In the world of European club football there are few men who could honestly say they stand shoulder to shoulder with two of the most successful club managers in the game: Sir Alex Ferguson and Marcello Lippi.

As managers of Manchester United and Juventus respectively they swept all before them including leading their clubs to Champion’s League glory on the back of multiple domestic league titles. As club managers these two are virtually inseperable with regards achievements and the respect they are held in by those in the game. Lippi’s only claim to greatness over Ferguson is that he has now lead Italy to the World Cup Final and could yet get his hands on that most hallowed of golden trophies. Not having been in the same situation, we can’t hold this against Alex Ferguson.

If these two are the greatest club football managers on the planet then can someone explain to me just why the one who’s star is still in the ascendency (i.e. Lippi) would even consider going to Old Trafford and taking a job as Alex Ferguson’s assistant? The story just doesn’t add up for me. I can understand that he may want to succeed Alex when he finally retires (or falls down whichever comes first, I vote for falls down) but why would the most highly rated fotball manager in the world, at his peak, accept a couple of years under Ferguson’s control when he would be just as able to walk into the job from a position of power whenever Fergie does go? I just don’t get it.

On the other hand, why would a strong, proud man like Alex Ferguson want that most dangerous of assistants just sitting there and waiting for him to go, knowing all the time that the board and the players would be looking to Lippi as the man of the future and maybe not the so dim and distant future either. Ferguson’s position could go from one of power to one of sitting duck in a matter of months, if not weeks and why would he want to put himself through that strain and pressure on top of an already highly pressured job?

Something just doesn’t equate in this whole scenario, for either man, and if the noises are true that Lippi was willing to go to Old Trafford with the promise of succeeding Ferguson, would we be too surprised to hear that the Scotsman put the veto on the move, if only to give himself one more year without looking over his shoulder and fearing the enemy within?

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 8th, 2006 at 10:03 am and is filed under Manchester United. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.