magazineguy:
Over the years, every appointed Nigerian coach by the NFF always engage in a battle of ego as age, experience, connections dictates the criteria in which these Nigeria coaches were being appointed. Below are a few Italian coaches Nigerian coaches can emulate one of two things from as compiled by the Kick and Follow team.

Arrigo Sacchi

Arrigo Sacchi is considered to be one of the greatest manager of all time. He was twice coach at AC Milan from 1987-1991 and 1996-1997 where he achieved a high level of success at the Club winning one Seria A title, Super Coppa Italiana, two European cups, two European Super cups and one Intercontinental cup. He also finished runner up with The Italian team he managed when they lost to Brazil in the 1994 world cup on penalties.

PHILOSOPHY

Nicknamed the ‘Prophet of Fusignano’, Sacchi favoured a 4-4-2 formation that is fluid but highly organized in attack. This type of approach dictates that the sweeper that is free from man marking tasks is discarded, leaving the team to be saddled with the responsibility of zonal marking whereby the defenders cover a certain area of the pitch. He employed this tactic to great effect when he managed the likes of Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. His tactical approach made him successful while at AC Milan and he is credited with innovations that apply in the modern game such as high pressing, setting the offside trap and and a high defensive line with no more than 25 meters between defense and attack. He was a strong advocate of equality among players. He is described to be a detailed coach, who paid attention to the slightest and implemented a strict training regime for his players to memorize and practice during matches – an attribute which earned him criticism. For his contribution to the success of Italian football, Arrigo Sacchi was inducted into the Italian football hall of fame in 2011.

Marcelo Lippi

Retiring from active football at the age of 34, Marcelo Lippi began his journey into coaching with a stint at Italian side – Sampdoria. His breakthrough did not come until he successfully took Napoli to a place in the UEFA cup despite the financial turmoil of the club who were still basking in the memories of Diego Maradona. Now a top target for management, Marcelo Lippi was employed by Juventus with whom he won a Serie A title with excellent players such as Gianluca Viali and Ciro Ferrara. After a not too impressive stint at Internationale, Marcelo Lippi moved back to Juventus where he won the two scuddeti and led the team to an all Italian final against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League. His side lost on penalties.Following a disappointing Euro 2004 by the Italian team under the tutelage of Compatriot Giovanni Trappatoni, Marcello Lippi was handed the reins and he successfully qualified the Azzurri for the 2006 world cup in Germany where they defeated France on Penalty shootout. He resigned from the Italian National team due to the team’s poor performance in the 2010 World cup qualifying matches. He moved to relatively obscure (in football terms) China where he became a Legend for Guangzhou Evergrande, Winning four successive league titles and also became their director of football. However, he resigned from his position in February 2015.

PHILOSOPHY

Marcelo Lippi is a strong advocate of Team Unity and mutual relations between players stating that players must play for each other and not for themselves. He also believed that tactics employed must maximize the potential of each player and their utility for each players and each tactic employed must be right for the players. Marcelo Lippi is well decorated and has won many laurels. Aside from winning every major title with Juventus including the UEFA champions league and the Intercontinental cup, he has also won the AFC Champions league, becoming the first coach to win both continental trophies. His exploits at winning the World Cup in 2006 fetched him an individual award for World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year. He is also a fellow inductee to the Italian football hall of fame.

Fabio Capello

A fine midfielder during his playing days for AS Roma, AC Milan and Juventus, Fabio Capello started his coaching career when he was appointed caretaker coach for AC Milan in 1987 but his baptism of fire began in 1991 when he replaced fellow Italian Arrigo Sacchi. He retained the setup of the latter in terms of players and tactics which yielded a Scudetto in 1991–92 and a UEFA champions league trophy in 1993 when they defeated Barcelona. With players such as Marcello Dessalliy and Paolo Di Canio, AC Milan were riding the waves under Capello and won the Scudetto again in the 1995-96 season. They did it with an 8 point margin.

PHILOSOPHY

He moved to Spanish giants Real Madrid and won the La Liga tittle for the club. Playing a trio of Davor Suker, Pedrag Mijatovic and Raul, he preferred the long ball tactic where Fernando Hierro locates Roberto Carlos on the wing who will have the trio to combine with. Although he won the La Liga, he was unpopular with then president Lorenzo Sans and the club fans who were not happy that Raul was played in the wings. A not too successful stint at AC Milan led the Italian out of the Rossonerri and in to the Gialorossi , AS Roma. He was successful, winning the Scudetto in 2001, But diminishing returns set in for the club as a series of bad results led the Italian to move to Juventus. Despite winning two scudetti in 2005 and 2006, the club was stripped of their title due to the Calciopoli scandal. He moved to England and Russia where he had short managerial spells.


Carlo Ancelotti

The Italian was a former player for AC Milan and he is currently the only coach in the UEFA champions’ league history to win the trophy 3 times and reach four finals. He had successful spells in clubs such as Chelsea, P.S.G and Real Madrid. He is known for his pragmatic style of play and loves to attack. He won the champions league with Real Madrid in the 2013/2014 season.

PHILOSOPHY

He is a great tinker who reads games and changes formation during the match. He likes attacking football and gave his great attacking players a free role, while building the team around them. This he did with Kaka at AC Milan and Ronaldo in Real Madrid.


Claudio Ranieri

Born in Rome, Italy, Claudio Ranieri is a former player and current manager of Leicester City. He has previously managed many European clubs, including Cagliari, Napoli, Valencia, Athletico Madrid, Roma, Inter Milan, Juventus, Chelsea and Monaco. He was the coach of the Greek national team, but was sacked due to poor results after four months.

PHILOSOPHY

In his debut for Leicester City against Sunderland, he told the media after the game that he inspired the team to win by giving them motivation from the rock band Kasabian. He is known for his discipline and his formation tinkering. Ranieri is one coach who is not afraid to try new things. He currently plays an Alex Ferguson style 4-4-2 formation where he makes use of his creative midfielders and sometimes tinkers it to a 3-5-2 when attacking. He is famous for his motivation and development of average players to become super stars.