After the historic humiliation of a 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool, Norwegian coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s situation at Manchester United appears to be hanging by a thread, despite the fact that he renewed his contract in July until 2024.
Since his appointment in December 2018, the ‘Red Devils’, where he was once an essential player for more than a decade, have not won any trophies. They have been able to finish, yes, on the podium of the Premier League in the last two seasons, but this season the situation has been complicated by losing three of their last four league games.
That has caused several names to start circulating about coaches who could happen to him in case Solskjaer leaves his duties soon:
. Antonio Conte (ITA / 52 years old):
The Italian Antonio Conte has been free since he left Inter Milan in May, estimating then that he did not have at his disposal sufficient means to magnify that club due to the budgeted restrictions imposed by those responsible for the entity.
A positive point that would support Conte’s arrival at Old Trafford: the demanding 52-year-old coach has already managed a Premier League great, Chelsea (2016-2018). And it had some success, leading the ‘Blues’ to the national title in its first season.
However, Conte’s tendency to enter into a dispute with the leaders could work against him.
“He’s not the right man for United,” former Red Devils captain Gary Neville said on Sunday.
. Zinedine Zidane (FRA / 49 years old):
Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, also free after leaving Real Madrid in June, has the advantage of knowing two United players well from his time in the ‘merengue’ team, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane.
‘Zizou’ also has a reputation for knowing how to manage a star locker room well, as he already demonstrated at Real Madrid, with which he won three consecutive Champions Leagues and two Spanish champion titles.
. Brendan Rodgers (NIR / 48 years old):
Current Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers appears to be an interesting option.
His time as coach of Liverpool (2012 to 2015), an enemy club of United, could be an obstacle.
In the ‘Reds’ he gained a certain fame as a loser, especially for the drama of 2014, when Liverpool let slip the national title despite having a five-point lead with three games to go.
Since then he has achieved notable successes with Celtic Glasgow, with whom he signed two consecutive triplets in Scotland (2018, 2019), before returning to the Premier League to take the reins of Leicester.
In a club with a smaller budget than that of the greats of England, he managed to leave Leicester on the verge of qualifying for the Champions League in the last two seasons and won an English Cup in May, defeating Chelsea in the final. , who shortly after was champion of Europe.
. Erik Ten Hag (NED / 51 years):
Dutch coach Erik Ten Hag has had some great moments with Ajax Amsterdam, especially leading that historic club to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019. The team had not done so well in the competition since 1997.
Despite the exodus of the stars of that time (Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs De Light, Hakim Ziyech), or even Donny Van de Beek (now at Manchester United), Ajax continues to maintain a good level.
This season, Ajax, relying primarily on a mix of experienced players with young talents from their training center, is leading in the Dutch league and in their Champions League group. AFP (HN)