despite his father's status in the game as a former Portugal goalkeeper, Mourinho never played professionally and instead focused his sights on a coaching future while Benitez also only achieved success by working his way up the coaching structure, having failed to make an appearance in the Primera Liga.
Valdano believes that has led to a degree of cynicism as managers.
'The lives of Mourinho and Benitez have crossed in a world that is ever more scrutinised and exposed by the media, which is why they look at each other with such distrust.
'But they have two things in common: a previously denied, hitherto unsatisfied hunger for glory, and a desire to have everything under control.
'Both of those things stem from one key factor: neither Mourinho nor Benitez made it as a player. That has made them channel all their vanity into coaching.
'Those who did not have the talent to make it as players do not believe in the talent of players, they do not believe in the ability to improvise in order to win football matches. In short, Benitez and Mourinho are exactly the kind of coaches that Benitez and Mourinho would have needed to have made it as players.' -
what the heck, is he talking about?
SAF was never a player as well -
err, he was.Originally posted by allentyb:what the heck, is he talking about?
SAF was never a player as well -
i know he got himself injured, but he was never in the top league as wellOriginally posted by Pitot:err, he was. -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_FergusonOriginally posted by allentyb:i know he got himself injured, but he was never in the top league as well -
ok my badOriginally posted by Pitot:
i never done enough googling of SAF -
Actually that's a low blow by Jorge Valdano, I mean why bring their playing history into it. He has a point to a certain extent, but I think he should just focus on the two individuals as managers. It almost makes him sound arrogant.
Personally I feel there's nothing wrong with different styles and approach to the game. It'd be boring if everyone played the same way. Speaking of boring, the Champs final between Juve and AC Milan was boring.
Does Valdano have something against English clubs? Or is he just sore his team didn't do well this term? -
Arsene wenger wasnt a player isnt he?
-
From soccernetOriginally posted by felirox:Arsene wenger wasnt a player isnt he?Wenger was never covered in glory as a player, only making his professional debut as a 28-year-old with Strasbourg after playing most of his career in the semi-pro game with Mulhouse and Vauban.
It would be as a coach that Wenger would make his name, starting off with Strasbourg's youth team in 1981. With a growing reputation as a man with an astute footballing mind, he moved to Cannes in 1983 to be their assistant manager.
Wenger's first move into management came a year later when he accepted a post with Nancy Lorraine. Although he failed to save the club from relegation in his first year in charge, the club kept faith.
The big break would come in 1987 as Monaco moved to make him their top man. Within a year Wenger won the French championship and was named Manager of the Year. -
oh im so ashamed that i didnt know Le boss history. maluOriginally posted by SumOne:
-
??? nothing malu also. Unless you proclaim and throw airs you macham know everything, then you deserve to be malu. I don't think you're like that though.Originally posted by felirox:oh im so ashamed that i didnt know Le boss history. malu 
-
I have to agree on this argument...Chelsea is not playing nice and fancy soccer......IF soccer was to be played that then lets watch rugby....
-
Even if that were true, why talk about their playing careers?Originally posted by hobochua:I have to agree on this argument...Chelsea is not playing nice and fancy soccer......IF soccer was to be played that then lets watch rugby....
(sorry, a bit hung up on that some how) -
I like Jorge Valdano's writings.Very poetic and stylish language used.
-
His comments as a ex footballer is simply amusing. Not every frigging football club in the whole wide world plays like RM or Barca with style aplenty and with such galaxy of stars. Too much star gazing eh Valdie?
I dun even wanna go into the coaches. How abt this, a world class player may not end up as a great coach either. -
You have to understand Valdano is one of the last footie romantics still surviving today...Originally posted by BÃ¥seline:His comments as a ex footballer is simply amusing. Not every frigging football club in the whole wide world plays like RM or Barca with style aplenty and with such galaxy of stars. Too much star gazing eh Valdie?
I dun even wanna go into the coaches. How abt this, a world class player may not end up as a great coach either. -
so those italians leh? why he don't criticize them?
-
he expects every clubs to have terry, ronaldo and kaka izzit?
-
"The bacillus of efficiency has also attacked football, and some dare to ask what's the point on playing good. I feel tempted to tell about the time they dared to ask Borges what is poetry for, to what he answered with more questions: What is a sunrise for?, what are caresses for? what is the smell of coffee for? Each question sounded like a sentence: they are for pleasure, for emotion, for living."Originally posted by Marco_Simone:I like Jorge Valdano's writings.Very poetic and stylish language used.
"Every team that is good to the ball, is also good to the public." -
Wow, you can see this news all over the different sports site... Looks like his words seem to hold some weight... But his comments are a bit strong lah... why use words like sh it for...
-
This is the guy that made the comments... Argentinian Jorge Valdano does not mince his words. -
myb he was drunk during that interview? but i agree that pool play quite a bore football. but i just love pennant's crossing.Originally posted by zocoss:Wow, you can see this news all over the different sports site... Looks like his words seem to hold some weight... But his comments are a bit strong lah... why use words like sh it for... -
Wow, this guy is a total disgrace. :O
Two key points:
1) Just because Benitez and Mourinho weren't good players doesn't mean they make bad managers. That is one idiotic assumption he has and as someone mentioned above, a low blow.
2) At the end of the day, who really cares about the number of feints, nutmegs, stepovers and other stylish tricks being used in a match? The main thing about football is to WIN. Who needs all those stylish stuff if you can't win anything?
So much for a legend. -
I want to see him manage a club.
-
English football takes a pasting - again
'Put a s hit hanging from a stick, and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art." So said Argentinian football pundit Jorge Valdano this week in the Spanish newspaper Marca. Oddly enough, Valdano was describing the recent Champions League tie between Chelsea and Liverpool, a game hitherto held out with a quiet satisfaction as a showcase of the best that English football has to offer.
Valdano is an unusual figure. He occupies a unique role as football's philosopher-critic. He played in Argentina's 1986 World Cup-winning team. He published a book of epigrams called Apuntes del Balon ("Notes of the Ball" ). He once compared criticism of his tactical approach to "the time they dared ask Borges what poetry was for".
So, he's a footballer, a philosopher, a name-dropper. But is he right? The answer is that in some contexts - such as trendy east London - "a sh it on a stick" can indeed be art. Like art, football arranges itself in different genres. When Valdano was sporting director at Real Madrid, his team was a travelling sideshow of back-flicks and nutmegs, in contrast to the pragmatic styles of Liverpool and Chelsea. This is clearly a case of the baroque versus the brutalist.
There may be politics here, too. Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho, managers of Liverpool and Chelsea, are both candidates to take over at Madrid. Valdano is speaking not to us, but to Madrid's board and fans, while offering a reminder of his own legacy.
Which is all very well, but it's still rude. The obvious riposte is that our football may be a sh it on a stick, but it's a successful sh it on a stick. Three Champions League semifinalists: count 'em, Jorge. More likely, it comes down to different notions of beauty. We don't produce extravagantly skilled Maradonas. We produce tough John Terrys and tall Peter Crouches. We run around a lot and, occasionally, we forget to take the ball with us. Which, in the right light, can be just as lovely.