More so than the players themselves, this summer’s headlines seemed dominated by football’s “super agents” — the brokers of the multi-million dollar deals that have come to typify the transfer market. Rather than moving in the background of such transactions, these men have flocked to the fore. Their opinions, demands and claims have been quickly picked up by media outlets, giving them a false aura of footballing expertise.
Having warded off interest from Barcelona and Sevilla to sign a rejuvenated Hatem Ben Arfa, Paris Saint-Germain appeared to be the perfect destination for the mercurial 29-year-old playmaker. Ben Arfa signed for PSG as a free agent after experiencing a renaissance last year with Nice, tallying 17 goals and six assists in Ligue 1.
This all, of course, followed a tumultuous four years in England where he was part footballing genius, part disinterested delinquent.
David Wagner is our new favorite manager. The Huddersfield Town boss decided to build cameraderie among his players by taking them to Sweden and making them live in the woods.
We bring you this amazing quote from The Guardian:
We love a good manager tiff, and no two managers in soccer have been more consistently tiff-some in the last few years than Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. Their long and storied history of passive-aggressive sniping is a shining example for those of us who count being petty as a hobby.
There was that time Mourinho called Wenger a "specialist in failure" and refused to apologize, that time Wenger said Mourinho was afraid of failure and that time Mourinho called Wenger a "voyeur."
And now there is a new entry into the pair's long lesson in managerial grudge-holding.
Let's be honest, El Tri failed to meet extremely high expectations this summer. What was expected of the Mexican national team was to excel in all competitions, but they fell flat at the Copa America Centenario and the Rio Olympic Games.
Competing in the Copa America in the team’s ‘second home’, the United States, fans and spectators alike believed El Tri had a chance to make history in the competition.
They were one of the early favorites. With a win over Uruguay and the top dogs, Brazil, crashing out early, they had a chance but blew it.
Adenor Leonardo "Tite" Bacchi might not be a name as widely known as Pep Guardiola or most European managers. But have no doubts that under Tite’s guidance Brazil has all of the tools to turn a struggling national team back into the powerhouse it used to be.
If his first match ahead of the squad proved anything, it was that the talent has always been at Brazil’s disposal. All they needed was someone to pick the right pieces and make them tick.
Of the last 15 La Liga titles, nine were won by Spanish managers. In Italy, an Italian has managed the Serie A champions in 21 of the last 25 seasons, while 19 of the last 20 Ligue 1 titles have gone to clubs managed by Frenchmen. Even in Germany, where Pep Guardiola led a domineering Bayern Munich to three Bundesliga titles in a row, a German manager has topped the league 15 times in the last two decades.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has a map in his office. It is a map of England. It is there so he can figure out where the different clubs in England are actually located. We know he has this map because Gary Lineker pointed it out while filming a video for the BBC.
You would think 40 seconds of Jurgen Klopp talking about maps would be boring. You would be wrong.
The 2016-17 Premier League is the “Year of the Manager.” Some of the world’s most famous, eccentric and respected managers have come to England in search of glory. Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Jurgen Klopp and Arsene Wenger are all elite level managers who have won major trophies throughout Europe. Through tactics, man-management and mind games only one deserving manager will lift the Premier League trophy in May.
Or maybe none of the aforementioned managers will lift the trophy.
After over seven years serving as the only MLS manager the Seattle Sounders had ever employed, Sigi Schmid and the club agreed to part on mutual terms following a bottom of the league start to the 2016 campaign.
Schmid, a two-time MLS Cup champion as manager of the Columbus Crew, left the Sounders with rumors of dressing room unrest having made his role untenable in Seattle. One big name mentioned in the fallout was USMNT captain Clint Dempsey.