Men in Blazers 05/27/23 Managers of the Season Pod Special

Hey Prime members, you can listen to Men in Blazers ad free on Amazon Music download the app today. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, host of Wondrous Business Movers. In our latest series, Phil Knight bets the future of his little known shoe company Blue Ribbon Sports on a big move, creating his own in-house brand. With this bold direction, Phil creates one of the most recognizable and successful companies in the world, Nike. Listen to business movers becoming Nike on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to the Men in Blazers media network Suboptimal Radying. Welcome to a Men in Blazers Championship Sunday Eve Pod Special. And if you're asking, no, I'm not nervous at all about the possibility of ever to be relegated. And the sporty world as I know it crumbling at my feet, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's mid afternoon. I've already changed my pants three times. This is human darkness. But for those of you who are not evident fans, tomorrow marks the end to what's been a truly remarkable Premier League season, a long season, a world cup, broken season, a season still filled with wonder and joy and some incredible storylines. And today, we want to celebrate a few of those stories with three managers who arrived on the scene this season and injected life into their respective clubs. I'm talking about Brighton's Roberto Dizerbi, who has this club into the Europa League, into European competition for the first time in its 123 year history. It's just incredible. Then you have Manchester United, Eric Tenharg, who took over at Manchester United and won that dressing room break dance battle with Ronaldo, keeping the focus always on the collective, the discipline, the organisation, the belief at times of true challenge. And as of this past Thursday, clinched a return to the Champions League. And then there's Aston Villa's Unai Emery Villa. Remember this, we're 15th and sinking fast when he took over from Stephen Gereard back in October this weekend. Take a clincher spot in the Europa Conference League. All of it, incredible leadership, all of it, incredible vision, commitment to an idea and cultural transformation. And I've had the good fortune of speaking with all three of these footballing brains in a bottle over the last few weeks. You can see these conversations, versions of them on our YouTube channel, subscribe to that beauty, but we also wanted to bring them to you as a podcast. So without further ado, present to you conversations with the three blokes who've made this one of the most memorable Premier League seasons in recent history, not named Sean Deitch, to the pod. My guest today is a gent from Northern Italy, who arrived at Brighton September last year with the rare mid-season managerial mission of making a very good team incredible. And he proceeded to do this with a squad that had lost some of its most coveted players, as well as the entire coaching staff. And when many predicted they would sink, instead his seagulls have soared, as this man with his in sync stylings and his belief in a God of football has led the team into Europe for the first time in their near 123 year history, an act of footballing and levitation to joy to welcome a bloke for me who's been the manager of the season. Oh, Ben Venuto, Mr Roberto D'Zerby. Hello America. Thank you for the award. Roberto, it's rare a coach comes in mid-season. Your team was playing very well. In your own words, what's one single thing you've changed or tweet to perfect what was already a good squad? But first of all, I found big players. I wanted to to give my idea. I want to be natural. I gave my ideas of football and I tried to change in terms of style of play, in terms of mentality. I tried to give my technologies now. Your football is about taking risks. You play with a back four that attacks. Your defenders bring the ball up. When they ping that ball around, back to goal. Are you confident on the sideline or do you feel the nerves, the fear of risk? No, I don't think it's a risk. I think we are playing like this because this style can take advantage. And I explained my players the details about the build-up, about our style of play. But there aren't risks. The quality of players have been incredible. I know very well my idea and I believe in this style. Brighton of Sword, despite selling so many of their best players. Kooka Raya, Basuma, Trossard. You keep unearthing new talents. Evan Ferguson, Karu Matoma. There's been clubs who have produced lots of talent. Leon, Dortmund, Southampton. But none have sustained it. Can this club, your club Brighton, continue to sell their best players and keep replacing them? Yes, yes. I don't want to change the policy of the club. The policy of the club is that Chairman can change and can decide. And I like this policy. I think we can sell the most important players. But the most important is to be ready to bring another big players or big potential players. And we have to start every year with college, with ideas, with technologies and to work to improve. We are Brighton and we can't forget we are Brighton. We are not like the big 16 in Planet League. But you know you can be smaller. But if you have a big dream, you can fight against the bigger teams. One of the most incredible stories of this season has been the rise of Karu Matoma. 26 years old, the dribble king of Kawasaki. Watching him glide has been magical. And the story is he studied dribbling at university. And I don't know if you've read his paper. But how do you describe what he does and how good can he be? But I think he had studied the university. But the credit is for his mom and his father. Because he has a natural quality. Of course, he has to improve. He has to improve to the third position. He has to improve to determine more in the last 20 meters. But if we speak about one-to-one attack the space and he has unique quality, he's a big talent, big player. But I think for him, for us, for sure, but also for him, if he stays one year more with us, I think he can improve. He can become a big, big player. He can become a big player for the big teams. But he needs, I think, to stay one year more with us. This morning, no less an expert than Pep Guardiola said. But I'm pretty convinced and right what I'm saying is one of the most influenced managers in the last 20 years. Roberto, when Pep Guardiola himself says that about your leadership and your thinking, that kind of praise. Roberto, what does it feel like? What does it mean to you to hear that? But I'm really proud for his words. I can say thanks, first of all. But I consider Guardiola the best coach in the world all the time. I think he really changed football. His Barcelona was incredible. When I started to be a coach, I spent my time to watch YouTube, to watch his games. If I am a coach now, because I talk ideas from Pep, but it's not only for me, but there are a lot of young coaches. We have to thanks him because he changed a lot of things in football. He changed vision, he changed the style of football, especially for me, because I'm Italian. And in Italy, there is another type of football, another idea. The defensive talent. Yes. Now, he's changing also in Italy. But 10 years ago, was totally different. Roberto, you style on the sideline, the flicks, the gritties, the willingness to knock back down. It honestly deserves its own deserby cam. And I've got to ask you, the charge down the sideline against Arsenal, what was going through your mind as you charged down? Was it joy? Was it relief? Sense of all the work you'd poured in and paid off? Yes, I am. I'm not too rather, always. And I show my emotion. I'm not afraid to show myself. I live my work. I live my life with passion. My life is football. A football is my life. So what did you experience a motion during that knee slide? Can you put it into words? But in that moment, I understood we could fight for the Europe, because without that win, we couldn't fight for the Europe. And that moment, we scored the first goal. We closed the game, and there was the possibility to write the history of the club. We wrote the new history of the club, and it's more important. Did you get your grass stains out of your pants? No, but I'm used to celebrating like this. It's not for the Europe League Conference League. No fear of dry cleaning bills, huge respect, but last question for you, Roberto. This weekend, you beat Southampton and qualified this team, Brian and Hove Albion, for Europe for the first time. It's incredible in this era of moneyed football to witness what you have achieved. At the final whistle, you hugged your coaches. What emotions did you experience? Can you describe? I have to say, thanks to my staff, the people who work with me. At that moment, I thought a lot of things. I thought the last day in Ukraine, I thought my players in Ukraine, I thought when I lost the final, when I worked in FOG, we lost the Liga 2 in Italy. I thought when I lost the qualification Europe with Sashwolo, and I thought I'd serve this target in Brighton. You thought of past failures in your moment of success? Yes, and I felt a lot of emotion for this because I explained, you know, my life is football, and the football is my life. And with this place, you can understand myself. Roberto Gratzi, to you, to your team, up the seagulls. Thank you. Not every billionaire has the stamina, the dedication, the fire, to become the most unpopular owner in sports. But not everyone's James Dolan, the dreaded owner of the New York mix. Introducing Reign of Error, a new podcast series that gives you courtside seats for the bench clearing free for all of controversies and scandals that JD has brought on. Are you embarrassed by this, my friend? We're all embarrassed, yes. Here's a guy who inherited a fortune and a basketball team. I mean, he could be playing golf. Instead, he's made it his hobby to consistently mismanage one of the most beloved franchises in pro sports. Along the way, Dolan battles his own players, fans, celebrities, the media, politicians, even the Girl Scouts. Absolutely shocking. It's almost too bad to be true. Oh, like, really? I'm David Green. Join me for Reign of Error as we ask the $6 billion question, why doesn't he just sell the team? Follow Reign of Error wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondre App. My guest today has defined himself as one of the most impactful new stars in our Premier League teller novella. His impact over the past 11 months at Old Trafford has been a display of more than just elite football management. It's been a case study in leadership and transformational change. It's a joy to have him join us today. The best thing to happen to Manchester since the opening of Mr. Wings, scientific proof of the life truth. Bald is best. Vellcom, Eric Tenharg. Thank you. Roger. Hello, America. Our Premier League manager must be so many things. A tactical genius. Psychologist, sport scientist, negotiator, data analyst, master motivator, PR figurehead. No one can do it all. What do you believe is the most important skill a manager must have? You have to know a lot from all, but you can't do anything of everything. It's not possible. So you need experts as a manager. So you have the helicopter view. And you have to bring the things together and to use it in advance of your team. So what is the most important skill a manager must have, Eric? Keep on your path without that you are stubborn, that you only have to follow that path. Because in your previous question, you have a lot of experts around you, and you have to use the experts with their officials, with their opinions, and to use it in advance for the team and the club to make the right decisions. Because in the end, as a manager, that is what you are doing, you are taking the decisions. Strategy meets stubborn. It's working because so many players have found their stride under your leadership. Luke Shaw, Aaron Wambesaka, but none more than Marcus Rashford. What have you said to him? What did you do with him to create that change, to unlock all the goals that are followed? It's about the process. It starts probably with a talk, just a friendly, informal talk. But finally, it's about the process, the way you want to play with your team, the role a player has in the team, the coaching, you give the player, but also you set the amounts, how he has to fulfill that role. And then the training, and then you play the games, you are coming in another process, where you, how can you take benefit from deficits with the opponent and to use the skills from your player. And so in this specific manner, it's about the rest for it, and he has a lot of skills. So once he is in the position, he will strike and he will net. So when he scores, honestly, Eric, when anybody scores, you remain so calm on the surface, win, lose or draw, your stoicism. It's humanly incredible. But is it a storm of emotion brewing inside? Can you describe what goes through your mind and your body when Manchester United score a goal? Because you show almost nothing, the 10-harg poker face. It's incredible. I don't know. Sometimes I think I show emotion, but many times already, I'm focusing on the next step. You have to manage your team. And it's like this. I think in the heat of the game, so everyone can heat up the crowd, maybe on the pitch. But the manager has to be calm and cool and take the right decisions. Talking about the right decisions, the transfers at Manchester United, the Sancho Martinez, Cassimiro, Anthony, they've got a distinctly 10-harg feel to them since last summer. How involved you plan to be in the recruitment process? It is part of the job and an important part of the job to form a quality squat. And as a manager, you have to find it's not only about a great player, quality player, but it has to fit in the squat in the total team. So as a manager, you have to make considerations in balance if the player fits to your team. And then it's about technical, from a technical approach, but also from personality approach. Does it fit in your team, in your dressing room? So you get the best out of it. In the end of the day, football is a team spot. Question from a GFOP at Flatback 4. What one player for Manchester United's incredible history? Do you wish you could bring into that squad now and coach and why? It's a difficult question because in the history of Manchester United, there were so many incredible good players. So we can talk about in our players who I want to involve. But first of all, I have to say I'm happy with the current squad. But of course, if you want to add and go bigger, you can think about plays like Robin from Percy, Eric Cantona, but also great midfield players like Scolce and Gien, who you wanted to have in your team because they almost assure you you winning titles. And talking about the history of Manchester United, I love the photograph of you and Cyrillic Ferguson having dinner together in a run up to two statement wins against Barcelona in the Europa League, Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final. What's the most important thing, Cyrillics has told you? And what have you learned from it? It's just inspiring a person. You want the league 13 times, he is the only manager who won the treble. Maybe in the future it's possible. It's so incredible, difficult. And that makes him such a phenomenal person. And then it's when you can have a conversation with him, you get so many advices where you can take benefit from it. So Alex left a legacy here and legacy was, Manchester United was a team hard to play, hard to beat because they were brave, they could deal with the ball, but especially it was very difficult to score against them. And I hope that my team is acting like the same, that our team also shows and it's determination to cutting the right results in every game and cutting trophies. How important was that Carabao Cup victory in terms of getting united first trophy in six seasons? Haters will say it's just the Carabao Cup. But I guess what I'm asking is inside a locker room is winning contagious. Definitely. It's all about winning games. And when I talk about legacy, every game that's actually United is playing the opponent wants to beat you more as other opponents. And we have to deal with it and they are more motivated. So it's about us, the attitude we have to win every game, no matter which game. So also we have to win every trophy. So even if it's the Carabao Cup, it doesn't matter. We have to win it. And we are on the route and we are on the journey together to cut that attitude into the clip again. And I think we are in the right direction. In this moment, we are in the right position and we can compete for everything. We are on the top fourth of Premier League and we are in the semi-final of the FA Cup and the quarter-final of the Europa League. So we are in a very good position and now we have to improve our game even more to cut the right results of this season. You dance moves with Anthony and Alessandro Martinez in that moment of Carabao Glory. At this point, I know it's a tradition for the three of you, but it really was a moment of unbridled joy. Another than Roy Keene suggesting that you should resign immediately. Did you get any other feedback on your dancing from anyone? Your wife, your family, your players? Anthony and Martinez, they liked it. It was their idea. We did it previously. So yeah, it's a tradition and let's keep it tradition. But therefore we have to work very hard together because I only do it when we've been trophies. Eric Tenharg, to more dancing in your own style, to your continued success, be dumped. I should lift. Courage. Aston Villa were 16th and three points off the bottom when my guests arrived in one of the most profound in-season transformations in modern Premier League history. He's turned them from relegation fodder into European contenders and you manage your bounce that is sword and sword under the detail of leadership of my guest. It's a joy to welcome Inferno De Football, a true obsessive. Mr Unai Emery. Hello, how are you? Unai, congratulations, first of all. On all you've achieved, only Arsenal and Manchester City have picked up more points than Villa, 32 in 16 games since you took over. But when you arrived at Aston Villa, relegation was a genuine fear. Team were playing long ball, mistake ridden football. You had no preseason to make changes. What's the single most important detail that you start with to focus on? The first change that's key to everything. The first thing was try to be organised, defenceally and try to be together and add in the idea with the ball, try to keep ball position more. That is the first step. Be organised, defenceally of course and defenceally try to keep ball position more and try to control off the game with the ball. You've changed the whole philosophy of play. You've turned the team that was mistake ridden. They played route one long ball football into possession based, confident on the ball. There was a goal Unai against Crystal Palace, front to back, six players starting with Emi Martinez, who lulled Palace onto him. Then players found crevices of space, the bravery of their passing, their vision, their collective movement. I couldn't believe what I was watching. It didn't look like the same team. When you watch that goal, what did you see? I try it always to play being organised around the ball and trying to progress with passes. When they call me, of course, I want to do the same I did. Here sometimes you have to change some tactical different ways, but of course you have to at the end win. It's not easy. Something as well, you are maybe not winning, but you have to still carry on with your idea. I think here at the beginning, quickly the support and they were watching this change and as well, we were winning. I want to tell now, in the football, you have to be consistent in your idea. You have to be as well trying to work and trying to combine everybody. That is the way and all you can work be strong in your mind, trying to do all the best. This is more than tactics Unai. It's also man management. Oli Watkins, you said that you've had him watching video clips of Mo Sala and Kili and Mbappe as well as Alouda Strikers who've worked well under your management. What do you think you've changed to unlock this sudden potency? He's very professional and he likes to work every day more than the team is doing. He wants movies, he wants to extend time individually working and that is the first step. You have to be very consistent in your improve and of course, humble to understand if you want to learn, if you want to pro-read, you have to do it. Then he tried to add my experiences with Strikers, my especially as a coach with different players and tried as well to add another players trying to understand how they can connect with our Strikers with Oli Watkins and what is Oli Watkins best, my clan, best movement he is doing to try to get him. That is the connection between him and between his teammates and then try to play in my organization, putting each player in his best position and trying to occupy spaces and trying to get the world in good position to do his best. We're going to talk for a second about Deebu Martinez, one of the games, great characters, the added appendage trophy celebrations, the penalty kick shit, hosiery. You said one of Deebu's greatest challenges is controlling his big emotions, channeling them in the right way. As a manager, when he got such an enormous character, do you actively encourage him to express himself but do you also have a plan on how to rein him back if he goes too far? I like his winnium mentality and the process to get winnium mentality is to work every day and when he was in the bottom playing in Spain in the first division but in the bench, being here in Arsenal and going on one to championship was the moment he was creating, building his winnium mentality and now he achieved with his national team the most important competition the World Cup but he wants to get his ambition here with Aston Villa as well and that is the one of him, his mentality, his mind, his wishes to win and his decided to get something with Aston Villa together. What you've achieved tonight is singular, a new manager bounce that never stopped bouncing, so many teams are currently making managerial changes late on. How much difference can a new manager actually make over the course of just eight or nine games? As a coach, I am being consistent and I want to be today better than yesterday, I want to be tomorrow better than today and that day my philosophy, I am using for myself and that is very demanding and I am demanding as well the pleasure to have this motivation every day and try to add his qualities in proving every day and practicing and practicing and practicing being demanding and that is only philosophy I can understand and the only way I want to do every day I have to be better than yesterday. But these managers coming in now, can they make a difference? Is that how football works? The difference is difficult to add, is only trying to use your experiences, trying to speak with the players, trying to help and support them, trying to create something where they have to feel comfortable but working and being demanding every day. Back in February, Tom Hanks came to your game against Arsenal, visited the locker room, he is proper villa that man. What's it like when he comes into the locker room and meets the players? Do you like that? Or is that like, oh my lord, it's a bit too much Hollywood for the Premier League? It's very, very good for us and very nice when he came to visit us, to stay with us in the dressing room because I think of course we are transmitting something outside and one very great, actually like he is to support us, for us it's really, really brilliant. This is your second spell in English football, it's remarkable to see you thrive. Retrospectively, is the one single thing you would have done differently, first time at the Arsenal, if there is one single thing, what is it? Of course, one year and a half is a experience I had and more positive than negative but of course when I came back to Spain, I was thinking now I have to follow in working in the same way. I was but my experience in England, if again I can't have the challenge to come back there, I have to be better in my preparation and of course use my experiences to do better than I did and that is only the challenge I am having, try to do all your best but of course try to remember the mistake or some circumstances I had before, don't repeat here. This part of you like being the scrappy underdog, is that your personality really? I like play under pressure, I like play and work only thinking to win and I know it's very difficult to win but I have to be very focused and ready to work hard to win and of course I want around me, people thinking like me, I want players close to me thinking like me, I am not here to waste my time. Unai, God bless, thank you, Esqueda Casco. Okay, good Esqueda Casco, magnificent. I love Unai Emery and I love Villa fans who during their one draw were Liverpool last weekend chanted that if it wasn't for Stephen Gerard they'd be top. Which you laugh at but then you think hmm possibly true for now, we'll say goodbye but before we do a reminder that the season 9 finale of the Men in Blazer show is tomorrow at 3.30pm eastern time, it's our Men in Blazers American Football Awards special presented by Bud Light during which will present the inaugural Men in Blazers American Player of the Year and the American American Player of the Year Awards. Do not miss this, we've got Rebecca Lowe, we have a Robbie, we have an appearance by two of the season's biggest Premier League stars all goes down tomorrow at 3.30pm eastern time on Peacock TV, we're also releasing a special bonus episode in which I got to spend some time with UEFA president Alexander Sheffering until then sleep type Premier League fans, pray for me, I'll just leave you by saying courage because you know what I'm gonna need it. Hey Prime members, you can listen to Men in Blazers ad 3 on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today or you can listen ad 3 with Wonder E Plus in Apple Podcasts. Before you go tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wendery.com slash survey.