The Managers: Paulo Sousa: 2010

[davieG]

https://www.lcfc.com/news/1224187/the-managers-paulo-sousa-2010

 

 

Paulo Sousa was Leicester City’s first ever manager from overseas, but his time at Leicester City was short lived.
He was appointed in July 2010, taking over a Nigel Pearson team that had reached the previous season’s Play-Offs for a place in the Premier League.

Pearson’s departure for Hull City in June 2010, at a time when rumours abounded that Leicester’s owner Milan Mandaric was keen on appointing Sousa as manager, was a disappointment to fans, but hopes were high that promotion to the Premier League would be achieved in 2011. 

Sousa’s reputation as a player was highly impressive, far surpassing that of any other Leicester City manager. A member of Portugal’s golden generation, he was in the Portuguese side which won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1989. He went on to win 52 caps for his country, appearing in the UEFA European Championships in 1996 and again in 2000, when he was a semi-finalist. He was also a member of Portugal’s 2002 World Cup squad.

At Benfica, between 1989 and 1993, he won the Portuguese Supercup, the Primeira League title and the Portuguese Cup. After a year at Sporting Lisbon, where he played alongside Luis Figo in midfield, he moved to Juventus where, in 1995, he won Serie A title, the Italian Cup and the Italian Supercup as well as reaching the UEFA Cup Final. He was also in  the Juventus side which won the Champions League in 1996.

Paulo moved to Borussia Dortmund where he once again won the Champions League in 1997, together with the German Supercup, and the Intercontinental Cup.

After further spells at Inter Milan, Parma, Panathinaikos and Espanyol, injuries forced his retirement in 2002 aged only 31.

Paulo Sousa departed Leicester City in October 2010.

Paulo’s coaching career began in 2005/06 as coach to Portugal’s Under-16 side. In 2008 he became the assistant to Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz. Later that year, he took up his first managerial post at Championship side Queens Park Rangers. He moved to Swansea City in June 2009 and it was his achievement there, leading the Swans to their highest league position since 1983, which led to Milan Mandaric appointing him to the manager’s post at Leicester City.

Paulo’s tenure at Leicester City lasted for only nine games. His attempts to introduce the passing style which had served him so well at Swansea didn’t work at Leicester City. He won only one of his first nine games, leaving Leicester at the foot of the Championship. He was sacked at the end of September following a 6-1 defeat at Portsmouth and a 4-3 defeat at Norwich.

The previous month, the Club had been taken over by a consortium led by King Power and on 3 October, the former England boss Sven-Goren Eriksson became the Club’s new manager.   

As for Paulo, he went on to manage Hungary’s Videoton to the Champions League group stages before winning the Israeli and Swiss leagues with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Basel. A two year spell managing Fiorentina was followed by managing China’s Tianjin Quanzian, a post he left in October 2018. He is currently the manager of the French Ligue 1 club FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

[Dr The Singh]

It was wrong to sack him

[Stadt]

The one we’ve all been waiting for 

[Steve_Walsh5]

Good manager, wrong club at the time. 

 

Trying to play a possession based passing game was never going to work with the likes of Jack Hobbs, Robbie Nielson and Michael Morrison in defence. 

[Guy]

Wrong appointment from the off, done as a default to Pearson's unexpected departure of course.....and flimsily based on the fact that he did ok at Swansea (albeit with Martinez's team).Thank God Sven succeeded Sousa and that Pearson then came back as Sven's time with us didn't live up to it's promise!

[Guest]

Nearly 10 years on, still no statue. Disgraceful.

[Fox92]

Wrong time for us. I liked what he wanted to do but nobody was gonna be able to play football and out from the back with the likes of Hobbs and Morrison, as good a defenders as they were.

 

Remember thinking he'd get the best out of DJ Campbell and then he went to Blackpool just after the season started.

Edited 22 May 2019 by Fox92

[HybridFox]

Strange period in our history

[HankMarvin]

1 hour ago, Stadt said:

The one we’ve all been waiting for 

Have they done the flasher yet?

[What the Fuchs?]

That Portsmouth game was a nightmare, I think Morrison got sent off as well

[z-layrex]

Did Ricardo play during Sousa's 9 games? **** me what a mess.

[dayday]

My memory of that Pompey game was Sousa trying to give I think it was Jack Hobbs instructions just before he came on as sub, and Hobbs looked totally baffled to what he was supposed to do.

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, dayday said:

My memory of that Pompey game was Sousa trying to give I think it was Jack Hobbs instructions just before he came on as sub, and Hobbs looked totally baffled to what he was supposed to do.

Him and Hobbs had a huge fall out shortly after that. 

 

Absolutely awful appointment. Stood there at Selhurst Park on opening day, 3 down at half time because your defence has gone to bits after losing a playoff semi final...I was seething 

[StriderHiryu]

12 hours ago, Steve_Walsh5 said:

Good manager, wrong club at the time. 

 

Trying to play a possession based passing game was never going to work with the likes of Jack Hobbs, Robbie Nielson and Michael Morrison in defence. 

Echoes my thoughts and sentiments exactly.

 

I think that Vichai and co had this dream of us playing a technical brand of attractive football similar that was very European in nature. Something we have of recent start to see take shape. But this was a classic case of trying to do too much too soon and not understanding where we were as a team. The squad we had was not suited to that type of football and I'm not sure that Sousa was ever the sort of coach you need to get you out of the Championship. 

 

Some managers have done very well playing a technical style in the second tier, notably Brendan Rodgers, Daniel Farke, Nuno Santos and Marcelo Bielsa. But to do it you either need to "cheat" like Wolves did when they signed players that were capable of playing in the top league like Neves / Jota or to have a coach that has been able to ingrain their philosophy on a young squad over multiple seasons like Farke. Bielsa I think is the outlier whose improvement with Leeds has been incredible to see, but even then they are not coming up which shows just how difficult it is.

 

I do think the lessons learned in moving Sousa and then Sven out of the club and going back to Pearson shows great humility in accepting that the club got their appointments and strategy wrong and were prepared to be humble enough to accept that and fix the issues at hand. Another reason we are all such fans of our owners. 

[Vindaloo FOX]

he had the right idea but wrong players for his style, our team suited the NP way of football. 

 

Sousa did a pretty good job at other clubs sadly not with us. 

[Ross 'LCFC' Turner]

Right idea's, wrong personnel. I still get horrors thinking about Michael Morrison and Jack Hobbs trying to play out from the back 

[Corky]

Tried to change the style of play but beyond that, the team didn't look fit enough. They seemed knackered after 65-70 minutes.

 

Although he causally turned up in jeans for a League Cup game against Macclesfield so fair play on that.

[Sampson]

Bad manager. Nothing to do with "right manager wrong time" or any other nonsense.

 

He didn't believe in fitness training. Swansea players and fans did articles about it warning us when we hired him. and I remember an article with Bruno Berner when he said he was baffled that Sousa wouldn't allow players to go into the gym. I'm sure he even said  he had to go in secret.

 

He might start well elsewhere but all his sides always fade away because they aren't got enough.

 

It's like he watched Guardiola and thought it was just about the pretty passing and nothing to do with the high pressing and incredible levels of fitness and work rate.

[Manini]

The only thing i properly remember about him being manager is the pies. 

 

A totally forgettable appointment

Edited 23 May 2019 by Manini

[RumbleFox]

God he was handsome. X 

[Sampson]

20 minutes ago, Manini said:

The only thing i properly remember about him being manager is the pies. 

 

A totally forgettable appointment

Nothing forgettable about that 6-1 defeat to bottom of the Championship Portsmouth.

 

Probably the single worst Leicester performance in living memory.

[Manini]

1 minute ago, Sampson said:

Nothing forgettable about that 6-1 defeat to bottom of the Championship Portsmouth.

 

Probably the single worst Leicester performance in living memory.

I didn’t watch it. I was about 15 and pissed up in my mates garden at a house party....I remember that vividly actually and always remember connecting the two as well actually. So you’re right actually  

[Out Foxed]

10 hours ago, Manini said:

I didn’t watch it. I was about 15 and pissed up in my mates garden at a house party....I remember that vividly actually and always remember connecting the two as well actually. So you’re right actually  

I’ve told the story but I stayed up till stupid o’clock to watch it in Australia. Pissed me off for a whole week. 

[CosbehFox]

7 minutes ago, Out Foxed said:

I’ve told the story but I stayed up till stupid o’clock to watch it in Australia. Pissed me off for a whole week. 

Was great fun zooming back up the A34 after that - didn't put the radio for a hour and half, first song was Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart.