The upcoming coaching carousel in major football in the summer leads to endless theories and speculations about how the mentors will be distributed at the top clubs.
Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Liverpool will need new managers, and no wonder Manchester United, Juventus, Milan and other clubs will have to make a difficult choice with a rather limited number of candidates.
In spite of all the speculations about the possible rotations, one name is more and more often linked to a leading team – that of Thiago Motta, who this season has finally established himself as one of the most promising young coaches.
The former midfielder is at the head of the sensation in Serie “A” Bologna and with his work at the head of the “red-blues” he deserved to enter the field of view of the big European clubs.
According to the latest information, Juventus and Manchester United are the giants who have placed Motta high among their coaching targets, while the Brazilian with an Italian passport is on the verge of sensationally qualifying Bologna for the Champions League.
To understand what an achievement this will be, it is enough to recall that Bologna’s last participation in Europe was 22 years ago in the now defunct Intertoto tournament.
Regardless of what happens with the squad for the rest of the campaign, Motta will be tempted to move to a club with far bigger goals. And it remains to be seen whether he will follow Xabi Alonso’s example and prefer to finish what he started in Bologna, or throw himself in at the deep end.
It is Alonso who is considered the most wanted of the young coaches at the moment, but his decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen has made the upcoming carousel among mentors even more unpredictable.
Like the Spaniard, Thiago Motta hinted at coaching qualities even in his football years, although he was not quite as elegant a midfielder as his colleague.
Motta finished his career at Paris Saint-Germain and was immediately appointed as the under-19 coach.
With the young talents, he didn’t win trophies and didn’t immediately achieve any dizzying successes, but he did arouse interest and praise with the attractive style he imposed.
Curiosity about his coaching style was mixed with a dose of negativity or even derision when Motta started talking about his unconventional ideas.
Popularity gained a statement of the young coach about his 4-3-3 scheme, which he defined more like 2-7-2 – something unheard of in football.
The two-time Champions League winner later explained that he simply looked at the scheme in vertical rather than horizontal lines and included the goalkeeper.
But that didn’t save him from scathing comments when his first coaching job at men’s football level ended rather ignominiously.
Thiago was appointed to save Genoa from relegation but was sacked after 10 games just two months later when the team were bottom of the table.
Despite the failure, there was no shortage of people who saw the potential of the newly minted coach.
When Spezia lost their mentor Vincenzo Italiano in the summer of 2021, it was Motta that the club turned to. Just 11 days after signing his contract, the specialist was hit with a cold shower as La Spezia was hit with a transfer embargo.
With no option to make a selection, it was clear that the battle for survival in Serie A was going to be tough.
The start to the season was anything but brilliant and in December Thiago Motta was on the verge of another sacking, but Spezia resisted the temptation, partly because the players strongly supported the coach and his methods, even when the results did not inspire hope.
His excellent reputation as a footballer, having played through Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Inter and PSG, certainly helps because he is respected in the dressing room.
Players who have played under his leadership also testify that he is extremely frank with them and tells them without hesitation whether they are performing well or poorly.
In the end, La Spezia’s patience paid off and a shock win over Napoli set off a turnaround in the season.
Then Milan was also defeated at San Siro and Spezia kept its place in the Calcio, despite all the problems at the club.
It was this impressive performance by Motta that convinced Bologna to sign him shortly after the start of the 2022/23 season – when Sinisa Mihajlovic was dismissed with just 3 points from the first five games.
Don’t think Thiago Motta was welcomed with open arms at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium, though.
The fans respected what he did at La Spezia, but they loved Mihajlovic, who was a legendary figure and had continued to lead the team while battling cancer.
Even Roberto De Dzerbi had refused the post because he simply did not want to succeed the Serb.
However, Motta believed he was capable of making his mark in Bologna and so far he has surpassed all expectations.
And his start was unsatisfactory – without a win in the first four games. The explanation is that his daring tactics were too different from anything the footballers had played up to that point. It required more time to adapt.
Thiago sounded like Johan Cruyff when he said that “the most difficult thing is to play simple football”, but at the same time his demands on footballers were not simple at all.
Brazilian-born Motta differs from most coaches in that he doesn’t stick to one particular formation and believes that each player should fill multiple roles.
“I learned to play not only on the wing, but also in midfield and even as a left-back,” admits striker Emmanuel Giassi, who played under Motta at La Spezia.
This flexibility is linked to Motta’s refusal to be enslaved to a certain scheme and the expectations associated with it.
“You can be super offensive with a 5-3-2 and very defensive with a 4-3-3,” he points out.
His plan with Bologna is to play even more aggressively than with cash-strapped La Spezia.
The manager is convinced that Bologna have players better suited to his possession-based approach and fortunately, the players are taking well to his risk-taking approach.
The team likes to slowly and gradually build their attacks deep into their own half to challenge the opposition’s press, and in turn press very aggressively as soon as they lose the ball.
“He explained very clearly his ideas about the way we play, about his vision of football, about how he wants us to look,” says attacking midfielder Lewis Ferguson.
“We quickly bought into his concept and I think it shows not only in the results but also in our performance, how much we run and how we all defend together.”
Bologna have really impressed defensively and it’s no coincidence that only Verona have had more possessions in Serie A this season.
Only Inter and Fiorentina have allowed fewer shots on goal.
The end result is that Bologna have the second best defense in Serie A so far, judging by goals conceded.
The interesting thing about the team is that not only do they defend well and work hard when they don’t have the ball, but they also really know how to keep and play the ball.
Motta modestly claims he has “only 0.001 per cent of the credit” for Bologna’s transformation over the past 18 months – which has seen the Reds go from a team in the bottom half of the table to a top-four contender.
“The players are the real protagonists in this sport. They make the decisions on the pitch,” Thiago is emphatic.
However, his influence has been huge and already last season he recorded a solid finish with ninth place in the final standings – Bologna’s best result in over a decade.
The club is only 13th in terms of budget in the elite, but has a coach who develops the players and sometimes outright transforms them.
Joshua Zirkzee has become one of the hottest strikers in Europe after a very disappointing first year in Italian football.
Former full-back Ricardo Calafiori was converted into a brilliant playmaking midfielder.
Relatively young and inexperienced, the squad trains with great intensity and goes all out in matches, and the devotion to the coach is evident.
His side have six games left in the league to achieve legendary status in the club’s history if they keep their place and qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
It is therefore not surprising that clubs such as Manchester United and Juventus are keeping an eye on Motta.
And whether this summer or later, it seems that his future is inevitably linked to a top team.
Tags: sensation Serie current young coaches Manchester United Juventus dreaming
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