<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Donadoni">Roberto Donadoni</a> and&nbsp;former Napoli and Chelsea forward, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianfranco_Zola">Gianfranco Zola</a> have made the shortlist for new manager at West Ham United.
What an amazing change&nbsp;of events I can remember not to long ago Italian tactics and methods were despised by the&nbsp;English establishment, now it seems there is a shortage of originality in&nbsp;“the Home Countries” (British Isles) of football and Roman invaders are welcome.
<a rel="attachment wp-att-319" href="http://www.serieatalk.com/serie-a-elite-on-west-ham-united-shortlist/318/the-candidates-reutersfigcafpandreas-solaro/" title="the candidates (FIGC,Christopher Lee/Getty Images,AFP/Andreas Solaro,Reuters)"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" width="435" src="/files/2008/09/the-candidates-003a.jpg" alt="the candidates (FIGC,Christopher Lee/Getty Images,AFP/Andreas Solaro,Reuters)" height="332" style="width: 388px;height: 289px"></figure></div></a>
With <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Capello">Fabio Capello</a> already head of the national side, and senior statesman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Trapattoni">Giovanni Trapattoni&nbsp;</a>coaching the Irish national squad, the ground work for more&nbsp;Italians to coach in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales&nbsp;is being laid.
&nbsp;News from England&nbsp;reports both&nbsp;Donadoni and Zola have met with the higher-ups at the club and have impressed, especially Zola. Gianfranco is currently joint coach of the Italy Under-21 side and&nbsp;previously plied his trade while at cross-town rivals Chelsea FC&nbsp;in the late 90’s.&nbsp;
The fact that West Ham already have an Italian (Gianluca Nani) as director of football doesn’t hurt and is clearly a benefit to both candidates if the club truly desires to move toward a more continental style of management and play.
Two other candidates made the shortlist, Michael Laudrup and Slaven Bilic but I wonder if <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mancini">Roberto Mancini</a> could possibly be that phantom waiting in the wings? Mancini has mentioned an interest to come to England and coach and least we forget&nbsp;there is one additional name that may&nbsp;mysteriously reappear, the infamous&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Di_Canio">Paolo Di Canio</a> who was a&nbsp;West Ham striker from 1999-2003.
Personally I think the Di Canio option is the least likely but one never knows what management is thinking.
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
UK Guardian – <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/sep/07/westhamunited.premierleague">West Ham narrow manager shortlist to four 
</a>BBC Sports – <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/7598744.stm">Zola &amp; Donadoni impress West Ham</a>
NEWSFLASH – looks like Michael Laudrup is out of the running for the vacant manager’s job at West Ham after agreeing to take over at Spartak Moscow. Biliac has also indicated a move by next match day is impossible. Looks very likely an Italian will get the job.

Serie A Elite On West Ham United Shortlist

Serie A Elite On West Ham United Shortlist - World Soccer Talk

<a href="http://www.bundesligatalk.com/the-new-gaffer-introducing-klinsmann-at-bayern-munchen/24/juergen-klinsmann/" rel="attachment wp-att-26" title="Juergen Klinsmann"><div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/8/files/2008/07/p1_klinsmann_0305.jpg" alt="Juergen Klinsmann" align="right" hspace="15" vspace="15"></figure></div></a>July 1st saw the formal beginnings of five coaches’ tenures at the helms of Bundesliga clubs. Over the next several weeks every Thursday we’ll introduce these men to you. Our series of profiles begins with Bayern München’s Jürgen Klinsmann, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Bx8Jc2HrQ" title="Klinsmann&apos;s goal and dive celebration" target="_blank">striker par excellence and noted diving enthusiast</a>. We detail the man, his plan, his challenges, and finally his prospects.
Klinsmann’s story is actually a familiar one, stop me if you’ve heard it before. Things began with a stellar striking career that included stops in Germany and England. Eventually the national team came calling, which meant leading the squad at a major international tournament in Europe. Regardless of where he’s been, either in front of the goal or in front of the bench, goals have rarely been scarce. The much lauded swashbuckling style was often criticized as an example of tactical naïveté rather than strategic brilliance. Enough is enough. The parallels between Kevin Keegan and Jürgen Klinsmann are obvious (and ominous some Bayern München fans might say). Any attempt at predicting Klinsmann success with Bayern based on Keegan would be spurious at best. Klinsmann is in a much better position relative to his Geordie twin. But even before the season begins there are a number of challenges, some immediate, others long-term, that must be addressed:
•Underused Want-aways. Given both their excellent run of form at Euro ’08 and their regular exclusion from the Bayern first team, it is no surprise that Schweinsteiger and Podolski (in particular) have sought out lucrative opportunities for playing time elsewhere. As coach of the national team Klinsmann relied heavily on them, so the two should no doubt find themselves more appreciated than under outgoing trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld. Nevertheless Klinsmann has <a href="http://www.fcbayern.t-com.de/de/aktuell/news/2008/16864.php?fcb_sid=fdcc7b47500d2417e519109e4f23e6ec" title="Klinsmann&apos;s thoughts about Podolski (in German)">recently commented</a> on the team’s website of Podolski’s value, noting first that he plans on bringing Lukas “up to the next level,” before definitively ending transfer speculations. “Lukas still has a two year contract here, it doesn’t even come into question. I will make a large effort so that Lukas feels comfortable at Bayern München,” said Klinsmann.
•European Underachievement. A comfortable Podolski is a natural goalscorer, as he showed throughout last year’s UEFA Cup. With a return to Champions League football, an in-form Podolski would significantly increase Bayern’s likelihood to progress deep into the tournament. Otherwise they are likely to continue their recent trend of European underachievement. Not since their victory in the 2000-01 edition of the Champions League have they come close to lifting the trophy. Much like their greatest European rivals, Real Madrid, Bayern are in danger of becoming irrelevant in the latter stages as teams from England and Italy continue to monopolize the competition.
•Choosing a New Captain. The retirement of Oliver Kahn has provided Klinsmann with an excellent opportunity to shape the direction of the club. The captain must necessarily reflect the best mixture of leadership and virtues that a trainer wishes to emphasize on the pitch. Will Klinsmann’s Bayern be the steely determination of midfield hardman Mark Van Bommel or the attacking panache of fullback Philipp Lahm? While there are a multitude of options, choosing Van Bommel puts the armband in the midst of the action, in line with Klinsmann’s choice of Ballack as Germany captain. The choice of Lahm on the other hand would signify both a commitment to an aggressive style of play while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of homegrown players, in a nod towards tradition. With Van Bommel on the wrong side of 30, Klinsmann’s choice (in our hypothetical binary situation) could also be a clue as to how long he wishes to stay at Bayern…
•Ennui or Extended Stay? There’s no question that, alongside his extraordinary ability, Jürgen Klinsmann will be remembered for his journeyman career. His talents blessed the shores of Germany, Italy, France, England and even the United States in 2003 (as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County_Blue_Star#Drop_to_PDL.3B_Blue_Star_is_Born" title="Klinsmann&apos;s brief stint in the US" target="_blank">Jay Goppingen</a>) before returning to the Fatherland. After his initial stint with VfB Stuttgart lasting from 1984 to 1989 he hasn’t stayed longer than 3 years at any one club. Will this trend continue at Bayern (again)? Should he decide to stay long-term he faces the unenviable prospect of trying to escape the shadow of Ottmar Hitzfeld, the doyen of German coaches.
If he wants to challenge Hitzfeld’s legacy, he’ll need to do so by winning a title almost immediately. Since Bayern were first promoted to the Bundesliga in 1965 there have been 16 different gaffers. 6 of these did not win a title in any form (although <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqp64q7kHmw" title="Giovanni Trapattoni&apos;s infamous press conference (with subtitles)" target="_blank">Giovanni Trapattoni</a>, in his second spell, won the 1996-97 Bundesliga crown and the 1997-98 DFB-Pokal). None lasted longer than two years before being sacked. It is difficult to imagine Bayern’s board being satisfied with the new Germany’s approach Klinsmann instituted, win or lose but play beautifully and make friends along the way, if not accompanied by new hardware for their trophy cabinet.
What do you think? Will Klinsmann thrive under the Bavarian sun? Or will he wilt beneath the media glare of overblown expectations?
Next week: Jürgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund

The New Gaffer: Introducing Klinsmann at Bayern München

The New Gaffer: Introducing Klinsmann at Bayern München - World Soccer Talk

Latest news from Giovanni Trapattoni. Find out about all the news related to Giovanni Trapattoni on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Giovanni Trapattoni"

News

Serie A Elite On West Ham United Shortlist

News

The New Gaffer: Introducing Klinsmann at Bayern München