Arsene Wenger

Although without a doubt, Arsene Wenger was a very good and successful football manager, his writing of his autobiography does not reach these standards. It does live up to his character, in that it is very reserved and while he is at pains to explain his philosophy of excellence and encouragement of attractive and entertaining football and to allow his players freedom within the game to be creative, he does not reveal much in the way of practical examples. Also for all his 22 years as manager of Arsenal, his planning and building of the teams, his involvement in a new training centre and new stadium, he draws a veil over the course of the last few years there when he enjoyed less success, leading to his eventual departure. Altogether, his memoir seems rather bland and flat in contrast to his achievements.… (mehr)

In the spring of 2018, after leading the Arsenal (London) soccer team for 22 years, Wenger was let go following a bad year or two for the club. It was still in the top tier of British soccer, but supporters and management wanted an immediate return to the top few positions in the Premier League and decided to try someone new. Wenger, who had built up the team in the first place, including leading them to 49 straight wins and an undefeated season and devoting pretty much every waking hour for 22 years, was taken by surprise and even now cannot face going to the stadium he built and the team he still loves. As an Arsenal fan, I was very upset when Wenger was, for all intents and purposes, cast aside. Really, is there no loyalty or trust in sports anymore?

Wenger, who is a very private person, talks here mostly of his career, first as a young soccer player in France, then professionally, and finally taking the path for which he had the most talent: coaching and managing. He's a man with an independent and single-minded purpose, and his private life, of which he talks very little in the book, suffered for it. Arsenal, however, only benefited from his insights and he lead them to many trophies. After 2 years and many offers to manage clubs throughout Europe, Wenger has finally accepted a job with
FIFA, the international ruling body for soccer, where he is putting his talents to use in long-term planning.

And Arsenal? Yeah, replacing Wenger did them no favors, although there is now another new manager who might have some luck.

A really interesting book for fans.… (mehr)