Spanish coach Raul Caneda, who has close links to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has reportedly been offered to Kaizer Chiefs. Soccer Laduma looks at five factors that can make the man trusted by Guardiola to stand out.
1. Transformation
Caneda transformed Saudi Arabian giants Al Ittihad in his first managerial job (as head coach) in 2012, going 25 games unbeaten from his first game in charge, which was a record at the club.
In his next job at another Saudi giant Al Nassr, he had a streak of 12 wins out of 13 as a new coach but left the club due to financial issues, the same reason he left Al Ittihad.
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2. Continental focus
One of the factors that transformed Mamelodi Sundowns was how former coach Pitso Mosimane changed the South African players' mentality around the CAF Champions League.
In the past, it was not glamorous to play in CAF CL but Mosimane changed that and that's what gave Sundowns the edge over other teams.
Caneda did really well in the Asia Champions League with Al Ittihad in his first season there, where he reached the semi-finals after knocking out expensively assembled Chinese giants Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarter-finals, then coached by former world champion coach with Italy, Marcelo Lippi.
For Chiefs to compete with Sundowns, who have raised the bar highly in South African football, they need a big shift in continental mentality.
3. High expertise in analysis of opposition
Caneda was appointed external analyst/scout of the opposition by Pep Guardiola during his time at Barcelona and at Manchester City, particularly for UEFA Champions League matches, even as recently as 2017.
There is not much that has been said about Chiefs' scouting department but their backroom staff could need a shake up as well, as the modern game requires detailed analysis of the opposition.
That's what gives Sundowns the edge in the domestic league and continentally. They have invested heavily in the analysis department, where they have a position dedicated to analysing the opposition, with head coach Rulani Mokwena also investing a lot of time in this area.
Even Pitso Mosimane, with his esteemed technical team, has an analyst for his team and an analyst for the opposition, which emphasises just how important the analysis department is in the modern game.
4. Youth focus
Caneda has worked as Youth co-ordinator for the Real Madrid Football School in 2002 and 2003.
Chiefs have a big vision on their youth and how they should integrate into the first team and have invested heavily in their youth structures and Caneda could align with their vision.
5. Philosophy
Caneda's philosophy is based around two tactical revolutions in football, with Arrigo Sacchi and Johan Cruyff.
Sacchi changed the Italian game with his high defensive line and high pressing.
Caneda's second proponent he believes is the philosophy around the control of the game, made famous by Cruyff and in the modern game by Guardiola, who was inspired by the legendary Dutch coach's blueprint about total football.
Chiefs constantly talk about returning to the Kaizer Chiefs way but the high pressing and controlling of games is the type of football big teams play around the world, especially in Europe.
Even Sundowns have a similar philosophy, with Mokwena not hiding the influence of Guardiola in how his team plays.
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