5 best assistant managers in football at the moment (2022)
Football fans who believe that all of the coaching and tactics that a team follows flow from a single individual are about to be met with a rude awakening. Most top coaches will agree that their jobs are infinitely harder without assistant managers.
Assistant managers don't get the credit they deserve
With head coaches and managers getting all the limelight, assistant managers are mostly undervalued and underrated in the footballing world. But that's no reflection of their abilities and acumen. Yet they join and leave a club without much noise.
Jurgen Klopp once called his former assistant Zeljko Buvac the 'brain' in his coaching side. Jose Mourinho faltered when his long-term assistant Rui Faria left to pursue an independent career after working with the 'Special One' for 17 years.
The role of assistant managers cannot be trifled. Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best assistant managers in football at the moment.
#5 Thierry Henry (Belgium)
Thierry Henry's independent managerial career has not worked out as well as anyone would have liked so far. His forgettable stint at AS Monaco was followed by another underwhelming spell with MLS outfit Montreal Impact.
But Henry has now returned to his former role as the assistant manager of the Belgian national side. He had served in the same role between 2016 and 2018 as the Red Devils rose to the top of the FIFA World Rankings.
He was assistant manager as Belgium reached the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well. Not only is Henry one of the greatest strikers of all time but he also has great tactical nous and is a keen student of the game.
He shares a great rapport with the players in the Belgian national team. Romelu Lukaku considers Henry to be his mentor and has enjoyed great success with the national side under the guidance of the legendary Arsenal striker.
Class is permanent. 🤩 #DEVILTIME #EURO2020 https://t.co/6PO27JGEVV
#4 Rene Maric (Borussia Dortmund)
Rene Maric used to be a very enthusiastic young coach with no big-time connections in the football worl. He was an ardent football fan who used to write about football tactics and strategies on his Spielverlagerung blog with four of his friends. They dissected teams, coaches and their tactics.
Maric used to coach in his home village and his writings were more about coaching and much less about journalism. Speaking to the Guardian in September 2018, Maric said:
“I think people have got the impression it was more about journalism, or commenting on people in football, but that was never the goal. For me it was about thinking of something, throwing it out there and just finding people who’d comment. In my village it’s hard to get regular feedback on things; on the internet you throw it out and can have 5,000 readers and 200 comments.”
Then Mainz manager Thomas Tuchel saw their blog and his assistant called and invited Maric for a discussion. He ended up working as a consultant for Tuchel that season. He subsequently worked with Marco Rose who was in charge of the u-18 Red Bull Salzburg team.
Maric was appointed as the assistant coach of the u-18 RB Salzburg in 2016. Together, Rose and Maric led the u-18 side to UEFA Youth League glory in the 2016-17 season. Rose then became the manager of the first team and Maric accompanied him. The pair left Red Bull Salzburg in 2019 to join Borussia Monchengladbach.
Maric is currently the assistant manager of Borussia Dortmund after joining them last summer once again with Marco Rose.
thing I'd often hear/read & disagree with, is the thought that "tactics" are some kind of thoroughly pre-planned opponent-oriented idea by the coach. "Tactics", for me, are the sum of communication & decision-making of the players, supported/advised by the coach(ing staff) in