Throw back to January, and a sweltering
day in Cordoba, Argentina. Washington
Camacho has just tapped home a third
goal in injury time for Defensa y Justicia,
confirming it’ll be their name on the Copa
Sudamericana trophy for the first time.
A familiar, open-mouthed figure bounces
along the touchline in celebration – only
these days, with a more manageable haircut
than when he was netting Serie A stunners
and on the prowl upfront for Chelsea.
That was the day Crespo truly announced
himself to the world as an elite manager – in
a stadium named after Mario Kempes, the
striker he grew up idolising. As a manager,
though, the Albiceleste hero is very much his
“Wherever he wants, he will become
a manager,” Pep Guardiola once said
of his former player at Bayern Munich.
It’s interesting then, that while Alonso’s
childhood pal Mikel Arteta chose to study
under Pep’s tutelage at Manchester City,
Alonso turned down doing the same for
Carlo Ancelotti. Instead, the ex-Liverpool
man began with Real Madrid Under-14s,
before Real Sociedad’s B side beckoned.
In his first season, Alonso guided La
Sanse to fifth in their regional Segunda
Division B (third tier) division, with a side
that leaked goals but attacked
ferociously. If that sounds similar to
Jurgen Klopp’s early Anfield days, don’t
be surprised to learn that the Spaniard
considers his German counterpart a
major influence.
In 2020-21, the club won promotion to
the Segunda Division for the first time in
over 60 years, following a play-off win
against Algeciras.
Alonso is still learning his own craft, but
he already has huge admirers. There’s
natural talk of him leading former clubs
Bayern or Real Madrid one day – but for
now he’s staying put, working on his own
watch... as ever.
“I want to take steps naturally and not
force them,” Alonso declared prudently.
“These first steps in San Sebastian, my
home, where I started my playing career,
make sense for me.”XABI
ALOnSO
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own man. “I look to the great coaches, but
I have to be myself,” Crespo told FFT in 2016,
when taking his first steps with Modena.
“I look at Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho,
Marcelo Bielsa... I take lessons from them,
but I don’t want to be the same.”
The Argentine was prepared to make
mistakes to learn those lessons. The
former Blue started coaching at Parma in
2014, but as the club sunk into financial
meltdown – they even had to auction off
trophies he’d helped them win as a player
to pay the bills – Crespo accepted the
Modena job in Serie B. In still learning his
craft, he couldn’t lead them out of a
relegation tussle; the rookie coach was
relieved of his duties by March.
Argentine side Banfield weren’t put off,
however, and hired him in 2018. While that
stint ended in another chop, it was back
home where Crespo began to enforce his
philosophy. “If you go to watch a Tarantino
film, you know what you’ll get,” he claimed
after losing his job five matches into a new
campaign, following a mid-table finish. “The
same with a Scorsese. I watch Guardiola and
I know what team I’m going to see.”
Crespo knew what kind of blockbuster he
wanted to direct. From January 2020, his
Defensa side played with a high-octane style
reminiscent of Bielsa, and rewards were
finally reaped. They toppled Vasco da Gama
and Bahia with disciplined displays over
two legs in South America’s Europa League
equivalent, before beating Coquimbo Unido
in the semis. Their exquisite 3-0 hammering
of Lanus in the final ensured club history.
After the title, Crespo moved to Brazilian
giants Sao Paulo – his biggest job yet. In May
2021, he won the Campeonato Paulista for
Sao Paulo after a 2–0 victory over Palmeiras- the club’s first title in eight years.
“I LOOK AT AnCELOTTI,
MOURInHO AnD BIELSA –
BUT I DOn’T WAnT TO
BE THE SAME AS THEM”
Below Crespo bags
his first major gong
as a manager – and
what a trophy it is...ImagesGetty Images; PAn EXT-GEn
MAn AGERS