Man United or Bayern Munich

I came across an interesting article last week about two giant clubs, Manchester United of the English Premier League and Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga. The former was once a behemoth of European football, winning titles left right and centre but is now a pale shadow of its self.

The latter is a Champion club at home and now Kings of Europe.. again.

We can talk about player fitness, manager decisions, and other things but the article centered on one issue: player signings.

Player signings and transfers at Bayern Munich are handled by a group of former players who are embeded in the management of the club. Their philosophy is that they will entrust the investment of club money to people who have been on the pitch.

At Manchester United, this is done by a group of corporate senior staff with backgrounds in finance and accounting.

The results are clear. Bayern Munich spent 200 million Euros on their team which lifted the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United spent 456 million Euros on their team which at some point last week were beaten 6 goals to 1.

Enough of football. Do you have the right people doing the right job, be it in your department or your company? Are you the right person to be heading the taskforce or your business? Should you do an audit and delegate some of the decisions to those who are more qualified and can do it better?

I have seen a manager with a accounting degree make decisions that would have been best made by the head of the Engineering team. The finance manager needs to be the one to advise the company on their investment decisions.

Its Friday, I will stop there.

I have a few football games I plan to watch this Weekend.

#management #football #manchesterunited #bayernmunich #business #delegating #decisionmaking #decisions

I am not a very staunch football (or soccer for my American friends) fan. I know the game (all African boys played it), I know all the major leagues, their players (okay, not all). I will watch a game when I can and unlike most of my friends I will not have a fit when power goes out in the middle of a game. The World Cup is the exception: I watch all the games!

I do enjoy reading about football, not just about the games themselves but also about the off-pitch goings-on. I read about players training routine, their inspiration, their club manager, his history, the club management and ownership. I basically love getting a 360 degree view of the club.