For those of you interested in the game as a whole, there's a really interesting read on current Lille and former AS Monaco sporting director Luis Campos and the remarkable work he's done at both clubs.
Signing players such as Bernardo Silva, Fabinho, Mbappe, Martial, Nicolas Pepe and many more for cut-price deals, whilst transforming Monaco and helping turn Lille from 17th place finishers to title challengers, the mans done some remarkable work.
He was heavily linked to AC Milan this summer, which doesn't seem to have come off, but he'd be a great coup for any club with that lower-budget model.
His latest transfer coup seems set to be taking Renato Sanches away from Bayern (TBC), so it will be interesting to see how that turns out.
https://breakingthelines.com/manager-analysis/luis-campos-the-rise-of-footballs-most-underrated-sporting-director/
https://www.calciomercato.com/en/news/the-wizard-of-capital-gains-who-is-luis-campos-milan-s-leonardo--69523
Well worth a read IMO
Sporting Directors: Luis Campos
posted on 27/8/19
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 27/8/19
A director level position should not really be about players. Though players are now mega expensive assets and would need board approval.
A sporting director should be developing the people and the systems and organisation at all sporting levels (under age, men, women etc)
It shouldn't be him picking players. that way lies christian purslow.
posted on 27/8/19
comment by Greatteamswinit4times- a terrible enemy (U6008)
posted 2 minutes ago
I always wondered about exactly how involved the sporting director is in terms of actual knowledge of players and then fitting the right players into the right coaching set up/ tactical set up. He must rely on a very specialised scouting team that essentially collects the "raw" data on players. It's not like the discover hidden gems as such. All the players that are mentioned are already massively involved in high end clubs as youngsters.
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If you read the articles, he used to scout for Mourinho and he spends alot of the time scouting players himself, whilst also acting as the sporting director.
Some of these players we're at Porto (J.Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho), but many more we're free transfers of young players who he believed had the personality to turn it around or older players (Jose Fonte) who he felt had more to deliver. Fonte for example made it into the team of the season last year.
There were also the snippet deals for prospects who excelled, Bakayoako, Silva, Martial etc
posted on 27/8/19
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 2 minutes ago
A director level position should not really be about players. Though players are now mega expensive assets and would need board approval.
A sporting director should be developing the people and the systems and organisation at all sporting levels (under age, men, women etc)
It shouldn't be him picking players. that way lies christian purslow.
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I guess it depends on the structure of the club. If he's exceptional at both, it makes sense to let him do his stuff.
posted on 27/8/19
comment by JHernandezMUFC (U18093)
posted 25 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 2 minutes ago
A director level position should not really be about players. Though players are now mega expensive assets and would need board approval.
A sporting director should be developing the people and the systems and organisation at all sporting levels (under age, men, women etc)
It shouldn't be him picking players. that way lies christian purslow.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I guess it depends on the structure of the club. If he's exceptional at both, it makes sense to let him do his stuff.
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nahhhhhh....
Leaders should lead. they should not be gurus who are irreplaceable. the systems he develops and people he coaches are the important thing.
examples:
Underage coaching strucutrs and staffing should have clear paths to develop and progress on to senior coaching if desired, same for scouts, tehcincal analysts, the dmeical departments etc etc.
A club is not just a guy going and being a steve walsh type (oh i singed kante and mahrez i'm a genius) or comolli at LFC or purslow before.
If you look to Barca. WHY DID THEY GET COUTINHO? why? Politics. Making a statement/the president making the fans happy. whatever. It was the wrong thing to do and fee was mad.
If you on the other hand look to Bayern. No one man makes the calls. It is rather a group in there or very experienced operators but not a closed shop.
The issue Utd have had IMO is Woodward deciding on whats value or not and successive managers being frustrated. I can't believe what utd have done over 24 months and how much its cost them.
It is frankly nearly as bad as what LFC did with rodgers and ayre and "the committee" Im agine horse trading with your manager. You can have benteke if i can have firmino. Or you can have a choice of etto or balotelli to replace suarez. and many many more examples of rubbish.
The structure should be clear. The decisions should be clear. the aim should be strategic not short termism.
posted on 27/8/19
Depends on the structure of the club in terms of recruiting players. How hands on or directing he actually is.
He sounds like a perfect fit for ‘smaller’ fish like Monaco and Lille. Clubs who traditionally work within a smaller budget (aside from Monaco’s small golden cash generation) and expect to make a tidy profit in the future on those players.
Currently at United we may hit loggerheads with potential target players’s club in regards to settling on a ‘budget/bargain’ fee. Especially post SAF era, we’ve been very careless with expenditure. Although, during this summer window we’ve kind of tried to be more responsible somewhat. Still, this expectation will take a while to rub back off on potential selling clubs. Like Ying and Yang trying to peacefully coexist.
posted on 27/8/19
On the continent the sporting director decides the playing philosophy and gets a manager according to that style.
He then decides which kind of players will fit the style
with his scouting team.
The coach can give advice whether to buy a player or not but the director is the one who decides at the end.
For example PSV had a great scouting network in Brazil in the 80s and 90s and bought Romario and Ronaldo. Now you can watch every south american live on the internet if you want.
In this day and age you have wyscout which has a database of all the talented players around the world.
Spoken with all lot of football people here in the Netherlands and they say English scouts are lazy bstrds who think cheap players are automatically crap.
Watch out for Eduardo Camavinga from Stade Rennes who made his debut a few weeks ago and looks a hell of talent.
posted on 28/8/19
nobody gives one man power over 200 mil on a transfer. they discuss these things at high level. a player is not just a player. he is a commercial investment.