Monday Cafe: Living and Dying for Tactics

06/10/2025 14:33:00 PANDATV

Last May, the Olimpico stadium hosted a heartfelt farewell: Claudio Ranieri stepped down as Roma’s head coach after guiding the team out of chaos, going unbeaten in 19 matches, and climbing from the bottom ranks to 6th place in Serie A.

1. When asked what happened, the "welder" replied in a very... welder-like way: "I adapt to the players, not the other way around." No one was too surprised. Throughout his coaching career, Ranieri built a trustworthy reputation: He always KNEW WHAT HE HAD TO DO, regardless of the squad he had.

But in a rare moment of uncertainty, Ranieri did something he seldom considered: he asked to buy players. When managing Chelsea in 2003, Ranieri requested Roman Abramovich to provide him with "two good players for each position."

That was the only time Ranieri didn’t want to be a welder, and also the time he wasn’t very successful. His Chelsea tenure also revealed his desire to develop his own philosophy: "I can’t change now. I’m like Frank Sinatra – I always do it my way," Ranieri said when asked about the somewhat odd tactical changes that led to Chelsea’s loss to Monaco in the Champions League.

Chelsea then dismissed him. Since then, Ranieri never mentioned philosophy or demanded new signings again. He became one of those coaches who accept any changes and can work well with whoever is at hand.

Being himself, Ranieri also reached the pinnacle of glory with Leicester City after their unbelievable Premier League title. That was when many realized how much a coach’s ability can work miracles—not by stubbornly sticking to imagined philosophies, but simply by coaching people and finding the best fitting solutions.

2. Last week, Crystal Palace’s coach Oliver Glasner expressed a thought true to Ranieri’s spirit: "The system doesn't matter. It has to fit the players." Whatever the philosophy, it must center on the people you have.

Crystal Palace’s surprise coach this season, Oliver Glasner: The system doesn’t matter. Photo: Getty

Glasner also knows what he must do: "In my career, I have used many systems. I achieved promotion in Austria with a 4-4-2, then switched to a 3-4-3. At Wolfsburg, we qualified for the Champions League with a 4-2-3-1. At Frankfurt, the team played with three central defenders, and that system suited our squad."

At Palace, Glasner kept the three-center-back formation, not because it’s a personal philosophy, but likely because he believed it still suited his players. He was right. Palace is the dark horse this season, currently sitting second after beating Liverpool.

Glasner’s remarks came after Ruben Amorim insisted that playing with three central defenders is an unchangeable philosophy, and he wouldn’t alter it even if Manchester United couldn’t win.

It’s unclear what Glasner meant exactly, but a coach rising from smaller clubs like him has the right to remind Amorim what made them famous in the lower leagues: No one has the right to dictate or demand.

All coaches must prove their abilities at smaller clubs, be content with what they have until they win and earn the right to ask for more. The core skill of an excellent coach is adaptability, not constant demands just because they can’t find a way to win.

3. How did Amorim succeed at Sporting? Not by arrogantly imposing a philosophy and forcing the whole team to conform. He discovered and nurtured young talents from the Alcochete academy like Gonçalo Inácio, Matheus Nunes, and Nuno Mendes. The three-defender system suits them, and Amorim once knew exactly what he was doing.

When coaches start demanding new players or insist they will live and die for their philosophy, it’s likely they don’t know what to do. Simply put, when ego takes over too much, it signals they’ve forgotten that the essence of coaching is working with people, not just numbers or formations.

For a club like Manchester United, which has spent lavishly on players over recent years, the problem probably isn’t the players anymore. They need a coach who can find the best fitting solution.

Who knows when Amorim will wake up like Ranieri once did? No one should, or must, be Frank Sinatra.

Pham An

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