A celebration of unsung heroes in football: a spotlight on Russia's Leonid Slutski

This study explores the exploits of Leonid Slutski - CSKA Moscow manager and Manager of the Russian National Football Team. The study is based on a general review of managerial exploits and football team performance at both the club and country levels. Primarily the study is based on personal observations and a review of the secondary data sources. The study highlights the impact of football managers/ coaches on team performance drawing upon case illustrations from “unsung heroes” which, by definition, include little celebrated managers such as Ronald Koeman (Southampton Football Club UK), Claudio Ranieri/ Nigel Pearson (Leicester Football Club, UK); and Christopher Patrick - aka “Chris” Coleman (former coach of Fulham, Coventry and now the Welsh National Football Team) to support the contention of the “unresolved question” of managerial sacks and team performance. The study is the first to explore managerial resilience from the Baltic context. It also provides a pioneering effort in exploring and celebrating management practices of football managers who are described as “unsung heroes” – with implications drawn from the exploits of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.