Although head coach Josep Gombau made the shock announcement he would be leaving Adelaide United due to family reasons, the Reds moved swiftly in appointing his successor and avoid the sometimes unenviable task of finding the right man for the job.
No sooner had Josep Gombau decided to prematurely call an end to his two-year stay in the City of Churches, Adelaide Chairman Greg Griffin shrewdly revealed who would replace the Spaniard. Of course, that man is Barcelona legend and United technical director Guillermo Amor. The 47-year-old is more than a worthy heir to Gombau, and if not has higher credentials than his predecessor, given he was an exceptionally talented footballer – amassing over 500 games with the Catalan giants.
However, it is a known fact not all great players make excellent coaches, but for Amor he comes into an environment he knows extremely well, after spending last season as the club’s technical director. Additionally, he would be more familiar with the opposing teams in the competition as well as the entire Adelaide squad, which should bode well for a seamless transition into the Reds’ hot seat. The former Fiorentina man was also a director of football, among other responsibilities, with the Blaugrana and his pedigree as a footballer is almost second to none.
On the contrary, sceptics may question the decision for Amor to take reins as boss of the Coopers Stadium side, since it is only his first professional senior coaching role, hence a notable lack of experience. Nevertheless, as alluded to earlier, the move just might work. Importantly, Amor understands the culture of the organisation and is not an outsider coming into a new setting. Indeed, the foundations have already been laid by Gombau and the ‘Tiki-taka’ philosophy he instilled into the Adelaide players is gradually coming to fruition.
Gombau shares these sentiments in regards to the smart judgement by Griffin to assign Amor with the head coaching job.
“He [Amor] already knows the club and he knows how things work, but when I started I didn’t,” Gombau said.
In his first press conference, Amor declared he would not make drastic changes, but only tweak and tinker United’s system, as he shares the same philosophical background as the 39-year-old, originating from their Barcelona days.
“It’s well known that Josep and I share the same idea stemming from Barcelona,” Amor said.
MORE: What can we expect from new Adelaide United coach Guillermo Amor?
Looking back retrospectively, the hierarchy’s decision to hand Guillermo Amor the capacity to operate as the club’s technical director proved a masterstroke. One of the major reasons so many players (particularly the international footballers) re-signed with the Reds earlier in the year, was because of Gombau. And his departure could have potentially caused an uproar within the playing group, with some possibly demanding to be released and transferred elsewhere. The South Australians quite simply dodged a bullet in this scenario and appropriately offered the managerial position to Gombau’s close friend Amor.
The five-time La Liga winner would certainly have several contacts too from his association with Barca, and that could also translate into future signings of apt Spaniards, or even the appearance of a knowledgeable assistant.
If the players buy into the tactics and are convinced by what Amor brings to the table from a coaching perspective, then domestic success may not be such a pipe dream. There have been many instances where the initial groundwork implemented by former coaches has developed into a sustained period of success following the newly appointed manager. For whatever excuse, the new manager seems to not only pick up where his predecessor left-off, but also enhance and improve the squad with virtually the same ingredients he inherited.
A comparison that springs to mind is when Italian tactician Arrigo Sacchi left giants AC Milan in 1991 to manage the national team and was superseded by Fabio Capello. Sacchi left the San Siro outfit after one Scudetto title and consecutive European Cup medals, only to be somewhat ‘stood up’ by Capello, who collected four Serie A honours, one Champions League triumph and was runner-up on two separate occasions in the Champions League.
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More recently, despite being at the helm for a solitary season so far, Massimiliano Allegri transformed Juventus into an even greater force, after Antonio Conte achieved three successive Scudetti trophies. Allegri not only won the Serie A for a fourth straight year, but he was competing for the treble, after guiding the Bianconeri to a dramatic Coppa Italia victory and the Champions League final – something which Conte could not do in Europe – only to be ousted by Barcelona.
Amor could very well do the same at Adelaide United, on a smaller scale obviously. Just like the aforementioned examples, the previous coaches had won some sort of silverware before leaving for pastures new. Gombau secured the inaugural FFA Cup, which was incidentally the club’s first trophy since 2006. Therefore, perhaps Amor may go on to enjoy a continued era of success while in charge of Adelaide – in the A-League or Asian Champions League. In football anything is possible.
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