Director of football

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Director of Football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and causes much debate in the sports media.

Dave Bassett described the role as:

" ..... a buffer. The director of football is answerable to the board but there to assist the manager. He's experienced in football and there to help the board members who don't have that experience."

In theory it means that the manager is left to concern himself with the day to day running of the club, the picking of the team, and the decisions about tactics and training. The director meanwhile looks after the budget, and allocates money for transfers and the youth academy.

The director is often involved in the selection of the manager, so that the manager knows he has full support from his subordinates. The plus side is that there is an experienced football head watching the scouts, the budget and the academy, allowing the manager to get on with the team. The down side is that the experienced football head often cannot help giving their opinion of the manager's actions. Most directors of football are ex-managers, given a more "senior" role at the club because the board do not want to lose his experience.

The director of football's job is sometimes compared to that of a general manager in a North American professional sports organization.

[edit] Notable Directors of Football

People associated with football who have held the role as Director of Football or Sporting Director include:

• Uli Hoeneß: Performs the Sporting Director responsibilites in his role as General Manager of Bayern Munich where he has been since 1979.
• Craig Levein Currently both Director of Football and Manager at Dundee United F.C..
• Gianluca Nani: Joined West Ham United in March 2008 as Technical Director. He carries out several responsibilities of a Sporting Director.
• Gerry Murphy: Was promoted to the position at Huddersfield Town in January 2007 after serving 19 years as Academy Director.
• Predrag Mijatović: Served in the position at Real Madrid since July 2006.
• Txiki Beguiristáin: Currently serving in the position at Barcelona.
• Umberto Gandini: Currently performing the role at AC Milan.
• David Pleat: Having formerly performed the role at Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, he is now in the position at UD Marbella.
• Ramon Rodriguez: Currently serving in the position at Sevilla FC.
• Anatoly Korobochka: Stepped into the role at Hearts in November 2006. In February 2007 he began filling a dual role after he was appointed interim Head Coach.
• Nick Hammond: Performed the role at Reading since 2003.
• Ernie Stewart: The former US star, has fulfilled the responsibilities of a Sporting Director at his former club NAC Breda since May 2006 where he is the Technical Director.
• John Rudge: Currently in the role at Stoke City.
• Willie Miller: Director of Footballing Operations at Aberdeen.
• Lennie Lawrence: The former Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic manager has been working in the position at Bristol Rovers since 2005.
• Barry Fry: Currently serving at Peterborough.
• Ron Atkinson: The former Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest manager, had previously performed the role at Coventry City and Kettering Town. He is now in the position at Halesowen Town.
• Pierpaolo Marino: Currently serving in the position at S.S.C. Napoli.
• Pantaleo Corvino: Currently serving in the position at ACF Fiorentina, he gained a reputation for scouting new talents at U.S. Lecce.
• Alessio Secco: Currently serving in the position at Juventus.
• Jim Leishman: Currently serving in the position at Dunfermline Athletic F.C..
• Rui Costa: Is currently serving at S.L. Benfica where he finished his playing career in 2008.

[edit] Past Directors of Football

• Alexi Lalas: Former general manager at MLS club LA Galaxy.
• Franco Baldini: The incumbent General Manager of England, served in the position at Roma from 1999-2005.
• Brian Kerr: Took the role at St Patrick's Athletic FC from 2007-2008
• Avram Grant: Was appointed to the role at Chelsea in July 2007. His appointment was met with disapproval from then Head Coach Jose Mourinho and subsequently Mourinho left the club in September 2007 and was replaced by Grant.
• David Dein: Served as Vice-Chairman of Arsenal between 1983-2007, during which time, he performed the roles of a Director of Football.
• Dennis Wise: Became Executive Director of Football at Newcastle United in January 2008, at the same time as Kevin Keegan's appointment as Manager. He left the club in April 2009 following the appointment of Alan Shearer as Manager.
• Damien Comolli: Took over at Tottenham in 2005. He served until 2008 when he was sacked along with Head Coach Juande Ramos and the rest of the coaching staff.
• Lawrie McMenemy: Took the role at Southampton in 1993-1997. During this time he worked alongside managers, Alan Ball, Dave Merrington and Graeme Souness.
• Kenny Dalglish: Held the position at Blackburn Rovers from 1995-1996 and then at Celtic from 1999-2000.
• David Pleat: Performed the role at Tottenham from 1998 to 2004, as well as performing three separate periods as caretaker manager.
• Steve Coppell: Took the role at Crystal Palace in 1995-1996 and then in 1998-1999 after two separate stints as manager.
• Sir Clive Woodward: Accepted the role at Southampton in 2005 when George Burley was appointed Head Coach. He left in 2006.
• Murdo Mackay: Held the position at Derby County from 2003-2006. He played huge part in the appointment and removal of George Burley.
• Dave Bassett: Took the role at Leicester City in 2002 after serving as manager the previous season. He left the job in 2004.
• Bob Dowie: Held the position at Crystal Palace from 2004-2006 working alongside his brother Iain.
• Eduard Malofeyev: Held the position for four months at Hearts in 2006. He had a brief spell as interim Head Coach, before leaving in November to join MTZ-RIPO.
• Dick Advocaat: Held this position at Rangers FC for 3 months, after leaving his job as manager, but quickly resigned.
• Valdas Ivanauskas: After serving as Head Coach at Hearts for eight months, Ivanauskas was rumoured to be moving into the position in February 2007. This was never made official and he left the club in March 2007.
• John Deehan: Former Norwich manager, previously performed the role at Northampton and then at Lincoln City from 2006-2007 alongside Head Coach John Schofield.
• Keith Alexander: After to previously managing Lincoln City and Peterborough United accepted the role at Bury in May 2007. He was sacked at the same time as Head Coach Chris Casper in 2008.
• Giovanni Trapattoni: Was appointed to the position as Red Bull Salzburg in May 2006 to work alongside Head Coach, Lothar Matthäus. He served as Manager and Director of Football. Trapattoni has left them as of May 2008 to take over the Irish national team.
• Craig Brown: Formerly performed the role at Fulham, went on to serve in the role at Derby County, but left at the same time as Manager Billy Davies in 2008.
• Mick Wadsworth: Has served as Director of Football and Assistant Manager at Gretna since July 2007. He left the club before they fell into liquidation and ceased to exist in 2008.