Hello fellow football tacticians, my name is Arrigo Sacchi. I've recently been working as a coach of coaches within the Italian National Youth Programme, but I've got Itchy feet. I've got to get myself in the dugout, managing professionals that want to prove themselves as champions. I gave up playing football at 19 because I realised I was never going to be a champion, however as a coach I am a champion. I am the last manager to have won back-to-back European Champions Cups with Milan. I want to do this all again and I have no interest in being second best. I once described what I believe makes a manager:
"He's a maestro who has his own style. He needs to aim for quality, not the superficial and what comes easy. I don't go to the bakery because of the baker, but because of the bread. A maestro is someone who demands the best. Who demands rigour".
Now, I have my own style. Its proven effective and successful in the past and I believe it can and will work in todays game - The Sacchi 4-4-2. I will be building teams of players that work hard, are determined to become champions and most importantly are team players. You can't achieve anything on your own and if you do, it won't last long. I told Pep Guardiola that he was making a mistake signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he was signing the world's best soloist. I didn't have to wait long for my for my first job offer and I gave it a week to check over the job. I didn't want to wait around forever and the club looks as though it can move on in the right direction with a few magic touches from myself. So I accepted the offer.
Tenure at SC Freiberg
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It is the start of my reign at SC Freiberg and it is a challenge I am looking forward to, particularly going head-to-head as underdogs to Pep Guardiola's Bayern. First thing I notice when I get to the club is that the staffing is incredibly thread-bare at the moment and I had no Assistant to greet me after meeting the chairman. Fair enough, I will bring my own backroom staff. I was pleased to see in training that the squad seem to be hard working and I have strong core of centre-backs and defensive midfielders with Flum, Diagne & Makiadi being particularly impressive. However their defensive efforts were made to look easy by the distinct lack of quality we have up front.
From studying the history of the club it seems as though in recent years they have been a yo-yo club between the top and second flight, with their best seasons in 94/95 (3rd) and 00/01 (6th). Last season they finished in 12th on 40 points and I am expected to steer them away from relegation, although I will not be satisfied with anything less than a top half finish. Those are my expectations and I will deem myself a failure if I do not achieve that.
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There's not much money in the bank, but I'm optimistic about my future here at Freiberg. Its going to take a while for the players to start playing in the way I want them to and to grasp the team philosophy I have. It's my way or the highway. Any player that don't like the high intensity training, our teambuilding exercise or playing style will find themselves out of the team. They don't have the champion mentality that I am looking for. With just 10 days until our first competitive game I'm not expecting any miracles in the short term, but a few months down the line I want to be a force to be reckoned with in German football. I expect my next update to be in the next couple of months, hoping to be the bearer of success. I am not sure whether my tenure at Freiberg will be very long, but it is important. Doing well here will put my reputation back on the map.
Until next time, Ciao.