The Best Dressed Football Managers
There’s a great anecdote in issue 17 of football quarterly The Blizzard about how Malcolm ‘Big Mal’ Allison, famed for his trademark fedora and fur coat, was upstaged – as Sporting Lisbon manager in the 1982 Portuguese Cup final
Sadly, this sort of flex is the exception rather than the rule. Aside from a few ‘antihero pieces’ – Arsène Wenger’s bin bag coat, Tim Sherwood’s gilet, Tony Pulis’ magic hat – the touchline barely attracts any style commentary worth speaking about.
1. Pep Guardiola
Guardiola’s swag is often spoken of in terms more breathless than Brazilian Ronaldo on the first day of pre-season training. But like his management style, Pep’s wardrobe is not beyond reproach.
His suits can be on the shiny side, and he frequently teams them with a belt, which is a yellow card offence in our book. (It saws you in half visually: besides, if you need a belt, then your suit doesn’t fit properly.)
The Tactic: Keep It (Fairly) Tight
No, we’re not talking about his porous defences. The main reason that Guardiola is in another league to his rivals is because his clothes, particularly his suits, are close-fitting.
2. Roberto Mancini
Ageing like a fine Barolo, oozing sprezzatura, Mancini is one of those well-dressed mature Italian men who would look as at home on The Sartorialist as in the dugout. You half-expect to see street style photographer Tommy Ton crouched pitchside trying to get a details shot.
The Tactic: Don’t Always Buy The Big Names
Mancini is a fan of Giorgio Armani, rightly declaring his compatriot one of the best designers in history. But he gets his suits from his own “small” tailor in Naples
3. Zinedine Zidane
The current holder of the bucking bronco that is the Real Madrid hot-saddle, Zizou is relatively new to management but no stranger to fashion. The talented former midfield maestro has previously modelled for Louis Vuitton, adidas Y-3 and Mango.
The Tactic: Play With Your Head
The most striking thing about Zidane is clear enough. (Just ask Marco Materazzi.) Yes, his baldness is an asset, but it’s one he assists by sticking to understated pieces and subdued colours. Whether in a suit or a tracksuit, his palette doesn’t distract from his pate.
4. Luis Enrique
With Guardiola as his near-predecessor at Barcelona, the Spaniard had big shoes to fill. Or in his case, trainers worn with a suit.
The Tactic: Get Your Foot On The Ball
Enrique gives a masterclass in getting the trainers with a suit thing right: keep the kicks classic and/or minimal, and the tailoring trim.
5. Quique Sánchez Flores
Like a Mediterranean version of Hugh Laurie in House, the Watford gaffer seems as likely to impart tactical information to his skipper Troy Deeney as grumpily diagnose him with some obscure condition.
The Tactic: Adopt A Less Rigid Formation
It’s not just diving and actually being good at football that continental fancy Dans have imported to these shores. They’ve also brought relaxed, soft-shouldered tailoring that looks and feels less stuffy, so much so that you can wear it with a T-shirt.
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