Arsene Wenger : Life of a Manager

Arsene Wenger is a football manager who has become synonymous with England’s Arsenal Football Club - its records, successes and more recently, its failures. However, his ability as a manager is redoubtably amazing and he is credited with revolutionizing English football to the game that it is now.

 

Early life

Arsène Wenger was born on 22 October 1949 in Strasbourg, Alsace, the youngest of three children born to Alphonse and Louise Wenger. He lived in Duppigheim during the 1950s but spent most of his time in the neighbouring village of Duttlenheim, ten miles south-west of Strasbourg.

Alphonse, like many Alsatians, was conscripted into the German Army by force following Germany's earlier annexation of the French region of Alsace-Lorraine.  He was sent to fight on the Eastern Front in October 1944, at the age of 24.

 

Career

After serving at various coaching positions, Wenger got his first job as a manager at Nancy, a club that was struggling in the Ligue 1. He inherited a sub-standard squad and training mechanism which he revolutionized and led the team to a decent 12th place position.The club was in several financial problems and had to sell its best players and work with very little funds, leading to Wenger parting ways with the club.

However, Wenger's managerial skills didn't go unnoticed as he was appointed by Monaco in 1987. He bought several new players and led Monaco to a French Division 1 league win in its first season itself, that too with a very comfortable lead. However, the club lost the domestic final that season.

 

In the next season, Monaco failed to retain the league title but won Coupe de France- the domestic cup. After a couple of seasons with mild success in European competitions, Wegener left due to the corruption that was plaguing French football at that time.He then coached in the Japanese league. With the Nagoya Grampus Eight, the Frenchman won the Emperor's Cup and the Japanese Super Cup. 

In 1996, Wenger moved to England to join Arsenal, where he had his dream run in the initial seasons.

In 1998, he won the FA Cup and Barclays Premier League, a domestic double. This was repeated again in the year 2002. However, his greatest achievement came in 2004, where he led Arsenal to an undefeated run in the Premier League, claiming the title in a way which hadn't been done in the past century.

In all these three seasons, he was declared as the Manager of the Season by Premier League.

 

In 2006, Arsenal reached the finals of the Champions League but lost to Barcelona. After enjoying success in back to back years, he went trophyless for the next nine seasons. But just as Arsenal fans were calling for his resignation, he guided the team to the FA Cup win in 2014 and repeated the feat in 2015 and 2017.For his contribution to the world of football as a manager, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He has won a total of 17 titles in Arsenal, and a cumulative of 21 titles, winning 2 each with Monaco and Nagoya Grampus.

 

Tactics

 

Wenger's tactics have been described as entertaining by both pundits and fans.In his early years, Wenger was an advocate of the 4-4-2 formation, as he believed that it covered the maximum space for the team. Wenger has always believed in allowing his players to play by their gut and intuition.

He has let the players make mistakes and learn from them, something for which he has been both praised and criticized.During Arsenal's dream run, Wenger played a 3-5-2 formation, which was very similar to a 4-3-3 in terms of how each position was utilized. He has shown versatility in terms of switching between counter-attacking and a possession form of play. 

 

Awards

As Player:

Strasbourg

Ligue 1: 1978-1979

 

As Manager:

 

1. Monaco

- Ligue 1: 1987-1988.

- French Cup: 1990-1991.

 

2. Nagoya Grampus

- Emperor Cup: 1996.

- J-League Super Cup: 1996.

 

3. Arsenal

- Premier League (3): 1997-1998, 2001-2002, 2003-2004.

- FA Cup (4): 1997-1998, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2004-2005.

- FA Community Shield (4): 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004.

 

Individual Awards

- Best Manager France: 1988, 2008.

- Best Manager J. League Manager: 1995.

- Officer of the British Empire: 2003.

- Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004.

- Best Manager FA Premier League: 1998, 2002, 2004.

- Best Manager LMA: 2001-2002, 2003-2004.

- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2002, 2004.

- Freedom of Islington: 2004.

- FWA Tribute Award: 2005.

- English Football Hall of Fame: 2006.

- Best Manager Premier League (10 times): March 1998, April 1998, October 2000, April 2002, September 2002, August 2003, February 2004, August 2004, September 2007, December 2007.