Anyone with post graduate experience and a dissertation or thesis to their name will tell you that there is a clear divide between academic theory and practical application. Ideas can be excellent in theory but the individuals ability to communicate those ideas and relate them practically to a real world environment brings in other factors such as leadership and communication capabilities. Essentially in football, complex ideas have to be translated into simple terms. It is also a well established fact that effective leadership requires effective followership and to generate that leaders have to cultivate local level sponsors and an alignment of shared, mutual goals. Then we get into the concepts of EQ and change management. This is where Ole has succeeded, and where more storied peers such as Guardiola and Ferguson, have succeeded so comprehensively.
From the outside looking in, Pirlo seems like he has an excellent football brain but likely lacks the leadership skills required to implement those ideas in a management setting. Leadership, as a discipline, is much more nuanced and complex than many people understand.
