At the roll call only the unsuspected Francesco Guidolin was missing, someone who has chewed (and taught) football for over 30 years, first as a player and then as a coach. Yet even he, at the end of the match in Catania which saw Udinese win and consequently qualified for the preliminaries of the next Champions League, launched signs of "tiredness".
"I think I'll need a long rest, I don't know if I can afford another 50-game season", said the staid coach from Veneto during an interview after the match, hinting that he wants to take a sabbatical year.
The feuilleton entitled "Stressed coaches", all the rage for a month now, is therefore enriched with a new protagonist in an already exceptional cast: from Guardiola to Luis Enrique, passing through Delio Rossi, different cases but united by a basic question: where is this football coming?
In fact, there must be something wrong if not even money, fame and (especially in Pep's case) victories manage to bring serenity to people who live in an environment which, however 365 days a year in the spotlight, in these times of crisis he can easily be defined as privileged.
It is also true that even heroes are human beings, and that objectively the thesis from sports bars "they are paid handsomely even to bear the stress, what should the workers say?" it can sometimes take on a bit too unqualified connotations, but the point is: how did we get this far? Are there real motivations behind it or are we talking about whims?
Let's see case by case. Guardiola has won everything, absolutely everything, perhaps more than everything and everyone in these four years as Barcelona coach. Objectively four years of rare competitive and mental intensity, with over 80 matches per season and the label of "strongest team in the world" to be confirmed week after week. He made it, he left his mark, and now he's "tired". More out of saturation than stress, however, since he has always been well regarded and pampered by everyone, press, fans and players.
The adventure of Luis Enrique (Pep's Blaugrana teammate and former Barcelona B coach) in Rome, he was definitely stressed from all sides, even (indeed, above all) by friendly fire. While the club has in fact always defended him, and the "non-Roman" press has observed the experience of this slightly opinionated but young and innovative coach with curiosity and sometimes with sympathy, it is It was the usual whirlwind of internal controversies typical of the worst Giallorossi years.
Stressed yes, therefore, but unlike Guardiola for Luis the results don't even speak: an anonymous seventh place, even with the same points as Parma. But of course, in the world of football, there's always an excuse ready: injuries, bad luck, the project needed more time, and too much stress.
The same who brought Delio Rossi to make a gesture never seen in the history of Italian football. They looked like images received from some South American tournament those in which, in the grip of a fit that is not yet fully understood, the former coach of Lazio and Palermo violently and repeatedly punched his player Adem Ljajic, guilty of having contested the substitution (sacrosanct) just carried out. How was such a gesture possible? Fear of backtracking? Fiorentina, who were losing that match (0-2 with Novara, then finished in a draw), were in any case already virtually safe. Tiredness? But how, Delio Rossi only became Viola's coach in November, taking over from Mihajlovic.
Perhaps, if even a placid guy like Guidolin is fed up, it means that the problem is fundamental. Perhaps, rather than the individual protagonists, it should be football itself that takes a break. Even champions like Del Piero, Inzaghi, Seedorf, Gattuso understood this. The important thing is not to take yourself too seriously: go and explain to the fans that you retire or take a break because you are "tired".
