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Thread | Michael Laudrup as a coach
at 18:44 6 Feb 2014
Greetings
I haven’t posted on this forum before however I am an admirer of both Swansea and Michael Laudrup. Naturally, when the two were united I was over the moon since it seemed a perfect match. I have often enjoyed reading ‘Planet Swans’ because most of its posters seem to love football and furthermore have a well-established sense of humour.
However, I must admit that I cringe a bit when reading all the mud throwing going on at the moment. Michael Laudrup is by no means perfect, nor is he the devil reincarnated.
Last year, a writer named Jonas Nyrup published a, in my opinion, unbiased book about Laudrup. In November, he gave an interview to a Danish radio station regarding the book. For those who might be interested I will now attempt to translate that interview, albeit slightly paraphrased. If people are not interested than, at least, I will have been able practice my translation skills. I will skip the introduction of the interview.
Interviewer = (I)
Jonas Nyrup = (JN)
I — what similarities are there between ‘the player Michael Laudrup’ and ‘the coach Michael Laudrup’?
JN — well obviously there is the calm demeanour which is seen in even the most stressful situations. Basically, the house could be burning around him before you actually see it on his face. Another thing is the understanding of how best to make use of the media. When to say something, and how to say it.
I — but he hasn’t exactly gone from success to success as a coach. When he fails, what is it exactly that goes wrong?
JN — in short, it goes wrong when he doesn’t receive the support from the board that he expects/demands.
I — so Michael Laudrup is the type who doesn’t back down?
JN — very much so. He stands his ground regarding which type of football he wants to play; which type of players he wants in his team; and we know of many situations where players have been purchased against his will. He gives these players a chance — he is fair in that regard — but if they can’t adapt to his style of football then he slowly shows them the door.
I — so if a chairman/club director won’t give him the players that he expected and maybe has a different view on how the game should be played then it ends badly?
JN — yes that has been the case several times. Of course he aims to do the best he can do with what is at his disposal and he has been in situations where his team hasn’t played the way he wants them to but, over time, he has often been successful at implementing his style.
I — during his playing career he was considered a gentleman but as a coach you often have to be less diplomatic and occasionally yell at the players. How does he handle that aspect as a coach?
JN — his right hand Erik Larsen has said that ’I’ve been working with him for 8 years and I have never heard him yell.’
I — how can he get away with that as a coach?
JN — Larsen has said that people know he isn’t a shouter. When he enters the changing room, people realize that he is about to talk and they listen. He has a more quiet authority. However, sometimes the players need to be reprimanded if they’ve played badly in the first half but he prefers to delegate a lot of responsibility to the players both on and off the pitch. His philosophy is that the team should to be self-regulating and that the players are capable of motivating themselves and each other.
I — we know that John Jensen used to be his assistant and he certainly has a different temperament. Could you argue that Michael gets other people to do the dirty work for him, like yelling when that is needed?
JN — you could definitely say that. He has also been praised by various people for his ability to recognize the challenges that come with having his type of personality and accordingly he has teamed up with types that compliment his personality. First there was John Jensen and later came Erik Larsen who also had that bulldog type character. Furthermore, Bayram Tutumlu is also a classical example of this. He doesn’t hold his tongue and has no problem with expressing his opinion, even in the press/media.
I — what does Michael Laudrup get out of employing this type of bulldozer-agent?
JN — well, Tutumlu explains in the book that Michael is very intelligent and kind. He probably learns some stuff from me (Tutumlu) regarding the way I get my messages across, and similarly I learn from Michael regarding how to, occasionally, temper my own personality and take a step back.
He (Tutumlu) employs a rhetoric which Michael would never even go near — as seen in his confrontations with for instance Hugh Jenkins or with Danish press/media.
I — so in this aspect he also has people who do the dirty work for him?
JN — yes, and it is quite clever when you consider Michael’s personality which is gentleman-like, kind, cool and forthcoming. But also from a press tactical view it enables him to get messages across to the outside world that don’t have him as the sender and consequently he can’t be held accountable for those messages/statements.
I — in Spain, he managed respectively Getafe and Mallorca without any particular success. In Moscow it turned out to be an actual fiasco. Now he’s at Swansea where things seem to be going really well. Why is it working out for him this time?
JN — because he has the board’s full support regarding transfers in and out. As long as he stays within the budget they support him. Furthermore, he has inherited a team which already play the type of football he prefers; possession etc.,
I — so all in all, is he a good coach?
JN — I think the readers should be allowed to draw their own conclusions when reading the book — at least that was our intention with writing it. However, one should at least consider the benchmarks: in Brondby, he was allowed to do what he wanted and that went really well; in Getafe, it also went well despite the fact that he didn’t get his requests fulfilled; Moscow was a big mistake; at Mallorca he at least managed to keep a really poor team in the top division despite not having things the way he wanted them to be; now at Swansea, it seems more similar to his time at Brondby where he had more influence and once again it is going quite well.
I — he has always been linked with bigger clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona. Might he actually end up in one of those clubs?
JN — Laudrup himself has always been adamant in saying that he doesn’t have a so-called ‘career-plan’, because regarding a manager’s position so many other coincidences often play in. He was close to getting the job at Barcelona in 2008, but they instead ended up choosing a reserve team coach (Guardiola). Shortly after A C Milan appointed a coach (Leonardo) who had never coached before. So it’s not like you earn it by gradually moving through the ranks, as is seen in for instance a law firm. Both Madrid and Barcelona have been watching him for many years and still keep a very watchful eye on him. So he probably will get that type of an offer at some stage.
I — regarding the Danish National Team — how likely is it that he gets that job?
JN — it doesn’t seem very likely, despite the fact that we want him to come back and save us. Morten Olsen (current Danish Team Coach) has stated that one of his greatest memories is the fact that Michael decided to take up a career as a manager. However, DBU (Danish Football Association) are probably not capable of signing him. At the moment, he enjoys the day to day contact with the players; he enjoys the financial aspect of the businesshttp regarding signing cheap players, improving them and selling them with a big profit which benefits the club the players and everyone else involved. However, they hope that he eventually reaches an age where he would consider it and maybe then they might get lucky.
Interview broadcasted November 2, 2013 - http://www.dr.dk/radio/ondemand/p1/p1-morgen-548#!/40:47
[Post edited 6 Feb 2014 18:47]
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