Managers who, at one point in their careers, were briefly and hugely in demand, only to ultimately slip into obscurity.
Mike Walker is an obvious one. Here's another: Helmut Benthaus.
Twenty-five years ago, this guy managed an unfancied Stuttgart team to the Bundesliga title, at the age of 49. Immediately, he found himself the front-runner for two huge jobs. Cesar Luis Menotti had been forced out as Barcelona manager after a disappointing third place in the league and the devastating defeat by Man United in the Cup-Winners' Cup, while Jupp Derwall had resigned as West Germany boss in the wake of the last-minute elimination by Spain in Paris at Euro 84.
So for a few brief, thrilling weeks, Benthaus was the raging favourite for two of the biggest posts in world football. And he ended up getting neither of them. Firstly, he lost out to Terry Venables for the Barcelona job because Venables was willing to do it for £150,000 a year, a salary much less than what Benthaus or Michel Hidalgo (the other candidate) wanted.
A couple of weeks later, he saw the West Germany job disappear over the horizon when Franz Beckenbauer threw his hat into the ring. Beckenbauer had zero previous managerial experience, but suddenly announced his candidacy with a big newspaper interview that was headlined "FRANZ: I AM READY". The DFB immediately prostrated themselves at his feet and Benthaus's chance had gone.
And then Benthaus's career unravelled at Grand Prix speed. Stuttgart were catastrophically knocked out of the 84/85 European Cup in the first round by Levski Spartak Sofia, and their defence of the Bundesliga title ended in a miserable 10th-place finish. He resigned and went back to Basel, where he had earlier spent 17 years as manager. Within two seasons, they had been relegated to the Swiss second division and Benthaus had been fired.
As far as I can ascertain, he never managed another club and basically went into retirement at the age of 52. I wonder what became of him. You can't even find a decent picture of him on Google Images.
Mike Walker is an obvious one. Here's another: Helmut Benthaus.
Twenty-five years ago, this guy managed an unfancied Stuttgart team to the Bundesliga title, at the age of 49. Immediately, he found himself the front-runner for two huge jobs. Cesar Luis Menotti had been forced out as Barcelona manager after a disappointing third place in the league and the devastating defeat by Man United in the Cup-Winners' Cup, while Jupp Derwall had resigned as West Germany boss in the wake of the last-minute elimination by Spain in Paris at Euro 84.
So for a few brief, thrilling weeks, Benthaus was the raging favourite for two of the biggest posts in world football. And he ended up getting neither of them. Firstly, he lost out to Terry Venables for the Barcelona job because Venables was willing to do it for £150,000 a year, a salary much less than what Benthaus or Michel Hidalgo (the other candidate) wanted.
A couple of weeks later, he saw the West Germany job disappear over the horizon when Franz Beckenbauer threw his hat into the ring. Beckenbauer had zero previous managerial experience, but suddenly announced his candidacy with a big newspaper interview that was headlined "FRANZ: I AM READY". The DFB immediately prostrated themselves at his feet and Benthaus's chance had gone.
And then Benthaus's career unravelled at Grand Prix speed. Stuttgart were catastrophically knocked out of the 84/85 European Cup in the first round by Levski Spartak Sofia, and their defence of the Bundesliga title ended in a miserable 10th-place finish. He resigned and went back to Basel, where he had earlier spent 17 years as manager. Within two seasons, they had been relegated to the Swiss second division and Benthaus had been fired.
As far as I can ascertain, he never managed another club and basically went into retirement at the age of 52. I wonder what became of him. You can't even find a decent picture of him on Google Images.
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