Lillo Juan Manuel: Who is the man named Arteta’s replacement at Etihad
By Varun Aithal
If the stats are only to be considered, the new Man City assistant and former Real Sociedad manager receives no mention in footballing history.
It is his revolution in the field of football which has gained him a lot of plaudits. Lillo has mentored the likes of Pep Guardiola, who has done wonders on the pitch as a gaffer at Camp Nou, Allianz Arena, and the Etihad.
We have seen legendary managers who were players at the initial stage of their career. We have also observed the legendary footballers becoming managers. But Juan Manuel Lillo is one of the curious cases where he started to manage the club at the young age of 17-years-old. He managed Tolosa CF, a third division club in Spain.
After managing Tolosa CF for three seasons, he was snapped up by Mirandes and Cultural Leonesa for the next three years. It was in Cultural Leonesa, where the manager started getting his tricks right. The credit of bringing the modern-day 4-2-3-1 formation, which is extensively used for the possession-based football and counter-attack style can be attributed to Juan Manuel Lillo.
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He not only employed the midfield but also taught the positional play to his club. In the 1992-93 season, UD Salamanca approached Lillo to be their gaffer. Under Lillo, Salamanca gained two successive promotions which meant that in 1995-96 season, Salamanca was in the Spanish top flight.
Till that time, nobody knew anything regarding the 4-2-3-1 formation combined with a positional play featured in the formation. There is no proper definition of positional play. However, it is passing the ball to the free man in the middle of the pitch.
The freeman can be a central defender, a striker or a midfielder too. During this process, the opposition will be drawn forward and the team on the ball can quickly put the pressure on opposition defenders.
Despite these efforts, the club failed to survive the competition in Spain’s top flight and was then regrettably relegated. The relegation resulted in the sacking of Juan Manuel Lillo.