The deciding factors for whether Real Madrid or Bayern Munich advance to the Champions League final at Wembley will be the team's tactics and who, of all the magnificent players on display at the Bernabéu, they choose on Wednesday night to underline his ruthless brilliance and overwhelming desire. to turn his club into European champion. But there will be another sideshow that, while perhaps less obvious on the night, has been instrumental in these teams' performance in their domestic seasons and in reaching this potentially explosive and epic semi-final, which is wonderfully balanced at 2-2.
In Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel, you literally couldn't find two elite football managers so controversially opposed in almost everything: how they behave on the touchline, how they choose to talk about their players, how they manage a team and how to embrace an atmosphere. Corrosive and abrasive or a collegial and mutually supportive culture is more likely to forge greatness.
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I'll return to the affable and calm Ancelotti in a moment, but suffice it to say that the Italian's text on sports management is titled “Silent Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Games,” and a key statement in that book is this: “Remember, don't “There are great coaches or leaders. They are only as great as the talent they seduce and direct and how much permission that talent gives them on a daily basis to deliver their ideas.” The most aggressive action you'll find on Ancelotti's side of the touchline is the brutal action of his jaw, as he chews untold amounts of gum, and an eyebrow raised to show displeasure as he seemingly tries to escape the top of his forehead. like a caterpillar running away.
Tuchel is fury in a bottle. Her style falls between encouragement and criticism, although not necessarily in equal doses. Watch him closely at the Bernabéu this week if you've never done so before.
Before sharing a personal anecdote about the German's abrasive “collateral damage” vocabulary, let's make one thing clear: Tuchel is a pretty exceptional soccer strategist and coach. There are few who are as brilliant, alert or tactically resourceful as him. That is not up for debate here. In fact, it is arguable that in purely tactical terms, he could have the advantage over Ancelotti. But let's go back to my first meeting with Tuchel, which took place in Berlin almost nine years ago.
After a brilliant presentation on how radically his view on youth development had changed, plus a passionate description of what kind of “hell” it was for him, as Dortmund coach, to pit his team against Pep Guardiola's Bayern, I I approached him and asked him more details about his communicative ideas. He told me a story about how he showed his players a video of a singer he considered “ugly” and told them, “Look how she looks! If someone like her can go out without fear, stand in front of a large audience and show your talent.” Brilliantly, then there's no excuse for any of you to be scared or intimidated when you go out to play!
It was a fascinating and enlightening story. To reach his players, he had no qualms about describing an artist in crude terms, nor did he have the slightest concern in confidently telling me, in a first meeting, an anecdote with such a repugnant subject.
I have a source very close to Tuchel's time at Chelsea who explained that he eroded or undermined his undeniable brilliance in designing and explaining tactical and strategic concepts to the team due to his touchline behavior in matches. Those who play in the hustle and bustle of elite football will tell you that not only are they so focused on doing their job that they are barely aware of what the manager is shouting during a match, but it is often the case that in a raucous stadium it is literally impossible. discern much more than what body language attempts to convey.
However, that changes if you are a regular starter for the first team and, for whatever reason, are on the bench. Suddenly you're in a box listening to what the coach yells at the team (or himself) in explosive anger. My source explained that, having been able to hear how brutally and disparagingly Tuchel spoke about those who were on the pitch and those who became the object of his wrath, several of Tuchel's players began to assume that when they were in the team, this too That must be what I was saying about them. they didn't like that absolutely.
He has done it this season too, stating when they lost to Leverkusen that “we did everything possible to lose this game. We had it in our hands, but at one point we stopped believing and I don't know why.” He really he had no restrictions.
If this doesn't seem like it has the effect of leaving his players hanging, then perhaps his repeated criticism of defender Kim Min-jae since the first leg against Madrid last week will do the trick.
The 27-year-old South Korean international, still in his first season at Bayern and fresh off a brilliant season with Napoli, was at fault for both Madrid goals, prompting Tuchel to sound off. “He was too ambitious, twice. He made the first move too soon against Vinicius in the first goal and was caught by a pass from Toni Kroos. Too speculative, too aggressive. The second goal, unfortunately, was another mistake. There were five of us against two We had the numbers: there was no need to defend so aggressively against Rodrygo. Eric took him down right in the moment. [Dier] “I was about to help!”
Exactly, maybe… but is it hard to say it in public? You will have your points of view.
Former New York Red Bulls/Chicago Fire coach Juan Carlos Osorio had his perspective: “I prefer what Sir Alex Ferguson said about this: it's better to teach the team to defend better in a unified way than to 'kill' your defense like that.” central”. …it seemed abusive on Tuchel's part.”
It's worth restating that Tuchel is exceptional at his job and some members of his team (and indeed some of you) may think that achieving elite excellence actually allows him to talk however he wants to and about his players. But this is not Ancelotti's lifestyle.
The Madrid coach explains it in his book. “A 'calm' approach to leadership may seem soft or perhaps even weak to some. But that's not what it means to me, and it's definitely not what it means to anyone who's ever played with me or me. The kind of quiet approach I'm talking about a strength. There is power and authority in being calm and measured, in building trust and making decisions coolly, in using influence and persuasion and in being professional in your approach.
“My approach is born from the idea that a leader should not need to rant, rave or rule with an iron fist, but rather his power should be implicit. It should be very clear who is in charge: his authority should be the result of respect. and confidence instead of fear.”
Ancelotti explains a key pillar: “Let the talent breathe your problems. Include them, encourage them to be active participants in the search for a solution.”
Maybe you are a “tuchelita” and believe that anything goes. Perhaps Madrid will not reach their peak on Wednesday and it will be Bayern who return to Wembley, where they won this same Champions League trophy in 2013. And if such circumstances arise, it will tend to suggest that the German's total pay attention Ignoring “player whispers” is the right way to go. But the advent of player power, thanks to the inexorable rise in player salaries, and the fact that Ancelotti is the only man to have won the title in each of Europe's top five leagues and lifted 26 trophies throughout his brilliant career, suggest that whoever wins on Wednesday, Tuchel has something to learn from the gum-chewer with a calm leadership style.
