The special ones have a clear vision — like van Gaal, not Hodgson
A DEFINING phenomenon at this World Cup has been the impact of special managers who have moulded their players into more than the sum of their parts. They all have a clear vision of how they want the game played — and they get their teams playing like that.
And then — the truly magical part — they do this while maintaining group harmony.
The stand-out individuals have been Jorge Sampaoli of Chile, Jose Pekerman of Colombia, Jurgen Klinsmann of the USA, Jorge Luis Pinto of Costa Rica, Miguel Herrera of Mexico and Louis van Gaal of Holland (below). But not Roy Hodgson. Herrera steered a stuttering team to the finals but has restored order from chaos by imposing his will. He did not succumb to public demand to play my former Manchester United team-mate Javier Hernandez, aka Chicharito.
Instead, he had a belief in a system that worked well and refused to accommodate his star man. He had the respect and belief from all his squad, Chicharito included, and they reached the knockout stages.
Sampaoli is the Argentine in charge of a Chile side unlucky to lose to Brazil in the last 16. He got the job after winning three titles with Universidad and played a high-tempo, pressing game.
Two other words sum up Sampaoli’s transformative powers: Gary Medel. He couldn’t even pass the ball at times last season at Cardiff City, but he was superb at these finals.
Pekerman, Colombia’s Argentine coach, and Pinto, the Colombian in charge of Costa Rica, have each taken groups of players with few stars and instilled in them the confidence to express themselves in styles that play to the strengths of the collective, rather than any individual.
Klinsmann was always clear that his squad — from Seattle and Hertha, from Toronto, Rosenborg, Puebla and other unheralded places in between — would never be less than competitive.
He was true to his word. He made a huge call even before getting to Brazil by leaving Landon Donovan behind because he felt the team would benefit without a man who had earned 156 caps.
It was always likely England might struggle, as I wrote before the tournament. And there are all kinds of issues to be addressed. A visionary manager would help.
Hodgson is a pleasant man, extremely intelligent and has a CV with enough clubs and countries to show how widely he is respected. But he lacks that extra ingredient to set him apart.
He’s certainly no maverick, he doesn’t change matches with inspired substitutions and I see little evidence of a collective buying into a master plan.
Glenn Hoddle was the last England boss who had something different about him — that vision. He was the best England manager in my personal experience. What’s clear from some of the outstanding ‘lesser’ sides is that the team takes precedence over individuals in a way it didn’t for England.
Compromise takes you only so far. It was a compromise to play Wayne Rooney out of his favourite position. Build your side around your best player or drop him. But don’t fudge.
Van Gaal doesn’t fudge. He believes in his players. And they believe in him.