5 famous Manager and Assistant Manager duos in football
Batman has Robin. Robert Baratheon had Ned Stark. Captain America has Falcon.
See the pattern?
All these great guys had an equally great sidekick. In football, a manager might be one of the most important persons responsible for a team’s success. But even the most talented manager needs a good assistant. In a world where players and managers steal all the limelight, the work of an assistant manager often goes under the radar.
Nevertheless, there are some manager-assistant manager pairs in football who have become famous due to the success they have achieved together. Some of these assistants are working with their managers since the start of their career and have loyally stood by their boss in tough situations.
We’ll take a look at the five famous Manager-Assistant Manager duos is Football.
#5 Zeljko Buvac and Jurgen Klopp
Dubbed as the ‘The Brain’ of Jurgen Klopp, Zeljko Buvac has been with Klopp since 2001. Born in Bosnia, Buvac had a decent career in football playing for several German clubs. It was at Mainz where Klopp and Buvac met. He was an attacking midfielder while Klopp was a striker turned defender. Both appreciated the intricacies of attacking football and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the duo instantly became friends.
When the German coach called time on his playing career, he was offered the managerial job at Mainz. Klopp accepted the offer and brought his trusted confidant Buvac as assistant manager. They stayed at the carnival club for seven years, clinching promotion to Bundesliga and guiding them to European Football. Mainz were relegated in 2007 and the duo soon left after failing to achieve promotion in the 2008 season.
Dortmund snapped up the duo in 2008 where the pair had the most successful career as managers. Klopp and Buvac together created the high pressing, counter-attacking Gegenpressing style of football at Westfalenstadion. They had immense success during their tenure at the German outfit, winning back to back Bundesliga titles (2011 and 2012) and winning the DFB Pokal in 2012.
Klopp admits that his Balkan counterpart is a “master of every part of the training” and they discuss every aspect of training with each other. Buvac carefully monitors every training session and points out the tactical mistakes if any. Klopp is known to be an animated figure on the touchline but Buvac is a calm person. They both complement each other perfectly.
After starting this season promisingly, Liverpool’s title challenge faded as the season progressed. Klopp and his ‘Brain’ would be looking to strengthen the team this summer to guide the Reds to their first Premier League title.