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April saw many of European football’s oldest (some not so much) and wisest (others equally cocky) underline their credentials before a potential managerial merry-go-round across the world of global football this summer. Here are the nominees for the Manager of the Month for April:
Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich): eight wins
Few teams have played as many games as Bayern Munich have in April. Fewer still go through a perfect April, given that fatigue takes its toll and the business end can add to the pressure footballers face. The Bavarians, though, seemed to be unfazed by it. The month began by two-nil wins against Juventus at the Fussball Arena Munchen and the Juventus Arena to seal passage to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions league. Sandwiched in between the games was Bayern’s title-clinching 1-0 win away at Frankfurt.
Bayern have scored more goals than any other Bundesliga side in a long long time (since the 1970s) and that goals for column was only made more impressive with handsome 4-0 wins against derby opponents Nuremberg (away) and more importantly, Barcelona, inflicting a humiliating defeat on the Catalan side.
The Bavarians also put six past Wolfsburg in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal and Hamburg in the Bundesliga before wrapping up the month with a second string side defeating Freiburg in Munich.
Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund): six wins, one draw, one loss
Dortmund are another team to have played eight games last month, and like Bayern, made great progress in the Champions League. The month began with a goalless draw at Malaga before dispatching the Spanish side in a thrilling 3-2 win at the Signal Iduna Park that saw the hosts score two goals in as many stoppage time minutes at the end of the second half after they had surrendered the lead twice to the visitors.
But the fixture that saw Dortmund’s already high admiration increase by several notches was their 4-1 battering of Real Madrid in Germany before holding out against Los Blancos in Spain. Under increasing pressure, the relatively new side kept out the nine time European Cup winners for eighty-plus minutes before enduring a grand stand finish as Madrid bowed out, having only scored two when three were necessary, which means Wembley will see an all German final this month.
On the domestic front, Dortmund secured Champions League football and second place with wins against Augsburg (4-2 home), Greuther Furth (6-1 away), Mainz (2-0 home) and Fortuna Dusseldorf (2-1 away).
Antonio Conte (Juventus): four wins, two losses
April was a bittersweet month for Juve. In Serie A, the Bianconeri orchestrated a successful title defence by beating Lazio (2-0 away), AC Milan (1-0, home), Torino (2-0 away) and Pescara (2-1 away) to announce their return to the world’s footballing elite as they put the ignominious Calciopoli period behind them.
But while success was found domestically, Juve’s European campaign ended quickly. A 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich’s home ground was never going to be easy to overturn and contrary to finding the back of the net during their second leg, they conceded two more as late goals in Italy meant it was the Bavarians who proceeded to the semifinals on the 4-0 aggregate score line.
Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid): six wins, two losses
Trophyless seasons are rarely heard of at Real, and despite Real’s best efforts to stop that from happening, Jose Mourinho’s men are not going to win any silverware this year. Nevertheless, April saw Los Merengues commit everything to a trophy.
Although you would not know that in the way Real Madrid turned up for the second half at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they conceded three to Robert Lewandowski as they finished on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat. But they gave it everything in the second leg as they scored two late goals to reignite hope, but ultimately could not muster enough to secure passage to the Champions League final, missing out on a shot at la decima, despite overcoming Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Domestically, Real cut the gap to eight points with wins against Levante (5-1, home), Athletic Bilbao (3-0, away), Real Betis (3-1, home) and Atletico Madrid (2-1, away).
Walter Mazzarri (Napoli): three wins, one draw
You get out of life what you put into it and that seems to be the rationale at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples. April provided a solid foundation for Napoli to confirm their place in the UEFA Champions League next season. Pipping the likes of AC Milan, cross town rivals Internazionale and capital side AS Roma to the Champions League spots, of which there are only three in Italy, Walter Mazzarri’s men got the ball rolling with a 2-0 win over struggling Genoa.
Facing AC Milan at the Giuseppe Meazza is never easy, but the southern side came away with a point from Lombardy, building on their good beginning to April with back to back wins against Cagliari (3-2 home) and Pescara (3-0) away to ensure the side Diego Maradona once played for went through the penultimate month of Italian football unbeaten and solidify second place.
