3rd September 2004
By
Craig Hope
If
the local press is to be believed then Terry Venables is in town to
secure the occupancy of Sir Bobby's recently vacated hot seat. Over
the past twenty fours however I have bore witness to an ever growing
band of Newcastle supporters lobbying for the appointment of ex Bayern
Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. This support eventually led yesterday
to Hitzfeld entering the betting market at 12-1. After a large number
of e-mails bringing Hitzfeld to my attention I decided to research
a little more about the German.
Upon first glance Hitzfeld has all the necessary credentials and appears
to be in the same mould as Wenger, Mourinho etc. That is an astute,
foreign coach who will do things their own way, with one ultimate
outcome – trophies! Hitzfeld however has tasted more success than
both Mourinho and Wenger and as a result is one of the most revered
coaches in Europe.
If Newcastle could land a manager of his undoubted quality then it
would represent definite ambition and an eventual progression away
from our 'must be a Geordie' mentality that could be holding us back.
Away from Hitzfeld for one moment, if Freddie Shepherd is to be believed
(!) and our priority is a Geordie boss then how is our shortlist shaping
up – Bruce, Shearer, Gascoigne, Beardsley, Carver or are we going
to swallow our pride and ask Bobby back? This is why we need to look
elsewhere. Hitzfeld in my opinion is the direction in which we should
be looking.
He was born near the Swiss border and to begin with trained as a Maths
and PE teacher (a perfect combination you may think for a title run
in that requires good physical conditioning and astute tactical decisions
with regard to mathematical permutations). Like Wenger and Mourinho
he enjoyed a rather modest playing career, largely plying his trade
in the Swiss league with his career highlight being 22 appearances
for Stuttgart.
A coaching role and indeed trophies were to follow with Grasshoppers
Zurich where he collected two championships. He then moved to Germany
and radically transformed a Dortmund team leading them to two Bundesliga
titles. In 1997 a Karl Heinz Riedle brace earned Dortmund the Champions
League crown.
He then moved to Bayern Munich in 1998 and with him came the successes
he had become so accustomed to. Four Bundesliga titles in five years
and consistent appearances in the Champions League latter stages followed.
During this period Hitzfeld became the only manager thus far to achieve
Champions League success with two different clubs. He parted company
with Bayern last May after many fans claimed the club had gone stale.
Despite this Hitzfeld has amassed a total of 15 major club honours
– more than any other German coach.
The 55 year old is currently unemployed and rumoured to be interested
in the St. James' vacancy. He has a reputation for handling big personalities
having tamed the likes of Matthaus and Effenberg. Both now speak of
him with the utmost respect whilst highlighting their admiration of
his tactical and man management qualities.
Hitzfeld has handled prima donnas before, the only difference being
that the likes of Ballack actually possess considerable ability –
Dyer does not!
Not all of our players however are tarred with the Dyer like 'waster'
brush. Hitzfeld would recognise this and would hopefully aid the likes
of Jenas, Bramble, Ameobi and Milner in the realisation of their undoubted
potential.
Hitzfeld is a winner – that much is obvious. I have previously spoken
of the lack of desire or winning mentality around SJP. The German
is a disciplinarian who is used to winning – he has the habit – he
would hopefully install this into our squad, too many of whom have
become used to drawing and losing.
One last plea Mr.Shepherd – let us show some ambition – go and get
the guy who has won two Champions Leagues and countless other trophies.
Forget about Venables and start taking Newcastle United seriously
– give us a world class manager to match our world class stadium and
unrivalled supporters.
PS. Ottmar is a fomer Maths teacher, if we do find ourselves in the
relegation zone I'm sure he's clever enough to work out we're in trouble.
Unlike ex-Sunderland boss Howard Wilkinson who thought the Mackems
were as safe as houses whilst languishing second bottom of the Premiership.
Craig Hope wants your feedback - If
you have any propositions for Craig or any comments regarding this
or any of his other articles or any matter regarding NUFC he would
love to hear from you so drop
him a line. |
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