LaLiga’s crisis clubs making life easier for Real Madrid

I make no apologies for starting a column on the state of La Liga by referencing Sir Alex Ferguson – a man who repeatedly turned down the chance to manage Barcelona.

As 'Fergie' became the most dominant and arguably greatest manager in British football history thanks to what he achieved at Aberdeen and Manchester United, the array of admirable talents and tactics that he employed was vast. One of the lesser known philosophies that he held dear was that of the nettle grip.

This tough, adventurous man, who fundamentally believed that his playful instincts would get him through almost any situation, was convinced that he was better than any of his rivals at managing a problem, evaluating it and act without fear after having assimilated the pros and cons. of the decision he was about to make.

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Particularly in his pomp at Old Trafford, Ferguson believed that most other managers procrastinated and actually feared facing and acting on onerous, threatening and complicated issues.

The bellicose Scot, who turned 82 on Sunday, believed that if he made tough decisions relatively quickly, having prepared himself for the possibility that he might fail to get it right, United would always let others rivals in its wake because far too many in football are rooted in thinking “what if I’m wrong?” »

A powerful combination of self-interest, ego, fear for job security and being overwhelmed by daily decision-making has, according to Fergie, throughout her career, left her competitors in a sort of paralysis, hesitant, even downright. not wanting to, “grasp the nettle”. And therefore be weaker as a result. As good as he was, as relentless, intelligent, ambitious and visionary as he was, Ferguson loved it when his rivals gave him any type of competitive advantage and this, he believed, was important and underappreciated.

Part of the reason for this sharing is to highlight that while the true juggernauts in any sport generally depend more on their exceptional individual greatness to take charge of their destiny than on the fallibility of their rivals, that equation changes when you are a coach. , manager or club president.

Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan, Simone Biles, Tom Brady, Michelle Akers… just a handful of examples of superstars who, whether their rivals were stunning or lying, achieved greatness because they could compete and, individually, transform them into their own form. will. When you're running something huge, with many, many moving parts (players, scouts, other coaches, doctors, physical therapists, fitness staff, dietitians, psychologists, analysts, media and communications specialists, and countless directors, owners, presidents, etc.), the individual ability to either ensure success or avoid potential disaster is a slower and more complex process. If your serious rivals are either stupid, incompetent, error-ridden, broke, lacking vision or perpetually engaged in firefighting, then, of course, it's easier to succeed – even if you don't do everything right all the time. .

On this basis, a penny for the thoughts of Florentino Pérez as we enter 2024. The president of Real Madrid is all-powerful in his club, uncontested in any way, and seems ready to enter a (another) era of sporting and commercial domination. He has just renewed the contract of his successful and highly regarded coach Carlo Ancelotti, his team is full of hungry young elite talent, his stadium project is nearing completion and, predictably, the Santiago Bernabeu can become a driving force that drives both on-field success and revenue.

And, who knows, the next few weeks could well allow him to recruit the man I would consider, pound for pound, to be the best footballer in the world: Kylian Mbappé. But when Don Florentino looks north, south, east or west, I would bet that he allows himself a long, derogatory and mocking laugh at many of his competitors. Four or five currently stand out.

Alongside Barcelona, ​​which remains an almost astonishing wounded and self-destructive soap opera from episode to episode, we must cite Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Villarreal and Valencia. You may have watched or just heard about the multi-Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning HBO series “Succession” – if so, you'll have no trouble relating it to what's going on at Seville, Celta and Villarreal.

Things are perhaps most spicy in Seville, where there has just been a change of presidency. This hugely successful club, which over the past two decades has set a model for player transfers while relentlessly winning trophies, is in the mud. Deep, deep.

To briefly summarize the situation of the “Succession”, Seville was led between 2002 and 2013 by José María del Nido Sr. until he was imprisoned for corruption in his business life, between 2013 and this week , José Castro (the hated enemy of Del Nido) and since December 31, 2023, by Del Nido's son – also José.

At Seville's last board meeting a month ago, outgoing president Castro complained: “Since the first day of my presidency, 10 years ago, I have seen Del Nido father boycotted everything we tried to do, he was an enemy of this council – first from his prison cell, then, once out, with more intensity as possible. We were the target of someone who was convicted of theft – his ego made him a sick man.

Del Nido Jr. was first introduced to the Sevilla board by his father as a junior member as early as 2006 and rose to vice chairman in recent years. So, in principle, you would have imagined that the elder Del Nido would be delighted that Castro was out, and that his eldest son was now president and running the club – hopefully out of their increasingly ugly situation . But no. A month ago, at that same seven-hour board meeting, Del Nido Sr. yelled at his son that he was “a piece of shit!” And as soon as the prearranged move took place on New Year's Eve — Castro eliminated and Del Nido Jr. succeeding him — Del Nido Sr. issued a scathing statement in which he complained: “There have been illegitimate movements in the club's board of directors, they continue to deny me the right to vote, while they grant themselves salaries worthy of sultans — we have appointed the most illegitimate president [his son] in the history of the club”

It's a saga that will continue with its sinister Punch and Judy nonsense for many months to come, but the main casualty will be the footballing operations at Sevilla. They almost got relegated last season, and they are fighting against that terrible prospect again this season. They sacked the emergency (José Luis Mendilibar) who parachuted in to save them at the last minute and managed to win another European trophy, they are far more in debt than they should be and the recent appointment of manager Quique Sanchez Flores means that's 10 coaches appointed, fired and paid since 2016. The club is in a dire state, but the necessary leadership, clarity, stability and sense of purpose (which Pérez has overall brought to Madrid since its resumption in 2009) will be absent as the civil war between Del Nidos Sr. and Jr. continues.

Celta is a little different. But there are similarities. Late last year, their 80-year-old ex-president, the eccentric and idiosyncratic Carlos Mouriño, handed over power to his daughter Marian. There were golden years under Mouriño's presidency: better finances, a presence in European competitions and, latterly, a renovated, much more atmospheric Balaidos stadium. But having flirted with relegation for years, Mouriño Sr. was something of an absentee owner and his ability to avoid the creeping tendrils of life in La Liga's basement seemed considerably diminished.

Immediately, when his daughter took over, she ended the situation of Celta sharing a director of football with Paris Saint-Germain (Luis Campos) – one of the strangest ideas I have ever seen in football . Let's hope that she is sharper, more dynamic, more capable of building a solid group than her father has been in recent years (nine coaches in six and a half seasons). Celta occupies third place in La Liga, three points less than Sevilla.

As for Villarreal, I'll return to what ails them another day, but suffice it to say that the transition of power from their visionary, billionaire owner, Fernando Roig, to his son, Fernando Jr, is one where the patriarch never ceases to tell everyone “the young man is in charge”, but he continues to get involved and intervene, with the inevitable result of instability. European winners a few seasons ago and semi-finalists in the Champions League in May 2022, they are currently only six points from relegation.

Valencia? Well, no inheritance/'succession' issues there – just a frustrated and angry owner, a fan base who hates him and his politics, and a manager who desperately needs experienced footballers, high quality and well purchased to build a company. An uneven and extremely young team.

Historically, these four teams have been able to mount periodic challenges to Spanish hegemony, but, as Madrid approaches a period where they should be ultra-strong and capable of dominating, Sevilla, Celta, Villarreal and Valencia are find themselves in varying degrees of dilemma. , anguish, confusion and acrimony. Rivals who damage and undermine each other. Florentino, just like Sir Alex Ferguson in his day, will love this.