Leonardo Jardim, managerial genius

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Perhaps one of the most underrated football managers in the world right now is Leonardo Jardim. Currently considered one of the best at building and maximising abilities of youngsters, the Portuguese tactician is fast making a name for himself as one of the most adaptive managers in world football.

Often, the challenge faced by clubs who have to sell their players to make money is continuity. Whenever they go through the building process and build a team capable of challenging for top honours, the top teams come along and snatch their best players. Whenever this happens, it becomes a problem for the side to build on the success of previous seasons, as they almost have to start all over again at the beginning of every season after losing their best players.

Leonardo Jardim has had to face this situation since he started managing AS Monaco three years ago, but somehow, he has always replaced departing players smartly and stayed competitive while doing it. Over the last couple of years, AS Monaco has produced some of Europe’s most exciting talents, and are still doing so. Players like Anthony Martial, Kylian Mbappe, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Fabinho, Bernado Silva, and Thomas Lemar are exciting players that have set Europe alight, and the club lost all but two of them to other clubs in the last two - three windows. Still, Jardim still finds a way to fill the void left by these departures, like he has done again this season.

One of Leonardo Jardim’s most important qualities is his ability to maximise a club’s resources to the optimal level, but that is not to say his other qualities are less than impressive. Jardim is also one of the most tactically sound managers in Europe. Favouring a 442 for the most part and a 4231 occasionally, his teams are known for high level of technique and precision. Every time his players go on the offensive, they are always a danger, and this way, they score goals aplenty.

For a smart football observer, it is fairly obvious to see why Jardim succeeds so much with his teams, no matter the departures. His approach to games favours the system more than it does individuals. That is why seemingly unknown names on the team sheet would come into matches and help tear an opposition apart.

Jardim obviously prefers fast and quick thinking players; his tactics seek to involve basically every member of the team in every attack, each linking up with the closest teammate without wasting any time on the ball. An opponent who wants to counter Jardim’s tactics would need solid and quick-thinking central midfielders to keep up with the movement and shape of AS Monaco’s formation.

Leonardo Jardim seems to be somewhat flying under the radar, but his influence and tactical nous is gradually becoming clear for the bigger clubs to see, and when he is eventually ready to move on, he would be able to take his pick among Europe’s biggest clubs.