The Borussia Dortmund manager ticks an awful lot of boxes but does he really want the job? Two Bundesliga titles plus a Champions League runners-up medal achieved on a relatively modest budget at Dortmund while playing high pressing, fearless, entertaining football will appeal to the Old Trafford hierarchy. He also possesses the emotional intelligence and, importantly, humour necessary to connect with today’s super-rich young footballers.
Klopp, 47 in June, has compared his managerial style to “heavy metal music” and is something of a renaissance man. A complex character blessed with sufficient “personality” to make even José Mourinho seem a little boring. He has variously provided expert, highly rated, football analysis on German television, made a small fortune from fronting advertising campaigns and is an evangelical Christian. He is also noted for his loyalty and opposition to breaking contracts. When recently asked about United’s perceived interest, he said: “Nobody at Dortmund has to worry about that. We’re all in love with this club and how it does things.” He would certainly know how to bring out the very best in his former Dortmund protege Shinji Kagawa too after professing himself to be “heartbroken” by the player’s tactical treatment by Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes.
Louis van Gaal – Holland
The Holland coach is admired by Tottenham but after long hankering for a Premier League job, could well be persuaded to divert north. The 62-year-old former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager is a practitioner of wonderful attacking “total” football within the strict parameters of often ingenious tactical systems. Famously demanding of his players, brutally caustic with the media and undeniably arrogant, Van Gaal can be a slow starter as first-teamers adjust to his modus operandi – including relentless training-ground drills – but usually ends up a winner. A “systems-manager” who believes the coach is king and his tactics the key, he is full of contradictions. A strangely non-materialistic, almost ascetic, multi millionaire, he can be startling left field yet incredibly conservative, eminently logical yet invariably imaginative. Significantly Van Gaal often succeeds best with younger professionals. Some fear this “genius” coach’s often less than subtle man-management may be too blunt for sensitive British footballers but the CV of a man who, before joining Bayern, locked himself away in a monastery in order to swiftly learn German, demands instant respect. Any relationship with Wayne Rooney looks potentially turbulent but could keep his compatriot Robin van Persie content.
Roberto Martínez – Everton
Might United recruit the right manager from Everton this time? The 40-year-old Spaniard has taken the team from Goodison Park to dizzy heights David Moyes believed they were incapable of scaling and they could yet pip Arsenal to Champions League qualification. Martínez was responsible for creating Swansea’s much admired passing philosophy before an impressive stint spent generally defying the odds while playing exciting football at low-budget Wigan. Eventually Wigan did get relegated but not before Martínez had led them to FA Cup final glory against Manchester City. Well educated – he has a degree in physiotherapy and a diploma in business management – highly articulate, refreshingly humble and immensely likeable he is also a workaholic. At home he has installed an L-shaped sofa in the sitting room, enabling him and his wife Beth to sit together in the evenings while watching separate televison sets. Wearing headphones, Martínez analyses numerous football matches from around the world, with their various tactical nuances sparking his lively imagination. Firm but fair and an expert developer of young talent – just ask Everton’s Ross Barkley – he is a coach footballers relish playing under. Possessing impressive international contacts, particularly in Spain, while knowing the Premier League inside out, Martínez can also prosper on a tight budget.
Diego Simeone – Atlético Madrid
The one-time Argentina defensive midfielder infamously involved in David Beckham’s sending off at St Etienne during the 1998 World Cup in France, Simeone has taken Atlético to the top of the Spanish league where they sit perched above clubs boasting five times their budget. The road towards breaking La Liga’s Barça-Real duopoly has seen him win the Europa League, Copa del Rey and Uefa Super Cup with Atlético as well as finishing third in the league last season. Currently preparing to face Chelsea in the club’s first Champions League semi-final for more than 40 years, the 44-year-old is a clever coach who loves counterattacking football and has little time for endless passing with no end product. A stylish pragmatist on the pitch, he is a shrewd, innovative man manager and brilliant motivator off it with a reputation for being able to get inside the heads of players. Capped more than 100 times by Argentina and a midfield star in Italy and Spain, he is big on “respect” and reveres “tradition”. Drawbacks? Simeone is far from fluent in English.
Carlo Ancelotti – Real Madrid
It is beyond United’s wildest hopes – and bank balance – that he could bring Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale on the plane with him from Real Madrid but Ancelotti might be a very good fit at Old Trafford. Not only is the former Juventus, Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach well versed in the Premier League but he practises the sort of sophisticated attacking football United crave. With his 55th birthday falling in June the Italian has a few years left on the managerial clock but plenty of experience – and influential European contacts – to draw on. Having just won the Copa del Rey he is currently preparing for a Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich and hoping to overtake Atlético Madrid in La Liga. If the treble – or even a double – is secured Ancelotti may well stay put but should Real stumble he could be back on the market and interested in pursuing a spot of unfinished English business. Most people feel Roman Abramovich parted company with him far too soon and he would doubtless delight in reminding Chelsea of his ability. It might also increase the chances of either Ronaldo returning to United or Bale arriving.
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