If you were to choose who will succeed Arsene Wenger, who would you choose out of these four best? By SK
It is an open secret to every football lover that Arsene Wenger has lost the Midas touch to turn things around for the better in Arsenal. Even the professor himself is having thoughts of calling it quits with Arsenal this season (although he may not want to admit he is considering leaving).
However, there is this fear among football pundits about who will be the coach to take Arsenal to the next level? Many are predicting a sort of mini crisis for Arsenal after Wenger leaves, probably at the end of this season. Here is my own list of four possible coaches who could take over the coaching job at Arsenal and still achieve results.
MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI: born 1967, he began his coaching career at Aglianese in 2003 but left the next season due to bad results. In 2005, he joined Grosseto FC, where he coached for a season before being sacked due to bad results. However, his coaching success began with Sassuolo FC. After joining them in 2007, he quickly led them to a promotion to Serie B after winning the Serie CA title. This success was what made Cagliari come for him, after just a season with Sassuolo. While at Cagliari, he ended the 2008-2009 season in 9th place with them, a result which was their best in almost 15 years, as at that time. This he did despite lacking top class players and with a sweet attacking style of football. From Cagliari, he went to AC Milan and there he won the league title for AC Milan for the first time since 2004! He also led them to their 6th SuperCopa Italiano, just in his 2nd season. Currently, he is with Juventus, whom he has guided to their 4th consecutive serie A title, two domestic doubles and a Champions league final, which he lost to Barcelona. There are strong indications that this may be his last season in Juventus, fueling the rumour that he may be heading to Arsenal, before the start of next season.
JURGEN KLOPP: Born in 1967, Jurgen Klopp started as coach of Mainz, whom he led to the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup. While at Mainz, he recorded 109 wins, 78 draws and 83 losses. From Mainz, he was hired to coach to coach Borussia Dortmund, and in his seven years at Dortmund, the former Mainz coach led them to two Bundesliga titles, including the 2011/12 domestic double, and then a UEFA Champions League final. It was that record that persuaded Liverpool to appoint the charismatic 48-year-old in October 2015. So far at Liverpool, he has led them to one Europa League final and he has changed their style of football. He is a charismatic coach who knows how to bring the best out of his players. He is on my list because just over the weekend, there were rumours in the news that Barcelona were looking to hire him to coach them, after this season! If there was a chance of him leaving Liverpool at the end of this season, wouln’t it be nice to see him come coach Arsenal?
PEP GUARDIOLA: The current coach of Man city was born in 1971. He has only managed four clubs so far; Barcelona B, Barcelona FC, Bayern Munich and Man City, his current club. At Barcelona B, he won the Tercera division in 2007-2008 but his major trophy hauls were with the Barcelona senior team where he won: La-Liga (2009,2010,2011), Copa del rey (2009, 2012), Super Copa (2009, 2010, 2011), UEFA champions league (2009, 2011), UEFA super cup (2009, 2011), FIFA club world cup (2009, 2011). At Bayern Munich, he won the Bundesliga thrice, back to back. He won the DFB Pokal twice, the UEFA super cup in 2013 and the FIFA club world cup in 2013. With the way things are going in Man City, who says he may not be forced to leave after just one season in charge? But the question is, will Arsenal pounce on him if this becomes the case?
DIEGO SIMEONE: This is probably the coach every Arsenal fan will wish should succeed Master Wenger when he steps down! The 47 years old coach is probably the best suited for the job, given his track record. He won trophies with Estudiantes and River Plate, both Argentine clubs. However his European adventure in Atletico Madrid has been nothing but exciting! He won the La Liga with them in the 2013-2014 season, he won the Copa del Rey in the 2012-2013 season, he won the SuperCopa de España in 2014. In Europe, he has proven his mettle by winning the UEFA Europa league in 2012. He won the UEFA super cup in 2012 and he was the UEFA Champions league runner up in both 2014 and 2016, losing to both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, respectively.
So Gooners, if you were to make a choice based on these profiles, who will you choose?
Sylvester Kwentua