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Mourinho, Wenger, Guardiola and the permanence of change

By Daily Sports on May 9, 2017

“Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, the future’s not ours to see, que era sera” . . . So the lyrics to the old song go. It’s a short song laced with a deep philosophical meaning that seems to admonish us to not worry ourselves too much on what the future holds. But while some may not dread so much the tidings the future may bring, there are many others in the football world who boast so much about their foreknowledge of what the outcome of certain football situations would bring. But as we get to know from time to time, no matter how long lasting a situation might be, changes do sometimes occur which run contrary to the long held belief.

Take a look at Arsenal; many fans of theirs have been left terribly frustrated, to the point where you fear that the frustration may have induced some mental health problems, owing to their club’s inability to win the English Premier League for almost a decade and half since they last did in 2004. As every season rolls to an end there’s usually a feeling of huge collective despair over this failure. But the despair notwithstanding, the Gunners have always been able to finish in the top places of the Premiership for about 20 years since the current manager Arsene Wenger took charge of the team, and this has always guaranteed them a place in the prestigious European Champions League year after year.

The Gunners’ fans for long have come to take it for granted that no matter what happens their team will qualify for the Champions League. Even rival fans had come to the conclusion that Arsenal somehow will always squeeze their way into the Champions League places even in the face of the toughest competition for it.

In fact, the team and Wenger are ridiculed by many Arsenal fans when a season ends with Champions League qualification, without a trophy to show. ‘Top four landlords’ is phrase that has become synonymous with Arsenal. But now, what has become a norm is about to change as Arsenal are in real danger of missing out this year. Things change, you know!

Then there’s Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United Manager. Another long held belief was that he can’t lose a competitive match against Arsene Wenger. In 12 meetings, and since 2004 when the pair first met while the former was a new manager at Chelsea, Wenger had failed to register a single win. Just two years ago, Mourinho named him a ‘specialist in failure’ – a quote that will not just go away. But on a sunny afternoon in London last Sunday, and at a time when Wenger has come under the most stinging criticisms because of his team’s dismal season, his worst with the Gunners in terms of League position at this time of the season, the Frenchman finally beat Mourinho 2-0. So this just shuts the mouth of those ‘Mourinho will never lose to Wenger’ brigade. Things change, you know!

Then let’s talk about Pep Guardiola, shall we? The Manchester City Manager arrived in England prior to the start in a wave of glory singing in the northeast of the country. City fans were sure, like many other followers of football, that Guardiola, having never gone a full season managing a club without winning a title, would be ending his first season with City with a trophy to show. Alas! It is not to be. The manager who won every domestic title in Germany with Bayern Munich and in Spain with Barcelona – with the Champions League twice in his illustrious career – is finishing empty-handed. However, it should be noted that Bayern have not been as dominant domestically under new manager, Italian Carlo Ancelloti, as they were under Guardiola. Bayern would only end up with the league trophy this time and the job of the revolutionary Guardiola in Deutschland will perhaps be appreciated more.

What shall we make of these? Nothing is permanent except change itself, as the cliché goes. It’s so true in football. A more philosophically balanced position should best be adopted in every given situation in the game and in life generally, instead of the gloating, whining, over celebration and ‘I too know’ attitudes that pervade the football landscape and life today. Thus, instead of considering and analysing specific situations on the basis of their particular contexts, many choose a nuance-free style of analysis to predict outcomes of sporting events.

Source Daily Sports

Posted May 9, 2017