View source for Solari Plots Premier League Move After Chelsea Scouting Mission

When [/sport/teampages/chelsea.html Chelsea] hosted [/sport/teampages/crystal-palace.html Crystal Palace] last weekend, Santiago Solari watched on from the stands and allowed his mind to wander. He imagined starting afresh with his family in England and standing in a dugout overlooked by a stadium packed with fans roaring his team on to victory. <br>Frank Lampard needn't have worried, he wasn't dreaming of replacing him at Chelsea. Solari had flown to [/news/london/index.html London] earlier that day as a fan to indulge in his love of Premier League football, but the thought of managing in England has become a very real ambition during his eight-month sabbatical following his exit from [/sport/teampages/real-madrid.html Real Madrid] in March after a five-month spell in charge.<br>'I'd love to coach in England,' he tells Sportsmail. 'I watch a lot of Premier League football. It's a top league enjoying a great moment in its history. There are many amazing players and some of the best coaches. There are many different nationalities,  [http://footballncrickethub.website2.me/blog/ronaldo-family-history http://footballncrickethub.website2.me/blog/ronaldo-family-history] styles of play and four teams in the two European finals last year.'<br>         Santiago Solari says he'd 'love to coach in England' as he prepares for his return to football<br>         The Argentinian says he's keen to bring his 'attacking, aggressive style' to England<br>   RELATED ARTICLES  [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next]     [/sport/football/article-7685123/La-Liga-claim-fairer-financial-rules-helped-make-Spanish-flight-competitive.html  'It's harder for the top teams to win matches now': La Liga...] [/sport/football/article-7684565/Luka-Modric-tempted-offer-join-David-Beckhams-Inter-Miami.html  Luka Modric 'tempted' by offer to join David Beckham's Inter...] [/sport/football/article-7692963/Robbie-Keane-challenges-Republic-Ireland-players-look-seal-Euro-2020-qualification.html  'Be a hero': Robbie Keane challenges Republic of Ireland...] [/sport/football/article-7692917/Cyprus-1-2-Scotland-Goals-Ryan-Christie-John-McGinn-hand-Tartan-Army-hard-fought-victory.html  Cyprus 1-2 Scotland: Goals by Ryan Christie and John McGinn...]    <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br>1.1k shares<br><br><br><br> Solari's love affair with English football began when he played against David O'Leary's Leeds United in the 2001 Champions League. <br>'They had a great side - Viduka, Ferdinand, Dacourt, Smith,' he recalls. 'I also played against Manchester United in the 2002-2003 quarter-finals - they were two beautiful games with many goals.'<br>More recently, Solari has become transfixed by the opposing styles of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. 'Guardiola has a very defined style and was able to build a team around his ideas and win the Premier League,' says Solari. 'His influence is obvious in many teams around the world. <br>'Klopp is such a charismatic coach, with an expansive personality. He builds fast, aggressive teams with a winning mentality. I loved watching his Borussia Dortmund side and I enjoy watching his Liverpool now.'<br>Solari's visit to Stamford Bridge was part of an ongoing period of self-education as he prepares to return to football armed with new knowledge. 'I've profited from the time off,' he says. 'I've watched more games, followed other leagues, such as those in South America, and attended summits and courses that interest me.<br>'I can never break away from football. It's been at the core of my existence since I was a child. It's not a job, it's a way of life.'<br>         Solari spent five years at Real Madrid as a player where he was part of the 'Galacticos' side<br>         Solari (second from left back row) won the Champions League with Madrid in 2002<br>         The former winger won the Champions League and two La Liga titles in his five years at Madrid<br>That life began in Santa Fe, Argentina, where Solari was born into a football family. His father, Eduardo, managed 14 teams in five countries, and owned a collection of 3,000 videos of opposition teams and players. That meant young Santi, as he's known to those closest to him, spent his childhood growing up in Colombia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Tenerife.<br>His brothers, David and Esteban, became professional footballers, but it was young Santi who was the most gifted of the three and he eventually made his first-team breakthrough at River Plate in the mid-1990s.<br>'We had an unforgettable side,' he recalls. 'I was a young boy playing with [Enzo] Francescoli, [Marcelo] Gallardo and [Marcelo] Salas among other greats. In football you can only reach as far as your team-mates take you.'<br>Greatness has followed Solari for much of his 43 years. Like most of South America's finest talents, he followed the well-trodden path to Europe to join Atletico Madrid in 1999, where he spent a season before moving to city rivals Real. He was part of the club's famous side of 'Galacticos' and won the Champions League and two La Liga titles between 2000 and 2005.<br>         Solari says his time working under Vicente Del Bosque taught him much about management<br>'It was an incredible time,' he recalls. 'We had Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Hierro, Raul, McManaman and many others. That was a very healthy dressing room; mature, composed and talented. Big egos? Yes, but mainly at the service of the same cause, our team. <br>'I learnt a lot from the way [Vicente] Del Bosque handled certain situations and I'm sure it wasn't easy for him, as it isn't for anyone coaching Real Madrid, but we had a winning mentality and everybody understood the role each one had to play in the team.'<br>At international level, Solari won 11 caps for Argentina and shared a dressing room with Diego Simeone, who he says was always destined for the dugout. 'If there was a team-mate that I knew for certain he was meant to become a coach, it was Cholo Simeone,' he continues. <br>'He had it all: the temperament, the leadership, obsessiveness, the sense of place, the voice, the tactical knowledge, the competitiveness, the sense of team, etc. It wasn't a surprise he started coaching at Racing Club before he retired.'<br>         Solari says he knew Diego Simeone would become a manager when they were team-mates<br>Simeone was just 36 when he accepted his first managerial role and was part of a new wave of young coaches in charge of high-profile clubs across Europe, though Solari believes age is an irrelevance for the modern manager. <br>'It's the person that matters,' he says. 'Roy Hodgson has to feel very young at heart to keep on going and connect with and guide a team. [Maurizio] Sarri is at the peak of his career. Julian Nagelsmann is 32 and he's been coaching in the Bundesliga since he was 28. <br>'Coaching is as much about developing talent and studying as it is about leadership, energy and passion for the sport. These aren't limited by age.'<br>At 43, Solari had no previous managerial experience at first-team level when Madrid appointed him as Julen Lopetegui's replacement in October 2018, but while others were surprised at his appointment, the Argentine wasn't one of them.<br>'I was ready,' he adds. 'Real Madrid had formed me for 11 years. I played for Madrid for five years and then coached for another six years at almost every age group from under-14 level upwards and enjoyed every minute of it. Coaching youngsters is more difficult than senior players, but very rewarding.'<br>         Solari spent five years as a coach in Madrid's academy prior to being given first-team job<br>         The 43-year-old promoted a host of younger players, including Vinicius Jnr (left)<br>         Despite a positive start, Solari was eventually sacked in March after five months in charge<br>His knowledge and experience of working with Madrid's best young talent saw him promote Vinicius Junior, Marco Llorente, Brahim Diaz and Sergio Reguilon to the first team and dispense with Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Isco in a bid to reinvigorate a struggling side. <br>'I love to see young players unleash their talent at the top level,' he explains. 'It's not easy and it takes a lot to break that barrier, and they should not be rushed but neither should they be stopped when they are ready.'<br>         Solari admires Jurgen Klopp's style and football and achievements at Liverpool<br>The youngsters impressed but it wasn't enough to halt Madrid's slide and Solari was eventually sacked in March after just five months at the helm, though he harbours no bitterness towards the club and still lives in the city he calls home. <br>'When you coach Real Madrid you are not only a football manager, you represent a centenary institution with its history and its values that should be honoured and respected. I gave the club my absolute best, but Real Madrid has markedly shaped who I am too. I'm forever grateful.'<br>His thoughts have now turned to the future and whether football is on the cusp of seismic change. <br>'Five years ago only 25 games in the Premier League ended with a team having 70 per cent possession or more,' he says. 'Last year there were more than 60 games like that. Will the rest of the clubs build teams to try to fight for possession? Will they build teams to defend or counter attack? Will we end up watching games with the possession dominated almost exclusively by one team? Is this the future?'<br>Football's tactical future is uncertain, but Solari is in control of his own and is intent on bringing his attacking philosophy to his next club. 'I love aggressive, fast, attacking football, where my team is a protagonist every game, but coaching is not about what the coach needs, it's about what the team needs, the players' qualities and the club's objectives. You have to harmonise all that to get the best results - that's the job.'<br>Solari is ready and waiting for his next one.<br>   RELATED ARTICLES  [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next]     [/sport/football/article-7685123/La-Liga-claim-fairer-financial-rules-helped-make-Spanish-flight-competitive.html  'It's harder for the top teams to win matches now': La Liga...] [/sport/football/article-7684565/Luka-Modric-tempted-offer-join-David-Beckhams-Inter-Miami.html  Luka Modric 'tempted' by offer to join David Beckham's Inter...] [/sport/football/article-7692963/Robbie-Keane-challenges-Republic-Ireland-players-look-seal-Euro-2020-qualification.html  'Be a hero': Robbie Keane challenges Republic of Ireland...] [/sport/football/article-7692917/Cyprus-1-2-Scotland-Goals-Ryan-Christie-John-McGinn-hand-Tartan-Army-hard-fought-victory.html  Cyprus 1-2 Scotland: Goals by Ryan Christie and John McGinn...]    <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br>1.1k shares<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>[ ]