Chelsea’s earnest pursuit towards hiring a new technical director showed once again how the control of the game has shifted from the field to boardrooms. They aren’t the only ones building a strong executive structure in the board, and it’s sign enough where football is headed.
For good and bad, Chelsea Football Club always attracts worldwide media attention with their dealings on and off the field. Whilst we all typically focus on dealings on the field, I’d like to touch on the latest and hottest topic off the field, the apparent hiring of a Technical Director within the club. The West London club in recent years has built a reputation for its ruthless hiring process, somewhat likened to a conveyor belt where management hirees come and go. It’s no secret that the hierarchy within Chelsea is a vigorous one, where the power is found no further than the directors of the club. Now, following a recent managerial appointment with Maurizio Sarri, their focus switches to the hiring of a Technical Director, the next figure in turn to fill an influential role in SW6.
First and foremost, what is a technical director responsible for? I’m glad you asked. A technical director within a football club, commonly known also as a director of football, is someone who handles the overseeing of signing players, field-related concepts away from day-to-day coaching, and conclusively monitors all football related activities happenings. Often the common link between the business and sport side of their respected football club, the technical director is a senior position within the club, and someone who must have a profound knowledge within the game, in order to assist with the smooth every day running of the company.
This is a team who are currently without either a technical director or director of football at the club, since their previous occupant Michael Emenalo left in November of last year, eventually joining Monaco in Ligue 1. As I am sure you’ve heard or seen, a certain Marina Granovskaia has taken on the key responsibilities of this role as the search beckons for a direct replacement for Mr. Emenalo. Commonly mentioned behind the scenes and seen holding the Chelsea shirt next to the club’s new signing at the time, Marina is the club’s current director. Her biggest feat so far? Brokering the deal with Nike, a reported $900M deal over a 15-year span, working out to around $60m a year, which inevitably has doubled the club’s total earnings if they had remained with Adidas. However, no real monumental moves on the field have materialized under Granovskaia’s leadership as of yet.