Managerial movements

OFTEN you wonder whether clubs, even the most important clubs, know what they are doing with their managerial appointments. Of late there has been a plethora of debatable ones, some in England, some in Italy and one major appointment in Brazil.

That is the elevation to international team manager of "Big Phil," as he's known, Scolari, without doubt one of the most successful team managers in that huge country, not least of late with Palmeirao and Crzueiro, but beyond doubt a very controversial choice to take charge of the national team. Simply as a question of style, for Scolari coaches as he once used to play; a big, rugged defender with few frills or graces and an aggressive attitude to the game. Not merely on the field, but off it, and sometimes on the touchlines of it as Wanderley Luxemburgo will attest.

Luxemburgo, Scolari's one from last predecessor as the manager of Brazil, once complained that during the course of a match, Scolari had hit him! As indeed Scolari has been known to strike journalists who have offended him. He makes no bones about his methods, having publicly admitted that he encourages his players to foul in areas where not too much danger will be incurred: that is to say not in or around the penalty area.

Scolari shrugs off any criticism of such tactics, maintaining that most other Brazilian coaches also employ them, but that they won't admit they do as he himself does. The point is, will we now see a bruising Brazil as we have indeed done before? Not under a Scolari figure but under the illustrious Mario Lobo Zagalo, a World Cup winner both as player and as a coach. In 1974, with Pele refusing to take part, Zagalo took a team to the West German World Cup which hardly stood on ceremony. It was rough and tough not least in the decisive game against Holland in the rain at Dortmund where Johan Neeskens, the Dutch star, was knocked out and the big Brazilian centre-back Luis Pereira sent off.

Given that Brazil could actually see themselves absent from the World Cup finals for the first time ever, you can well imagine them resorting to tough tactics to ensure they at least keep a fourth place in the eliminators, though a fifth place would enable them to play off against the winners of the Oceania group.

In Milan, both clubs have just changed managers. It was always assumed that Cesare Maldini, in his latter 60s now, was employed only as a stop gap manager after Silvio Berlusconi, the AC Milan owners had sacked Alberto Zaccheroni. Now the Turk Fatih Terim has been appointed as the new incumbent. There is no doubting the abilities of Terim, though he still has to work on his Italian. But what astonished me is that he should take over at Milan rather than at their local rivals Inter where he was expected to go. Not least because Inter have just signed on free Bosman transfers, a couple of gifted midfield players whom Fatih Terim coached at Galatasaray before he joined Fiorentina. That makes three Turkish internationals, given the fact that Hakan Sukur, the big centre forward, is already there. Wouldn't it have made sense for the team to have a Turkish manager already so familiar with those players? But how much sense do these clubs ever show?

Fatih Terim, you may remember, proudly and angrily resigned the Fiorentina job early in the recent season, incensed beyond bearing by the arrogant, boorish behaviour of the deeply unpopular president, Vittorio Cecchi Gori. Significantly he was followed out of the door by none other than Giancarlo Antognoni, a former star inside forward with the club, for many years their chief executive. The fans wanted Terim and loathe Cecchi Gori.

Inter, meanwhile, having sacked Massimo Lippi, who came to them for a fortune after giving up at Juventus, installed the former World Cup 1982 winner, Marco Tardelli. Now he has been booted out and in comes the Argentine coach of Valencia, Hector Cuper. While it seems logical for Inter to want a manager who had such success, first on a shoestring with Mallorca, then at Valencia, is it as sensible of Cuper to take the job? True it's said that despite his European Cup achievements, there he was never popular with the fans of Valencia, but Inter is a club in permanent chaos, where the President Massimmo Moratti, like Cecchi Gori, the son of a rich and powerful ex-club president father, is forever chopping and changing, pouring out vast sums of money for new players only for the results to be wholly out of proportion.

The recent season was just one League match and 48 hours old when Inter sacked Lippi! Rotten results it's true, but hardly the way to treat a manager of his supreme status. But now what happens? Why, Lippi, who walked out on Juventus, is back again, displacing poor Carlo Ancelotti who knew he was out of the door even if Juve won their last match, Roma lost and Juve thus took the title - which they of course didn't!

In England, we have the case of West Ham United. There as great surprise when towards the end of the season out went their long serving manager and former player, Harry Redknapp. This had a domino effect. His assistant, Frank Lampard Senior, resigned in turn, which meant there was no way the club would keep their young English international Frank Lampard Junior who has now been sold to Chelsea for &pound11 million. Hammers wanted Alan Curbishley, also one of their ex-players, from Charlton, or Alex McLeish of Hibernian. No dice. They announced that the club coach Glenn Roeder wasn't in the running. Then, failing to get the two men they wanted, they appointed Roeder, to the anger of their fans and of their volatile Italian star player, Paolo Di Canio.

Poor Roeder, a decent man and an excellent coach even if he may not be managerial material. Three modest managerial years at Watford were hardly the ideal calling card. But blame the club not Roeder.