Daniel Levy has overseen countless managerial changes during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, but fresh details have now emerged regarding one appointment that never materialised because of concerns over the manager’s nationality.
In the last decade, Tottenham Hotspur have seen a host of different managers come through the door as the club chased success on the pitch.
During Daniel Levy’s time as chairman, a staggering 15 managers were sacked as Spurs struggled to establish sustained success.
This season alone, Tottenham have already had three managers, with Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor both spending time in the dugout before Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment.
Daniel Levy blocked Morten Olsen from joining Tottenham
The current situation at Tottenham is not too different from what it was back in 2004. Back then, Spurs found themselves near the bottom of the table following a poor start to the season under Glenn Hoddle.
David Pleat then took charge and brought some stability to the club, helping Tottenham secure a respectable 14th-place finish.
However, following that disappointing campaign, Spurs began searching for a new manager and one of the candidates under consideration was Morten Olsen, who was highly regarded in European football at the time after guiding Denmark to the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Frank Arnesen, Tottenham’s sporting director, was particularly keen on appointing him, and he has now explained in his book Total Football that Daniel Levy opposed the idea because he did not want to appoint a coach from Denmark or the Netherlands.
Speaking about the situation, Arnesen explained that Levy feared extra pressure would come his way if results did not improve quickly because of his links to those countries.
He said, “Tottenham needed a new head coach the summer I joined the club. I wanted Morten Olsen, but I was not allowed to take a coach from Denmark or the Netherlands.
“It was a requirement. If things didn’t go well in the first three or four months, I would come under extra pressure because I had chosen a coach from a country I was attached to, Daniel Levy thought. There was no reason to take any risks.”
Ironically, that particular logic would have prevented Johan Lange from hiring fellow Dane, Thomas Frank last summer.
Former Spurs target Morten Olsen reveals his stance
Morten Olsen has also reflected on Tottenham’s interest and revealed that Spurs had attempted to bring him to the club earlier in his career while he was still a player.
Speaking about that interest, Olsen explained that he instead chose to join Cologne. He said, “They wanted to take me at some point while I was still playing. I ended up going to Cologne instead.”
The former Denmark boss also insisted that even if Tottenham had made a serious approach during his managerial career, he would likely have rejected it because he was fully committed to his role with the national side at the time.
Explaining his stance, Olsen added: “The job is now such that you get noticed if your team does well, if your performance is good.
“So of course it is nice to hear when others show interest. But I would not have accepted the offer if the offer had come. The offer would have came in the middle of a contract. And I did not want to leave in the middle of a contract period.”