EXCLUSIVE: Ramon Vega: What makes a truly elite manager?

To be considered a great manager in the modern era, you have to taste success in the Champions League.

It is what separates the elite from the excellent, the Fergusons and Mourinhos from the Wengers.

On the face of it, the English teams who found themselves in the draw in Monaco this week have never had a better chance of European glory. Their financial resources eclipse almost every other team in the hat and that gulf will only widen as the hugely lucrative, record-breaking new domestic Premier League TV deal kicks in.

However, if you look back over the past few seasons the Premier League clubs have generally underachieved on the European front.  Over the last six years, they have got dumped out of the Champions League group stages six times.

Meanwhile, if you look at the latter stages of the tournament over that same period English teams have been present in the semi-finals just three times out of a possible 24.

Financial muscle may give you a good right hook, but it doesn’t guarantee a knock-out blow. I agree with Marco van Basten who said before last year’s final between Barcelona and Juventus that they key was not how much money the Premier League clubs could boast, but rather their levels of technical ability right through the ranks.

Money gives you the chance to buy the most expensive players around the world but it cannot automatically give your team a distinct way of playing, a style and an identity that runs through the club from top to bottom. That must be engendered by the blooding of local talent who have an affinity with the team, giving club coaches the time to mould and develop the player technically.

In this respect, the Premier League is far behind their European rivals, where the production of homegrown talent, the organization of academy structures, the coaching and technical vision are highly advanced.

Until these issues are addressed, I believe Premier League clubs will continue to struggle to punch their financial weight in the Champions League.

And a failure to consistently reach Champions League finals has an effect on the career choices of the very best players in the world. The likes of Neymar, Suarez, Ronaldo, Bale and Messi commit to teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona because they know they will get a good shot at a Champions League medal pretty much every year. In my opinion, David de Gea is yet another example of a player who realises that a footballer’s career is short and so he must take every opportunity to land the biggest trophy in the club game.

The Premier League may well be the most popular league in the world, which was further illustrated just this week by reports of fervent interest from foreign broadcasters in rights deals to show games abroad, but it is not the most popular with the most prodigious players around the globe.

And so, I’m going to predict familiar faces in this season’s Champions League final, with either Barcelona or Real Madrid triumphing.

As for the English teams, I have been so impressed with Manchester City’s swaggering start to the season that I think, despite their tough group, they will go farthest. Having to play difficult games early on in the tournament may even help them as good performances against tough opposition will raise confidence and generate momentum.

Those are two things my old club Celtic unfortunately do not possess at the moment after their massively disappointing result against Malmo. It was incredibly frustrating as I actually think they have a decent team this year and would have brought a great deal to the group stages. Financially it is a big blow too as they cannot rely on the same kind of domestic TV revenues that teams in England fall back on.

But their games against Malmo typified the ruthless and unforgiving nature of Champions League football. That’s why it is so engrossing as a spectacle and why the trophy is so coveted by managers looking to leave a lasting legacy on the game.

Ramon Vega is a versatile high-flying executive with a comprehensive track record of driving commercial success in finance, property and football with national, international and World Cup experience as captain of the Swiss National Team in 1994. Proven experience in managing $billion funds in the asset management industry as well as a turnaround specialist who combines financial and business acumen, Ramon has a flair for inspiring others to exceed their own expectations. Follow him on Twitter here @Ramon_Vega71  (http://frompitchtoboardroom.com)

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