Two European nations with a proud history of great teams, world-class players and elite coaches spent Wednesday night playing out a 1-1 Nations League draw in Bergamo, Italy, with sides that lacked a striker capable of worrying top-level opposition.
Both teams are also having to navigate their routes back to the top with managers who have ended up in charge of their respective countries, after drifting to the margins as club bosses in recent years. There was a time when international football was the pinnacle of the game, for players and coaches, but the sight of Roberto Mancini and Frank de Boer patrolling the touchline on Wednesday proved that it no longer attracts the cream of the crop.
On the face of it, the 1-1 draw was a good result for both Mancini and de Boer.
Mancini, the former Inter Milan and Manchester City coach, extended his unbeaten run in charge of the Azzurri to 19 games, while Donny van de Beek's first-half equaliser, following Lorenzo Pellegrini's opening goal for Italy, ensured that de Boer avoided the ignominy of overseeing a Dutch team that failed to score in four successive games.
A team blessed with the talent of Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek, amongst others, is now being managed by a coach who has been sacked from his past three jobs. In fairness to de Boer, this was only his second game in charge of the Netherlands, having been appointed last month as successor to Ronald Koeman, who resigned his post to take the Barcelona job. But even de Boer must accept that he was incredibly fortunate to land a role as prestigious as the one he now finds himself in.
De Boer had 14 games in charge of Inter in 2016 before being dismissed after just 85 days. A year later, he was gone after just five games as manager at Crystal Palace -- de Boer was later labelled the "worst manager in Premier League history" by Jose Mourinho. In late 2018, he resurfaced in MLS with Atlanta United, where he managed 55 games before losing his job in July after three successive defeats in the MLS Is Back Tournament.In de Boer's defence, he guided Ajax to four Eredivisie titles in four years before heading to Inter, but since leaving Amsterdam, his coaching career has been in a downward spiral. Having inherited a Dutch squad from Koeman that reached the final of the inaugural Nations League tournament in 2019 after missing out on World Cup qualification, de Boer has the chance to rebuild his reputation in charge of his country, but a dour 0-0 draw against Bosnia in his first game, followed by the result in Italy, is not the most inspiring of starts.
Unless de Boer can unearth a striker of the ilk of former Dutch greats such as Marco van Basten, Ruud van Nistelrooy or Robin van Persie, he is going to struggle to turn the Netherlands into a contender for Euro 2020 or the 2022 World Cup. Journeyman Luuk de Jong, unfortunately for de Boer, is never going to match the feats of his glorious predecessors. A Guus Hiddink or even a Louis van Gaal would perhaps find a way to capitalise on Dutch strengths to the point that they could overcome their weaknesses, but de Boer's recent past suggests he will struggle to do the same.
With Mancini, it is a different story. The 55-year-old has done well with Italy since taking the job in May 2018, six months after Gian Piero Ventura's team missed out on Russia 2018, but he was not even second choice for the job. Neither Carlo Ancelotti nor Massimiliano Allegri were interested in managing their country, so Mancini, whose only trophy since winning the Premier League with City in 2012 has been a Turkish Cup with Galatasaray, pretty much found himself as the last man standing.Mancini landed the job because he wanted it, rather than because he was the best man available, but that has become a trend in international football, which can no longer compete with the club game for the best managers. Just look where Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Diego Simeone are currently plying their trade.
For Mancini, the Italy job is all about rehabilitating his reputation and possibly getting another big club job at the end of it. But just like de Boer, the lack of a genuine world-class striker will ultimately deny him the chance to succeed.
Ciro Immobile is prolific for Lazio but unimpressive for Italy. Neither Andrea Belotti nor Moise Kean have shown themselves to be international class and, although Mancini has always been a big supporter of Mario Balotelli, he has not selected the 30-year-old since September 2018 and things would have to be really bad for the now-clubless maverick to get another chance with the national team. But that is the hand Mancini has been dealt. He has to scratch around for a solution, just as the international associations of Italy and the Netherlands did when hiring their current managers. It is a sad truth that international football is now in this situation and that two great nations are having to be guided back to the top by coaches who can no longer get a big job in the club game.
Fernando Alonso said the performance of Renault's Formula 1 car was a "nice surprise" after making his return to the cockpit at Barcelona on Tuesday.
The two-time world champion drove a 100km test for Renault as part of his refamiliarisation process with F1 and the team before his return next year.
He last drove an F1 car at a test in Bahrain for McLaren in April 2019.
Alonso said: "The car performed well in the last races and I felt the grip and good potential in it."
He added: "I wasn't able to maximise the performance because I'm not up to speed yet but I'm happy with the day."
His last competitive action in any motorsport was in the Indianapolis 500 in August, and before that in the Dakar Rally in January.
Alonso added that he "felt the step forwards" in the Renault engine since his last experience of it in the McLaren.
The 39-year-old has signed a two-year contract to return to F1 with Renault from next season, when the team will be renamed Alpine after the French car company's performance brand.
He is returning to the team with whom he won his two world titles in 2005 and 2006.
Renault are trying to ensure Alonso is as prepared as he can be for his comeback, especially in light of the fact that there are only three days of pre-season testing next year.
Because these have to be shared with team-mate Esteban Ocon, that means Alonso will have only one and a half days in the revamped car before the start of the 2021 season.
"It felt amazing to be able to drive these cars after two years and feel the speed again, how everything comes so fast, corner after corner, the performance under braking and all the things a Formula 1 car has to offer," Alonso said.
He said the test was "about working with the team to do a couple of laps and for me to find comfort in the seat, the steering wheel and the pedals. These are things for next year which, over winter, could be very tight. It's our first steps."
At the Eifel Grand Prix on Sunday, Daniel Ricciardo, who is leaving Renault for McLaren next year, scored the team's first podium since Renault's return as a constructor in 2016.
Alonso said: "I know what the team is capable of and I know the prospects for the future are good. The podium is a thing that had to happen.
"The most important thing is to follow the trend that we see now, keep the momentum into next year, especially for 2022, and I think we know how to do it."
Comments
Post a Comment