The recent developments at Mamelodi Sundowns which resulted in head coach Rulani Mokwena leaving the club after a rather impressive season, have stirred debate as to who is of great consequence between a sporting director (SD) /technical director (TD) or the head coach
Usually, as in the case with Mokwena, the coach has a more intimate association with the players and the supporters while the SD is more of a
strategic visionary and they spearhead the club’s recruitment policy.
So, Mokwena is said to have had a clash of visions and ideologies with the Sundowns SD, Flemming Berg. It is alleged that the duo disagreed on transfers, training methods, introduction of young players and the route the team should take going forward.
Mostly, sporting directors, including Berg, prefer operating on a low profile, away from the limelight, while the head coaches are often left to deal with a barrage of questions from the media on a day-to-day basis regarding transfers and long-term strategies.
While the Sundowns clash of ideologies led to a dismissal, the discord at other clubs has gotten rather physical and ugly. Two years ago, in the Italian Serie A, the Torino SD Davide Vagnati and head coach Ivan Juric almost got into a fistfight, but they were separated in the last minute by other team staffers. This was due to a misunderstanding and disagreement which led to name calling and an exchange of profanities at an off-season camp.
Who is Flemming Berg?
The Denmark-born pathfinder worked at FC Brondby and Nord Sjaelland before a seven-year spell as a worldwide scout for Chelsea. When he arrived at Sundowns in 2022, the club said that Berg’s immediate task was to focus on enhancing the club’s developmental structure and to provide leadership on talent development and football methodology.
Berg previously held the position of head of elite football development at the Danish Football Association. During his time at the Danish FA, Berg was responsible for all the national teams and was in charge of the strategy and structure of the Danish Talent Development.
He developed the Danish “Talent ID” course and was responsible for the playing philosophy of Denmark. He also gained invaluable scouting experience in Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal and Uruguay.
The difference between a SD and a head coach:
Former Ex-Monaco sporting director Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains the general principle is that the SD entertains stronger mandates, reporting directly to the executives (owner, chairperson or the CEO) with the coach, placed, in most cases, below the SD in the organisation chart.
The role of the SD in terms of signing players:
The sporting director role is akin to something of a glorified chief scout (which in some cases is not far from the truth, especially where the role hasn’t been properly implemented.)
Yet along with every SD, there’s a scouting department consisting of traditional scouts and an analytics team.
At most clubs, the head coach also enjoys a certain input when it comes to reinforcements (or deciding who to let go).
For that reason, the signing of a player is rarely down to one person; it’s generally a team effort headed by the SD.
How things have changed in modern football:
For decades with the head coach being in sole charge of sporting matters. Things have changed – due to the intensified pressures of the job plus the exponential growth in transfer spending – as modern-day owners demand a stricter process before decisions are made.
It is more logical to divide the non-matchday/non-training groundwork of the coach between other professionals with a high level of expertise.
What are the downsides of the sporting director structure?
Accountability is one – at least some head coaches would say so, according to Karlsen. As many transfer moves are handled by the sporting director, the one picking the team (the head coach) may not always end up with the first name on their wish list. And if the signing doesn’t work out, it inevitably triggers a chicken-and-egg dilemma: was the failure because the player wasn’t the right one for the head coach or was the head coach unsuccessful in getting the best out of the player?
Other notably known SD/ in SA football circles:
Horst Kriete – the German is a former Safa TD.
Neil Tovey – the former Bafana Bafana skipper is also a former Safa TD
Kaizer Motaung Junior – he is the SD in charge at his club Kaizer Chiefs
Walter Steenbok – is currently in charge as Safa TD.
Steve Komphela – he rejected Safa offer of TD when Gordon Igesund was appointed head coach in 2012.
Additional reporting my www.premierleague.com.
