Newcastle next manager: What Paulo Fonseca would bring to the Premier League club - Inside Europe
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Updated 25/10/2021 at 14:24 GMT
Fonseca is now being strongly linked with succeeding Steve Bruce after the completion of the Saudi-backed takeover at Newcastle, having come close to joining Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. But what qualities does the Portuguese have? We turned to Eurosport Italy for some expert insight into the former Roma boss...
Inside Europe Paulo Fonseca
Image credit: Eurosport
Change is afoot at Newcastle after the completion of the Saudi-backed takeover of the club.
Out through the door already has gone the unpopular Steve Bruce, leaving a vacancy for a new manager as the club's new owners look to turn around Newcastle's on-field fortunes.
Emerging as the favourite both of the bookies and with some of the fans is Paulo Fonseca, a man with a varied managerial background most recently sighted in the Italian capital, having left Roma after two middling seasons in May.
Fonseca, born in Portuguese Mozambique and vastly experienced in Portugal, had a more impressive spell at Shakhtar Donetsk and was heavily connected with Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
What qualities could the Portuguese be bringing to Tyneside? Is he the right man for the job? We asked our colleague Matteo Zorzoli at Eurosport Italy for some expert insight into the man who could be taking over at St James' Park....
What kind of manager is Paulo Fonseca tactically? How does he set his team up?
During two seasons at Roma, Fonseca made ball possession his primary tactic, looking to dominate and maintain control of the. Defensively, he tried to apply Jurgen Klopp's style of gegenpressing.
He was also fortunate to have Edin Dzeko playing at an extremely high level.
What is his personality like? What kind of person is he?
Perhaps partly due to the fact he struggled to speak Italian, Fonseca's personality did not stand out in press conferences. Last season he clashed with Dzeko, but he managed the situation with elegance and authority.
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What went wrong for him at Roma? Why was he sacked?
Largely, it was the team's failure to perform in big games. In the last two seasons, Roma played 76 games in Serie A, 21 of which were against clubs like Juventus, Inter, Milan, Lazio, Napoli. Just 16 points scored with those with only three wins and one clean sheet (in the 0-0 at San Siro against Inter in 2019).
In Serie A Roma finished fifth in 2019-20 and seventh in 2020/21 - that was not enough to save his job, and there was also the 6-2 Europa League semi-final humiliation by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
What are his biggest strengths and weaknesses?
The merit in appointing Fonseca would be for his skill in reading the opponent's flaws and intelligently preparing for each match, relying on loyal players, but also on turnover when necessary. His weakness? His teams are too vulnerable defensively.
How is he at managing egos?
This is the real problem. He is certainly a good manager, but if Newcastle need a complete manager to turn them around, then Fonseca is probably not the right person.
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