The Importance of Trophies

Sarri

Aurelio De Laurentiis is a man who does not mince his words. It is not new to hear him make controversial and at times, harsh statements every now and then, with his latest comment on Maurizio Sarri from a similar ilk. "We gave Sarri everything and in three years we didn't win anything.", he proclaimed, despite Napoli having enjoyed a very good campaign in which they finished second, under the Italian. Sarri is now the manager of Chelsea, and he will face similar criticism if he fails to lead Chelsea to trophies.

Being a football manager, of any club, but especially that of a big club is not a walk in the park. The yardstick by which success is measured differs from a club to club basis. But at a big club, ultimately, whether you agree with it or not, it is trophies that matter. Trophies act as an umbrella against even the most torrential insults, as a shield against even the most pointed jabs. That is the primary reason Jose Mourinho is valued so highly, despite experiencing a downturn over the past couple of years in his career. The legacy that he has built, at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid means that he will go down as one of the greatest of all times in the pantheon of managers. Even at Manchester United, which, arguably, has to be his worst spell ever at a club, ended with him having won 3 trophies, taking United to an FA Cup final, and finishing 2nd, United's highest position since Sir Alex Ferguson's last campaign as manager. Mourinho's playing style might not have won him fans all over, but it has assured him of a place as a legend of the game, simply because of his trophy cabinet.

On the other end of the spectrum lie two managers who are loved by all, whose playing style has won plaudits by neutrals, and even opposition, but they are yet to win a trophy with their respective clubs: Tottenham Hotspur's Mauricio Pochettino and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp.

Klopp's trophy cabinet is fuller than the Argentine's. He won the Bundesliga twice with Borussia Dortmund, playing with a style heavily reliant on pressing, pace and regaining possession of the ball as soon as it is given away, as style named gegenpressing, which he began with Mainz, and brought to fruition with Borussia Dortmund, where he truly cemented his position as one of the most exciting coaches in the business, and went on to win two Bundesliga titles, three cup titles, while also taking them to the Champions League final. All this, when Bayern Munich were well on their way to establishing dominance in German football. They did beat Dortmund in the aforementioned Champions League final, but Klopp had already done what he had meant to do. Dortmund were one of the most exciting teams in the planet at that time, playing heavy metal football great on the eye, winning trophies, while also blooding in youngsters who would go on to become superstars in the future: Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Mats Hummels, and Robert Lewandowski, to name a few.

The many moods of Jurgen Klopp

But that was all five years ago. Klopp is yet to win a trophy in that time frame, despite leading Liverpool to three finals: The Champions League, The Europa League and League Cup. And thus, he still remains a question mark. Liverpool, as expected, play a gung ho style of football, exciting to watch, with one of the most exhilarating front three in world football right now. Klopp has spent nearly £383 million over the last three years, bringing in quality players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita. Despite the backing from the board, despite the good football on display, Klopp has won fewer trophies than Brendan Rodgers, who arguably had an inferior team to work with, despite the presence of Luis Suarez. This season represents as good an opportunity as any,  to win their first Premier League title, with Liverpool top of the table, 3 points ahead of favourites Manchester City. The last time a team topped the table during Christmas and failed to go on and win the title, was , lo and behold, Liverpool. Klopp, many fans might argue, is the best thing to have happened to Liverpool. But hugs and claps do not matter in football, trophies do, as Mourinho pointed out during one of his last interviews as the manager of United. If Liverpool want to justify their ongoing project under the German, if they want to justify the amount of money they have spent over the past three years, if they want to justify that the sales of Phillipe Coutinho and Suarez for record amounts of money to Barcelona were for the greater good, then a trophy(ies), preferably the league and the Champions League, will be the only evidence they have to support their claim that their project was successful.

Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino is a different case study. One might argue that Tottenham Hotpsur never really had a huge, overriding ambition of winning trophies every season. It is just that the team the Pochettino has assembled and managed deserves one. It is a golden generation, unlike any Spurs have ever created. They had their share of world class players, of course, with Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Dimitar Berbatov all Spurs alumni, but they all left for pastures new when the time came. But this batch is different. Led by Spurs academy graduate Harry Kane, this side has stuck together, for the most part. One of the primary reasons for that is Pochettino. He plays an exciting brand of football, is tactically astute, gives youngsters a chance to flourish. When Kyle Walker broke through the Spurs ranks, nobody imagined that one day he would fetch nearly £50 million, which is what Manchester City paid for him. Pochettino made him that player. Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Danny Rose, Eric Dier. The list goes on. However, Spurs were always walking on a tight rope with so much talent under their belt. Teams inevitably want such good players. Walker left, and went on to win the league in his first season at City. Spurs are restricted financially as well, unable to compete with the other big players in the league. They work with a very tight wage budget, made more taut by the fact that they have a new stadium under construction as well. Danny Rose highlighted that much during a controversial interview, stating that Spurs needed to start loosening the purse strings a little bit more. Pochettino has spent £252 million during his five year stay at Spurs, with a net spend of £50 million. During that same period, Manchester City have spent £693 million, while Manchester United have spent £596 million. Despite that, the Argentine has guided Spurs to three consecutive third place finishes, an incredible feat. Perhaps unsurprisingly he is wanted by Manchester United to become their next permanent manager, and it would not be a complete shock to see the Spurs players leaving once he leaves. Still, the fact that he has been unable to win a trophy with a such a talented Spurs team is often used against him.

Mourinho remains one of the most diversive figures in football. Talented, charismatic, controversial but also one of the greatest managers of all time, a serial winner. Klopp and Pochettino are yet to reach those heady heights, despite being better managers, perhaps, than the Portuguese. The yardstick is different. No trophies won is not a criticism that will be leveled at Bournemouth's Eddie Howe, or West Ham's Manuel Pellegrini. But for Klopp, and for Pochettino, and for Sarri, history books will not remember how these managers set up teams. That will not be considered as a barometer. Winning, and ultimately trophies, determine the fate of the modern manager, most certainly that of a big club. Pep Guardiola has found the ideal marriage between the two, and hence he is the greatest of the current bunch, one of the greatest of all time. The rest of the pack has to catch up.