Put Pep, Klopp or Pochetino in charge of FC Barcelona in the last few years and you'd see what a strong willed character who is also a great tactical mind would do with such an outlier like Messi. The only one after Pep who was a no non sense kind of guy was Lucho but he was pretty poor at the tactical aspect of management that he isn't in that category. Well, Tito was probably the best balance of both but unfortunately he became ill as soon as he got the job. RIP.
Anyway, my point is the same as serghei's. It's not entirely fair to put all the blame on Messi for the fact that he looks uncoachable. He is set in his ways, it's true, but there's also the fact that the managers he had after Guardiola were some of the most mediocre ones.
To me, a great manager has to have three things.
- Strong character, he should be in fact the leader and no player should have a voice over him. Leadership on the pitch is not more important that this.
- Great tactical mind, duh.
- Charisma. One of the most underrated qualities for a manager. It's no use having the above 2 characteristics if you can't convey it to the players in a way that they will always believe that what they're doing on the pitch is the best way to win.
Just look at the last managers we had and tell me one who meets all 3 of those qualities. Hell, you could argue that Tata Martino had none ffs. Lucho was strong willed but average to poor on the other fronts while Valverde has some tactical acumen(he doesn't even excel at this tbh) but is absolutely garbage at the other 2.
The players had to figure it out themselves for the most part. Unfortunately they have the self awereness of a blind sloth.
Yes, every dominant team starts with a great manager.
Porto, Chelsea, Inter with Mourinho (all dominant teams in their league and with great success in Europe playing a defensive physical style mostly).
Atletico with Simone (he put Atletico back in the European top 10 from a Bilbao level team in La Liga, and kept it there for years in a row).
Liverpool, Dortmund with Klopp (spectacular teams and a pleasure to watch, Dortmund last team to win back to back titles in Germany not named Bayern, CL finalists).
Barcelona with Pep (nothing to say here, the best).
Bayern with Heynckes and then Pep (dominant team always in the upper stages of CL playing top football).
Zidane with Madrid, especially in CL (can't argue with 3 in a row, special run having beaten a lot of elite sides).
Pochettino with Tottenham (at a lower level since no trophies, but CL final with Tottenham is incredible)
All have leadership and charisma to spare. Especially leadership. And all have tactical nous, with different styles obviously.
