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As if it was not enough to win the Premier League title once again Manchester United insisted on staying ahead of the pack even in the closed season.
Managers dream of honours, but they are almost all fighting a losing battle for survival. Time is shorter than ever and they now last only 1,7 years on average in their posts. The odds against them emerge in the most extensive inquiry into their profession that has ever been conducted.
Rinus Michels confronted a major tournament for the last time at Euro 92. Holland, steered by him, had won the competition four years earlier, but it was not pride alone that made him defend the title. He was 64 then and, having undergone heart surgery in the 1980s, knew that he should sidestep the stress of the finals.
Liverpool's Champions League quarterfinal with Juventus will take place in the midst of football's blackest memories. There will be renewed grief and perhaps suppressed guilt over the 39 deaths at the Heysel Stadium, in view of the blame attributed to some Merseyside fans for the tragedy at the ground in which the 1985 final was held.
As if it was not enough to win the Premier League title once again Manchester United insisted on staying ahead of the pack even in the closed season.
Managers dream of honours, but they are almost all fighting a losing battle for survival. Time is shorter than ever and they now last only 1,7 years on average in their posts. The odds against them emerge in the most extensive inquiry into their profession that has ever been conducted.
Rinus Michels confronted a major tournament for the last time at Euro 92. Holland, steered by him, had won the competition four years earlier, but it was not pride alone that made him defend the title. He was 64 then and, having undergone heart surgery in the 1980s, knew that he should sidestep the stress of the finals.
Liverpool's Champions League quarterfinal with Juventus will take place in the midst of football's blackest memories. There will be renewed grief and perhaps suppressed guilt over the 39 deaths at the Heysel Stadium, in view of the blame attributed to some Merseyside fans for the tragedy at the ground in which the 1985 final was held.
