Deputies don’t necessary go on to make good bosses. Look no further than Gordon Brown and Mariano Rajoy.
In football it’s a mixed picture. Carlos Queiroz went from Ferguson’s assistant to managing Real Madrid (not a happy time)to being Ferguson’s assistant again, before pursuing an unexceptional career as national coach with Portugal, and now Iran. By contrast Mourinho laid claim to being a ‘special one’ after serving as Bobby Robson’s assistant and translator at Barca. He went on conquer more than Robson did.
FC Barcelona now have Tito Vilanova who grew up and lived under Pep Guardiola’s shadow before succeeding him as manager. Guardiola was more than just a manager. He personified an institutional ethos and style that had evolved over decades. He contributed to Cruyff’s ‘dream team’ as a player, and managed his own team through one of the most glorious period’s in the club’s history, during which he enjoyed periods of unprecedented supremacy.
Tito- never a great player, and sharing none of Guardiola’s natural charisma-knew he had a tough act to follow when he took on the biggest job of his life. He knew his job could well be on the line if Barca got off to a bad start and started losing early on in the season. He has also been lumbered with the injuries of key players like Iniesta, Pique,Pujol and now Thiago. He has consequently adopted a strategy aimed at winning at all costs, drawing on the mixed bag of resources he has available to him, and making outcomes more dependent than ever on the suitability of his substitutions -much like Mourinho does at Real Madrid.
I don’t know if Tito is on the road to success or perdition but I am not passionate about the way Barca play at present- they have lost some of their style and solidarity. They don’t hold the ball as well they used to, and lose it too easily. There is less fluidity of play, less apparent enjoyment. Messi seems less at peace with himself and with others. The risk is that Barca in the process, like Real Madrid, may lose a clear sense of itself as a team.
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