Helenio Herrera

Lore & Background

Herrera was arguably the first manager to collect credit for his teams' performances, in the process becoming a superstar in the world of football. Up to that time, managers were more marginal figures in a team. All teams throughout Europe were known for their headline-grabbing individual players, e.g. Di Stéfano's Real Madrid, whereas Inter during the 1960s is still referred to as Herrera's Inter. He pioneered the use of psychological motivating skills – his pep-talk phrases are still quoted today, e.g. 'he who doesn't give it all, gives nothing', 'with ten our team plays better than with eleven' (after his team had to face the second half of a game with only ten players on the field) and 'Class + Preparation + Intelligence + Athleticism = Championships'. These slogans were often plastered on billboards around the ground and chanted by players during training sessions. He also enforced a strict discipline code, for the first time forbidding players to drink or smoke and controlling their diet – once at Inter, he suspended a player after telling the press 'we came to play in Rome' instead of 'we came to win in Rome'. He also sent club personnel to players' homes during the week to perform 'bed-checks.' He introduced the ritiro, a pre-match remote country hotel retreat that started with the collection of players on Thursday to prepare for a Sunday game. He was also one of the first managers to call on the support of the 'twelfth player' – the spectators. While indirectly, this led to the appearance of the first Ultras movements in the late 60s.

Reader's Guide

Aside from the team's defensive strength and organisation when defending behind the ball, some of the key elements of Herrera's Grande Inter side of the 1960s were the use of vertical football and very quick, efficient counter-attacks, which allowed the team to score with few touches. This was made possible due to Herrera's use of very quick and energetic, attacking full-backs, such as Giacinto Facchetti, and Tarcisio Burgnich, who would often detach themselves from the back-line, and catch their opponents by surprise with their overlapping runs. Furthermore, the team's main creative force, Spanish deep-lying playmaker Luis Suárez, played a fundamental part in Inter's success during this period, due to his outstanding work-rate, technical skills, vision and passing range; these attributes enabled him to aid the team to win back possession, and subsequently launch quick attacks with accurate long balls out to the on-running full-backs, who would often go on either to score or assist the strikers.

Did You Know?

• Herrera won four La Liga titles in Spain (with Atlético Madrid and Barcelona) and three Serie A titles in Italy with Inter.
• He guided Inter to two consecutive European Cups, among several other honours.
• Herrera was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to immigrant parents from Spain.
• He started his career as a footballer in Casablanca, French Morocco.