Chi É Francesco Guidolin?

Chi é Francesco Guidolin?

A few seasons ago, the impromptu and somewhat shocking decision for the Southampton board to sack popular manager Nigel Adkins and replace him with Argentine Mauricio Pochettino was met with intense scrutiny and a fear of the unknown. While Southampton have gone undoubtedly from strength to strength, and with Pochettino now gaining all the plaudits at his current club Tottenham Hotspur, does a lack of prior knowledge about a manager mean he is a bad call?

Take the imminent appointment of Francesco Guidolin as head coach of Swansea, context is key to this appointment of this experienced Italian. In terms of Swansea’s search for a manager, it has looked something similar to the player searches for many clubs during the January transfer window; an awful lot of speculation, with often limited end product. Many managers, Jorge Sampaoli, Brendan Rodgers and Marcelo Bielsa among others have been linked, but earlier this month coach and long serving stalwart at the club Alan Curtis had been handed the job on a temporary basis until the end of the season. But with the former player’s reluctance to be the main man tasked with keeping the Swans in the top flight, chairman Huw Jenkins has turned to the 60 year old with a lot of experience. With Curtis seemingly remaining as temporary manager, it remains to be seen how the two will work in connection to each other, perhaps meaning Curtis will resume his day to day coaching role.

So why Francesco?

As mentioned, the decision came as a big surprise to the footballing world, especially after the decision was made to keep Curtis at the helm. But following the home defeat to fellow relegation candidates Sunderland in mid-week, Curtis admitted he had no vanity about stepping aside for someone more experienced. Yet while he may not be a household name to many in South Wales, experience is just what he brings to the table. He certainly has no trouble with taking teams from obscurity to prominence either, turning Vincenza into a Serie A club, a mid table finish with Parma and perhaps his most highly celebrated success, finishing 4th and then 3rd with Udinese, the team from the North East of Italy finishing in Champions League qualifications spots under Guidolin. Arsenal fans may remember a trip to Udine to face Guidolin’s side in a qualifying match. Although, in more realistic terms, most Swans fans will just be hoping for now, he can keep them in the top flight, after their record breaking season previously.

He has tasted promotion too, with Vincenza as well as Palermo, with chairman Maurizio Zamparini, a man with a plethora of managerial sackings, known for never mincing his words about his former employers has described Guidolin as the best manager he has ever worked with. While this is the first time he has been thrown in at the deep end late on, in a new country and a different outlook on football, fans will be hoping for another shrewd piece of business in Swansea’s managerial appointment record and not a situation like the Felix Magath era at Fulham.

What is likely to change?

The board at Swansea have been known, post-Roberto Martinez to appoint managers based on their ethos being similar to the club’s in terms of style of play. He definitely answers critics of former manager Garry Monk being not experienced enough, but can be carry on the club’s passing style? Well, in short, yes. Tactically, fans may see changes though. Known to favour a 3-5-2 formation, context is key here as it is a formation much more prominent on the peninsula, with Napoli and Juventus among others favouring it in recent years. Specifically for Swansea, this may favour those who have played on the wing but can play up top, such as Andre Ayew. Perhaps in the same way Guidolin transformed Alexis Sanchez into a more forward thinking player, before his move to Barcelona.

What can Swansea bring to him?

Well, first and foremost, a challenge. But one that any followers of his career will know he will thrive on. This will be new to Guidolin, the first British club he has worked at, he did have a spell at Monaco, where he finished far behind Lyon and failed to make a real impact. Yet, for now, the club will just want to get out of a rare situation that they find themselves in where they are in a very real relegation battle. Out of the multitude of managers linked, perhaps Guidolin may prove to be the right choice after all, even if he remains largely unknown to the average British football fan. He is also blessed with a talented group of players, largely the same team that finished in the top half last season. Perhaps what will please fans the most is Huw Jenkins praising his knowledge in terms of recruitment, with many fans getting disgruntled at the current lack of new signings; with the consensus seeming that the club need to bolster their forward options. With his work for the Pozzo family, owners of Udinese, Watford and Granada (whom Guidolin had until recently been technical director for all three) it is safe to assume he will at least have a basic prior knowledge of the English game, and most certainly the European market. Perhaps his admission of his knowledge of the team’s style of football with please fans most. All in all, this big gamble could go either way for Swansea, but mutually this is an exciting appointment for both the club, as well as Guidolin himself.