Xabi Alonso failed because his management style never suited Real Madrid; and Cristiano Ronaldo’s future as a Hollywood megastar!
World champion Emmanuel Petit confides in Michael Carrick in an exclusive interview Hochgepokert.com a surprise against Arsenal and is betting on a 1-1 draw for Manchester United.
The former Barcelona and Arsenal idol also explained why he thinks Cristiano Ronaldo has a high chance of catching up with Lionel Messi this summer and lifting the World Cup trophy himself. He also advised Luis Enrique to use his wits if Sir Jim Ratcliffe came knocking with a job offer.
Read the full interview below.
Luis Enrique to Man Utd? The club is a circus with clowns in the background
Luis Enrique to Manchester United? I know Luis Enrique hasn’t renewed his contract with PSG yet, but I’m pretty sure he’s a smart guy.
He knows full well that he cannot achieve anything greater than what he achieved with Paris Saint-Germain last season.
The Qatari owners have been looking for this for ages and with Luis Enrique they have fulfilled their dream of winning the Champions League – and they played brilliantly too.
Luis Enrique knows exactly what he achieved last season. He can’t repeat that. That’s why he doesn’t want to sign a new contract with PSG.
Should he go to Manchester United? In this circus? Do you think a guy like Luis Enrique would work there? Since the Qatari owners have been at PSG, they have never given full power to their coaches.
They always checked the dressing room – who had to leave the club, who was new. Then they gave Luis Enrique the power and they won the Champions League.
He has the authority to say, “No, I want to keep him. Sell this player. Get that player.” If he went to Manchester United, do you think it would work with all these clowns behind him?
These people tell the coach, “You should do this. You should draft this player. Why did you say you want this player? No, no, we’re not focusing on him. We’re planning on getting another one.”
That’s exactly what happened to Enzo Maresca at Chelsea. Can you imagine people like Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Jürgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti or José Mourinho going to Manchester United in their current state? No chance.
It seems like they want a puppet. I would challenge them to put themselves on the bench instead of putting pressure on the coach.
If I were Luis Enrique and Man Utd wanted me, I would have one condition: I want to be the manager, not the head coach. He must demand full control.
Would you agree to that? I’m not sure about that. We have seen how disastrously this club is run.
Ineos is behind it. And Ineos is also doing a very, very bad job at Nice. For exactly the same reason.
So good luck to the next coach, Michael Carrick. Good luck to him and also to the coach who comes after him.
They will definitely bring in a new manager. Why? Because the next one is guaranteed to get tons of money. After five months he is fired and leaves
Club with a severance payment between £10m and £15m.
Xabi Alonso failed at Real Madrid because he is a tactician – Ancelotti is not one
Xabi Alonso said it was like running a kindergarten. And to be honest, if you look back at the coaches over the last 15 years, the ones who won weren’t great tacticians.
They were leaders. They had power in the dressing room – something Alonso didn’t get because he was a tactician.
Every coach who has come to Real Madrid in the last 20 years and tried to impose an idea or a DNA on the game has failed.
Those who came to control the dressing room won: Zinédine Zidane, José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti. They didn’t impose a rigid game idea; they simply wanted to control egos.
But Julen Lopetegui, Alonso and many others before them came with a firm idea: “I want them to play like that.” So they were delivered.
Vinícius Júnior has to think about his teammates – he has lost focus
Vinícius scored a goal, good for him. But is he the same player who was on the verge of winning the Ballon d’Or? This boy shows so much frustration in front of the cameras.
I think he needs to think about his teammates a little more sometimes.
I’m so tired of these egos. It’s nice that he scores goals, but that’s not enough when you’re Vinícius and you almost won the Ballon d’Or because you were outstanding. You were a great player, unstoppable on the pitch because your attitude was right.
Since not winning the Ballon d’Or and seeing Kylian Mbappé come to the club, earn more money and be in the spotlight, he may have lost focus a bit.
Maybe he started thinking about himself more often than the team. But he’s not the only one. At Real Madrid they all have big egos.
Everyone wants to be the star. Guys, do your job first, and then maybe we’ll talk about you being stars, okay?
Álvaro Arbeloa cannot tell the Real Madrid players how to play
Álvaro Arbeloa works in the club. He said he was a huge fan of Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho also said during his career that it was a pleasure to coach him for years; He is probably one of the three best players he has ever had under him.
Arbeloa said you have to be the coach without trying to tell them how to play. Because Madrid is obviously not Barcelona. At Barcelona, the DNA belongs to the club, to the academy – the way they play, the way they handle the ball and the technical skills.
In Madrid that is not the DNA. In Madrid you have to win titles. It doesn’t matter how you get the title, you have to get it. And most of the time, it’s based on talented individuals who are mentally strong enough to handle the pressure and big egos – egos that lead to success.
Cristiano Ronaldo could become a big movie star
Could Cristiano Ronaldo become a big movie star? Definitely.
What’s more surprising is why we don’t see more athletes in films. We see rappers, influencers and many celebrities in the film, but hardly any athletes. Why?
After all, we also entertain people. In sport we have the necessary character for this. I know Eric Cantona did it, Vinnie Jones, David Ginola and also Frank Leboeuf. Why not more of us?
I’m happy for Ronaldo. I think he has the charisma and charisma. Ronaldo is the most famous person on social networks. Can you imagine if he stood among big Hollywood stars?
He wouldn’t have to prove anything to these people. He can say, “I know you’re a big star, but I’m Cristiano Ronaldo. I’m probably one of the best players in football history. I’m a billionaire. I’ve won everything there is to win in football. So who are you?”
The Oscars? Maybe one day. Honestly, you could make a movie about his life. I’ve never seen anyone mentally stronger than him. This guy is the most mentally powerful person I have ever met.
The World Cup is the last trophy Cristiano Ronaldo is missing – but he could win it
The World Cup is the last trophy Cristiano Ronaldo is missing. He is three Ballon d’Ors behind Lionel Messi, but the World Cup is what he really wants.
He won the European Championship in France with Portugal in 2016. The World Cup is the only trophy he doesn’t have. It’s the biggest title in the world.
This year he has a really good chance because Portugal is extremely strong.
South Africa can hope at the World Cup
The goal for South Africa should be third place in the group stage; if they can do that, it is likely that they can reach the knockout stages.
They were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations by Cameroon and will have a tough time against Mexico, South Korea and one of the play-off teams, but thanks to the change in format they can have hope.
Of the play-off teams, Denmark looks the strongest, but South Africa has a small chance.
What is your prediction for Arsenal vs Man Utd?
It’s strange with Manchester United because they do well against the top teams in the Premier League. For some reason they drop points against average teams away from home, like they did against Burnley.
But they were good against the big teams. They lost a few games but also won a few. I remember last season when they played a very good game at the Emirates and knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
Arsenal won’t win every single game. They will face difficulties against Manchester United. I would probably predict a draw, a 1-1.
