the times | Wednesday February 23 2022 2GM 69
Sport
Fred: Having
an interim
manager is a
strange idea
Paul HirstPaul Ince insisted that spending eight
years out of the dugout will not affect
his ability to lead Reading out of the
mire after they won his first match in
charge as interim manager.
Lucas João and John Swift, from the
penalty spot, gave Ince the perfect start
at Reading, who are fourth from
bottom, having taken the reins after the
dismissal of Veljko Paunovic.
Ince, who has not managed a team
since leaving Blackpool in 2014, said:
Atletico Madrid (possible; 4-4-2): J Oblak —
M Llorente, Felipe, S Savic, Reinildo — Á Correa,
Koke, G Kondogbia, T Lemar — J Félix, L Suárez.
Manchester United (possible; 4-3-3): D de Gea —
D Dalot, V Lindelof, H Maguire, L Shaw —
P Pogba, S McTominay, B Fernandes —
M Rashford, C Ronaldo, J Sancho.
Referee O Hategan (Rom).Football is full of Sliding Doors
moments. When looking back on their
team’s history, fans often think “what if
this had happened?” or “what if we had
signed that player?”
For Manchester United, one of those
moments came in the spring of 2014.
The board had decided that David
Moyes should be sacked and they
started looking for a replacement.
They eventually settled upon Louis
van Gaal, but many other names were
considered, including Atletico Madrid’s
Diego Simeone, the man whom Ralf
Rangnick will do battle with tonight in
the first leg of the Champions League
round-of-16 tie between the two teams.
The feeling at the time among the
United hierarchy was that Simeone,
2½ years into his contract, would be
hard to prise away from Atletico.
What if United had plumped for
Simeone? Sure, there would have been
grumblings about the safety-first
approach to football, but that was the
case too in the red half of Madrid when
the Argentinian was appointed
the Atletico head coach in
December 2011, and he is
now regarded as some-
thing of a demigod in
these parts.
Atletico are not
enjoying their best
season — they are fifth
in La Liga and are “en
crisis” according to the
local press — but Simeone’s
achievements over the past ten
years are phenomenal.
He broke Barcelona and Real
Madrid’s duopoly in the Spanish league,
winning the title twice. In his nine full
seasons in charge, Atletico have never
finished outside the top three. In the
two years before he took over, Atletico
ended the season in seventh and ninth.
He has also taken Atletico to two
Champions League finals, won the
Europa League twice and lifted the
Copa del Rey after beating Real in the
final at the Bernabéu in 2013.
United, on the other hand, have won
the Europa League, FA Cup and
Carabao Cup since Sir Alex Ferguson
retired in 2013. Those achievements
should not be sniffed at, but they are
not elite-level accomplishments and,
in terms of points, they have not come
close to winning the Premier League.
Arguably as impressive as Simeone’s
achievements on the pitch is the
fact that he has created a dressing
room that is unwavering in its support
for him.
AS, the Spanish sports daily, carried a
quote from Stefan Savic, the
Atletico defender, on its front
page yesterday. It read: “We
are going to follow El
Cholo [Simeone] until
the death.”
With that kind of
commitment, it is easy
to see why Atletico have
reached the quarter-
finals or better in five of
their past eight Champions
League campaigns. United,
on the other hand, have
managed that feat only twice since
Ferguson left.
Rangnick is certainly a fan of
the 51-year-old former Inter Milan
midfielder.
“He [Simeone] has won trophies with
a clear identity and with a recognisable
playing style,” Rangnick said. “There
is always an emotional side and this
also reflects the character of the
manager — Simeone is probably one of
the most emotional managers
in Europe.”
When asked if a club must qualify forAtletico v
Man Utd
Champions League
round of 16, first leg
Tonight, 8pm
BT Sport,
talkSPORT2We must be decisive and
ruthless, says Wiegman
Sarina Wiegman has urged England
to be more ruthless in front of goal
after struggling to take their chances
so far in the Arnold Clark Cup
(Molly Hudson writes).
In the first two matches in this
inaugural competition, England have
scored only one goal — a volley by
Millie Bright, the centre back, in the
1-1 draw with Canada. In the goalless
draw with Spain on Sunday, England
created several opportunities that
they were unable to convert.
“We want to do better in our final
third. That’s about decision-making,
about connection, and then being
ruthless,” Wiegman, the head coach,
said. England are second with one
match to play — tonight at Molineux
against a Germany side who sit
bottom of the table on one point.
Tonight 7.30pm. TV ITV4/ITV HubInce starts with a win – and a proud boast
“I’m 54 years old, not 84 — it’s like you
don’t forget how to ride a bike. I know
how to manage, I’ve done it before.
“My CV is as good as any person’s.”
Both sides struggled to create
chances in a goalless first half. Reading
had their first attempt shortly after the
half-hour mark, when a powerful run
by Junior Hoilett was crudely ended by
Kristian Pedersen, who received a
caution for his efforts. The resulting
free kick, taken by Swift, flew just over
the bar.
Birmingham started the second half
in the ascendency, and Jordan James
forced Karl Hein, the Reading goal-
keeper, to block his effort. Lyle Taylor
was then able to turn in the area and
shoot across the face of goal.
Having been second-best for much of
the contest, Reading came to life withtwo goals in six minutes. The first goal
of the Ince era arrived on 67 minutes,
courtesy of João, who received the ball
from Swift on the edge of the area and
slotted coolly past the Birmingham
goalkeeper, Neil Etheridge.
Reading looked to have sealed
victory with their second goal, a penal-
ty converted by Swift after Andy
Yiadom had been upended in the area.
Birmingham made it an uncomforta-
ble final ten minutes for Reading after
pulling a goal back when a deep cross by
Gary Gardner came off a post and
ricocheted off the defender Tom
McIntyre and into the net.
But Reading held firm for a vital win
that takes them eight points clear of
third-bottom Derby County. “We rode
our luck today at times. Birmingham
are a good side,” Ince added.League Two strugglers
Orient sack Jackett
Leyton Orient have parted company
with Kenny Jackett, their manager,
after nine months following a 2-0
defeat by Bristol Rovers, the Sky Bet
League Two club have announced.
Goals from Antony Evans and
Aaron Collins ensured that Orient
collected only two points from their
past ten games, having slid into a
relegation battle. They had only
managed one goal in their past nine
league matches under the former
Millwall and Portsmouth manager.
“The club can confirm that it has
parted company with manager Kenny
Jackett,” read an Orient statement.
“Assistant manager Joe Gallen, who
joined the club with Kenny Jackett in
the summer, will also depart his role.
We would like to place on record our
thanks to Kenny and Joe and wish
them all the best for the future.”Sky Bet Championship
Robert Dunford
Reading
João 67, Swift 73 (pen)Birmingham City
McIntyre 82 (og)2
1
Simeone gives United look
at what might have been
the quarter or semi-finals of the
Champions League to be considered a
European heavyweight, Rangnick said:
“Yes. We also have to be realistic, there
have to be some reasons why it’s not the
case in the past.”
One of those reasons is because
United have chopped and changed
managers over the past nine years, un-
like Atletico, and have altered their
approach in the transfer market and
on the pitch every time a new boss
is appointed.
Rangnick, who will be involved in
deciding who takes over from him at
the end of the season, knows that the
club need to appoint a top-level manag-
er this summer who will stick around
for a long time.
At the start of his reign, when he was
more willing to speak his mind,
Rangnick would have entered into that
debate with gusto, but he has recently
become less outspoken when dealing
with the media, possibly as a result of
the appointment of a new adviser.
“It’s a question for the summer,”
Rangnick, 63, said. “Our full focus is on
the present situation.”
Rangnick will once again be
without Edinson Cavani this
evening. The striker will miss his
third consecutive match because of
a groin injury.
Rangnick, who last managed a
team in the Champions League
knockout stage 11 years ago
with Schalke, warned his
United players to expect a
white-hot atmosphere inside
the Wanda Metropolitano,
where 3,300 away supporters
will be housed.
Attendance at the 68,456-seat sta-
dium has been capped at 75 per cent
because of Covid.
Nobody will feel the heat from the
home supporters as much as Cristiano
Ronaldo, who has scored 25 goals,
including four hat-tricks, in his 31
appearances against Atletico.
“Mentally, we need to be prepared
for an emotional and hostile atmos-
phere,” Rangnick said. “This is not the
easiest of draws.”Paul Hirst
Champions League records since Simeone's arrival
WinnerRunner-upSemi-finalQuarter-finalRound of 16Group stageDid not
qualifyAtletico Madrid Manchester United
( Sir Alex Ferguson David Moyes Louis van Gaal
José Mourinho Ole Gunnar Solskjaer)2011
-1212-
1313-
1414-
1515-
1616-
1717-
1818-
1919-
2020-
21
*2015-16: United also reach the round of 16 in the Europa League, under Louis van GaalMadrid212111Simeone was in
the frame to take
over as United
manager in 2014Fred has criticised Manchester United
for their lack of long-term planning,
claiming it was “strange” that the club
appointed an interim manager in
November after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
was sacked.
The midfielder described Ralf Ran-
gnick as a “great coach” and said that he
has no problems with the German, who
was put in charge for the rest of the
season after the dismissal of Solskjaer.
Instead Fred, 28, said in an interview
with TNT Sports Brazil that his misgiv-
ings lie with the club’s board for its fail-
ure to implement a long-term strategy.
“It’s a bit strange,” he said, when
asked about the idea of an interim man-
ager being appointed halfway through
a season. “I know in football it’s impor-
tant to get good results as soon as poss-
ible, but it’s also important to have a
long-term plan. It’s a little bit bad for us
not to have one. At the moment it’s all
about the short-term goals.”
Fred said he was frustrated at failing
to win any silverware since arriving
from Shakhtar Donetsk for about
£47 million in 2018.
“We want trophies but it’s been a long
drought,” he said. “With all due respect
to Villarreal, it was our job to win that
Europa League final [last season] and
we failed.”
Fred scored in Sunday’s 4-2 win
against Leeds United, but the Brazil
midfielder has struggled at times dur-
ing his United career and conceded that
some of the club’s fanbase are not fully
behind him. “I know I’m not the best
player, the most technical, but I give my
blood and my life every time,” he said.
“As we say in Brazil, I carry the piano for
the artists to play.”
Fred said it was not “crazy” to think
that United could win the Champions
League but knows Atletico Madrid will
prove to be tough opponents in to-
night’s round-of-16 first leg. “Their
manager [Diego Simeone] is Argentini-
an, so they’re warriors,” Fred said. “It’s a
match for players that have balls.”
6 United have been fined £20,000 by
the FA for their reaction to a tackle
made by Brighton & Hove Albion’s
Lewis Dunk at Old Trafford.
The referee, Peter Bankes, was ha-
rangued by United players before going
to his pitchside monitor. He then sent
Dunk off. The club were charged with
failing to ensure their players conduct-
ed themselves in an orderly fashion.