Salzburg’s successes are proving that Antonio Conte’s insistence on experience is an antiquated notion
Equal FC SalzburgAustrian champions with an average age of 23 (22, if excluding their venerable left-back, Andreas Ulmer36 years old), arrived within seconds of defeat Bayern Munich inside Champions League on wednesday night, Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte reflects on the importance of experience did the same round in London.
The words of the owner of Tottenhamwhen placed in context, are not particularly critical of the club (certainly not to the extent that the opening paragraphs appear), but they do underscore his belief in the value of experience.
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“It’s inevitable that if you want to develop quickly and want to be competitive right away, you need players with a lot of experience, because then they pass this on to the rest of the team,” he said. “But Tottenham want young players who can develop and develop, not players who are ready. That is the philosophy and that will continue to be the philosophy, so we will need a lot. be patient and that’s what I keep explaining. People.”
Leave the parsing and microanalysis of Conte’s quotes aside for a minute. (And, yes, there’s a lot to analyze and, perhaps, question. Like when he said that in January Spurs added two players – Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski – while losing four “important” players: Bryan Gil, Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso. Well, those “important” players have only had three starts between them under Conte.)
Instead, let’s focus on experience, and how can Salzburg come close to elevating Bayern with such a young team. Check out the highlights and the expected goals: This is not a fluke. Salzburg’s energy level is over the roof, they press Bayern in every area of the pitch and they counterattack with speed and precision. Sure, they conceded a lot and Bayern created chances too – that’s what you’d expect when Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller and Robert lewandowski out there – but Salzburg easily has as many quality opportunities as Bayern.
All of this from a team that, in terms of experience, is pretty slim.
It starts with the manager. Matthias Jaissle, at 33, is truly one of the few Julian Nagelsmann coaches who will go up against someone younger than him. And this is not only his first season at Salzburg but also his first season as a senior manager. Never mind the fact that the entire starting lineup played their first game in the Champions League knockout stages, the majority of them in their first season as starters, period. These guys are not only inexperienced at this level, they are also inexperienced in professional football.
They also challenge another myth whereby clubs from leagues compete like Premier League to play at European level because they are used to facing high quality opponents. Well, Salzburg dominate the Austrian league: they are 14 points ahead of the top team; last year they won it with 18. The best teams they have faced this season, by far, are the ones they have faced in Europe: Bayern, Lille, Seville and, um, VfL Wolfsburg. By the way, this also applies on an individual level. Oumar Solet and Maximilian Wober are the only Salzburg players to have played in a major European Group of Five tournament and between them they have made just nine appearances at the tournament.
Obviously Salzburg’s success is not a fairy tale. There is a huge company behind them, they have years of institutional knowledge in analysis and reconnaissance, they benefit from a professional farm team in the second division (Liefering) and a big brother large friendly (but not officially affiliated) in Bundesglia in RB Leipzigand they are brave and progressive in so many aspects of what they do.
And while their budget is lower than other Champions League clubs, when they see the right player, they don’t mind throwing money at him. Noah Okafor (11.2 million euros), Wober (10.5 million euros), Brenden Aaronson (5.4 million euros) and not to mention Erling Haaland (8 million euros) and Sadio Mane (4 million euros) were all signed for substantial transfer fees while they were still unproven youngsters.
The problem, however, is that when it comes to basic talent, if you have the energy, the pace, the solid identity and the good coaching, then maybe the experience isn’t that important. Certainly not as important as some managers and clubs – who often overpay for it, because older players certainly make more money – think so.
That brings us back to Conte. Tottenham’s young players may not be on par with Salzburg’s young guns, but we’re still talking about an expensive Premier League academy that could attract a talented team in London, one of the academies. deepest in Europe. For “experienced players,” Eric Dier, Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Lucas Moura and Hugo Lloris All of them are 26 or older and have a lot of experience playing for big national teams.
His emphasis on having what he considers a “top player” with a “winning spirit” who “knows how to win” is well-documented. It’s a topic at burialin Chelsea and at Juventus, and it eventually led to him leaving each of those clubs, because, well, those types of players cost money, possibly more than they’re worth. More importantly, decision-makers at many clubs are not as easily swayed by pedigree as they used to be, thanks in part to clubs like Salzburg, who are blasting many age-old legends, in year after year.
Skeptics will conclude that it will end the same way at Spurs and that his words are just the first sign that there is a sequel to what we have seen from him before. . I may be naive, but I don’t buy that.
I have to believe Conte knows what he’s up against at Spurs: That if you throw a tantrum, Daniel Levy won’t buy you new toys; that the club’s plan is to work on a budget, seek value and grow organically. I believe he accepted all of this, and merely reminded us of how big the mountain he and Spurs have to climb.
