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The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! Managers have principles. If we don’t like them, should they have others? On the way: ? Challenging coaching dogma ? ️ Simeone squares up to fan ? ️ Muller’s golfing foursome ? Man Utd post sixth straight loss As mentioned in yesterday’s TAFC, defeat to Qarabag on Tuesday was adios for Bruno Lage at Benfica. But the real story here (no offence, Bruno) is Benfica rushing to engage with Jose Mourinho, asking him to re-embrace the league where his ego and legend grew legs with Porto. Advertisement White smoke isn’t billowing over Lisbon yet but should Mourinho to Benfica come true, they know what they’ll get in personality terms: public relations with all the subtlety of Eric Cartman. What they shouldn’t expect is tactical dogma. Chelsea 1. 0 were built by Mourinho like the Three Gorges Dam but at heart, he’s a pragmatist — a coach who plays the hand he is dealt. Here he was in Cartman-mode a few months ago: “We’re in a generation where we see coaches trying to do things that just don’t work. They say, ‘I died, but I died with my idea. ’ My friend, if you died by your ideas, you are stupid. ” You can see the knowing smile and you can hear the troll at work. But maybe, just maybe, he’s got a point. What use are ideas if they don’t yield results? Oli Kay turned his hand to writing about dogma because coaches who won’t bend — those who adopt a philosophy and weld themselves to it — are under the cosh. Ruben Amorim at Manchester United is as good as saying that either his system clicks or he gets sacked. Russell Martin at Rangers is pass, pass, passing his way back towards the job market. They’re from the Ange Postecoglou school of obstinate thinking — “it’s not going to change, ” to quote the Australian — and Nottingham Forest proved last night that Ange is as good as his word. I saw this with Marcelo Bielsa, a coach who, more than any other, is ready to die on his own tactical hill. Bielsa’s dogma earned him sainthood at Leeds United. Later, it also got him sacked. Football has gone through a long stretch (largely thanks to Pep Guardiola) where strict philosophies were seen as a virtue. Oli thinks we might be entering an era where flexibility is king — not least in the eyes of clubs doing the hiring. Antonio Conte takes Napoli to Manchester City in the Champions League tonight and if ever a manager was misunderstood, it’s him. Those highly-strung eyes, the reckless honesty, the boiling blood — there’s no deflecting from any of that. But James Horncastle has done a great job this morning of explaining why casting Conte as dogmatic is a smear on his track record. Advertisement Let’s brush over the unexpected fact that Conte has a Subbuteo table in his office at home. This is a man with the very rare distinction of having coached three different clubs (Juventus, Inter and Napoli) to the Serie A title. That’s before mentioning his Premier League triumph at Chelsea. They said he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, go three at the back until he did with Juventus. They said he wouldn’t revert to four at the back… until he did at Napoli. His tweaks at Juventus were designed to accommodate Andrea Pirlo. His tweaks at Napoli this season are helping to accommodate Kevin De Bruyne. If dogma is a barrier to either of those generational geniuses, you’re doing something wrong. It’s not that Guardiola doesn’t bend — this is City version 4. 0 under him — but revolution isn’t his thing. Pep versus Conte is a tasty cultural clash, pitting non-negotiable principles against the malleable mindset some would prefer. If Diego Simeone is afflicted by dogma, it’s in his refusal to turn the other cheek. He got himself into bother at Anfield last night, where it all went off in the Champions League. Liverpool versus Atletico Madrid tends to be a tasty fixture, and it didn’t let us down: two goals for the home side in the first six minutes, two replies from Marcos Llorente, and then a winner from Virgil van Dijk in added time. After Van Dijk’s header, a raging Simeone got in the face of a Liverpool fan sitting behind him, inviting a red card (and, in all probability, a future touchline ban). Fiery though Simeone is, he was somewhat repentant afterwards. “Obviously, my reaction is not justifiable, ” he said. “But it was 90 minutes of (me) being insulted the whole time. I hope Liverpool can improve that part. When they identify the person, it should have consequences. But he who needs to stay calm is me. In my place, you just have to take it. ” Which hasn’t always been Simeone’s forte. Elsewhere in the Champions League: There can’t be many more off-the-wall interviewees in football than Thomas Muller. It’s advisable to be ready for anything when you meet a guy who lit up his Vancouver Whitecaps unveiling by, er, doing an impression of a goat. Advertisement Joshua Kloke had the pleasure of his company for The Athletic and among many great lines, their chat tackled the big issue of the day: who would Muller choose for his perfect golfing foursome? Bayern Munich legend Franz Beckenbauer made the cut, as did Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler. And to finish off the lineup? “The Dalai Lama caddying. ” Find 10 minutes to enjoy the full read. Your day will be better for it. (Selected games, times ET/UK) UEFA Champions League (all Paramount+, Vi X in U. S. /TNT Sports in UK): FC Copenhagen vs Bayer Leverkusen, 12. 45pm/5. 45pm — CBS; Club Brugge vs Monaco, 12. 45pm/5. 45pm; Eintracht Frankfurt vs Galatasaray, 3pm/8pm — CBS, Fubo; Manchester City vs Napoli, 3pm/8pm — DAZN; Newcastle United vs Barcelona, 3pm/8pm; Sporting CP vs Kairat, 3pm/8pm. Politics and football aren’t supposed to mix but when the head of the FBI is wearing a Liverpool tie to work (see yesterday’s TAFC), it’s hard to pretend that they don’t. Over in Japan, Leeds United’s Ao Tanaka is getting into the political game himself by serving as the poster boy for the mayoral election in the city of Kawasaki, where he grew up. Local officials are using his image to encourage people to get out and vote. I’d back Tanaka, above, to win if he stood for office himself. (Top photo: Gualter Fatia/Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and joined The Athletic in 2019 as its Leeds United writer. He is now lead writer of The Athletic FC newsletter. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @Phil Hay_