3 Managers who changed their clubs fortunes in their first year | European Football
Over the years the role of a manager has gone through a humongous transformation. In the old school days when the manager was responsible for everything, from taking care of managing the players, sponsors, to now just coaching the players to get the best out of them on the field.
We have seen many different types of managers in the past decade. Zinedine Zidane, for example, is a great man manager. On the other hand, someone like Pep Guardiola looks into meticulous details and needs every player to do exactly what he wants them to do. Someone like Jurgen Klopp likes high intensity, high-pressure football, while Jose Mourinho believes in a defence-first approach.
Here are three managers who have taken new jobs and helped their sides to reach the next level.
PABLO MACHIN
Signed by Sevilla at the start of this season after leading newly promoted Girona to a commendable tenth place finish. Sevilla had a torrid 2017/18 season finishing in a lowly seventh place, 15 points off of the Champions League spots.
A lack of goals upfront and a leaky defence saw them end up with a -9 goal difference. In spite of signing the likes of Simon Kjaer and Sebastien Corchia to sure up their defence, Sevilla conceded 4 or more goals on six separate occasions. Fair to say, Machin had his work cut out when we walked through the doors of the Pizjuan.
The loan signing of misfiring Andre Silva turned out to be a masterstroke. A shift to a 3-5-2 formation with Silva and Wissam Ben Yedder leading the line has seen a drastic change in their fortune. Together they have scored 15 goals with midfield dynamo Pablo Sarabia getting 6 assists to his name. Machin has taken a side dwindling in midfield obscurity to now being the closest contenders to current league leaders and defending champions Barcelona.
Currently sitting in second, three points behind Barcelona, Sevilla have come a long way in a short period of time. Rumours of the club looking to make Silva's loan move permanent is a show of intent from the Andalucian side. With Machin at the helm, Sevilla has already battered Real Madrid 3-0 at home and have made the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan a real fortress.
If Sevilla continues to perform the way they are, Machin could have offers from a number of top clubs from around Europe.