4) Frank Rijkaard
The Dutch maestro, once described by The Daily Telegraph as having been “a stylish player of faultless pedigree” is probably most well-known for coaching Barcelona during its resurgence in Spanish and European football in the mid and late 2000s. Well, that and an infamous spitting incident involving West Germany’s Rudy Voller in the 1990 World Cup. But the reason why the entire footballing world owes Mr Rijkaard big time is because more than 11 years ago he introduced us to an extremely talented 17-year-old by the name of Lionel Messi.
Rijkaard saw Messi for what he was, an explosion waiting to happen. Rijkaard’s coaching abilities came to the fore when dealing with Messi. He not only helped Messi link up beautifully with the likes of Ronaldinho and Eto’o but also tinkered with his position playing him on the right flank instead of the left (Messi’s natural position growing up) thus allowing him to cut back and take shots on goal with his favoured left foot, moments of Messi magic that we have come to know and enjoy so dearly over the years. Messi for his part has constantly backed Rijkaard constantly emphasising that in spite of the plethora of success that he and Barcelona enjoyed under Pep Guardiola, Rijkaard remains the most important coach in his career in that he always trusted Messi and kept faith in his abilities.
