In front of Premier League eyes, Leonardo Jardim strengthened his credentials as one of European coaching's rising stars
Atop the French league after being given no chance of glory, the Monaco boss could yet get his chance at a Premier League giant
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Your support makes all the difference.Leonardo Jardim barely moved for the first 10 minutes. The 42-year-old watched on intently, feet set as if in stone, from one corner of the Etihad Stadium technical area as Manchester City enjoyed the better of the early exchanges.
But a sudden break from Kylian Mbappe, Monaco’s prodigious young forward, down the side he was standing and Jardim sprang into life - all waving arms and screams of encouragement.
It turned out to be the first of many attacks on a scintillating night of Champions League football as the likes of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Thomas Lemar and Mbappe enthralled the Manchester crowd - and the young Portuguese manager.
But for all the work of those young, speedy wingers, it was the grizzled old poachers up front for either side that made the biggest mark on the night. Sergio Aguero’s goalscoring abilities are well-known on these shores, but Radamel Falcao’s name will forever have a black mark against it after two almost comically barren years at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.
Under Jardim, though, Falcao has looked rejuvenated, scoring 23 goals in all competitions - including two on Tuesday night.
It’s not from personal experience that Jardim has been able to offer Falcao support, however.
He doesn’t really have any, at least not as a professional player. Much like his compatriots Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas Boas, Jardim went into coaching from an early age, making his rise all the more impressive.
Starting in the Portuguese third tier on the island of Madeira in his mid-twenties, Jardim won promotions with two clubs in the lower leagues before a third place finish with SC Braga in the Primeira Division saw him move to Olympiakos.
After that spell ended early, Jardim returned to take over at Sporting following their disastrous seventh placed finish in 2013. He guided them to second in his only season in charge.
While at the Estádio José Alvalade, and in his first two seasons at Monaco since, Jardim gained something of a reputation for playing dull, pragmatic football.
But he’s blown that idea out of the water this season. His Monaco side have scored 76 goals in 26 league games - the most of any side in Europe’s top five divisions - playing some of the most entertaining football on the continent.
Monaco possess a side bursting with young talent. The likes of Mbappe (18), Lemar (21), Bernardo Silva (22) and Tiemoue Bakayoko (22) have all been linked away with big money moves this year but for now they're performing under Jardim, a coach who enthuses his players.
"He is a manager who is very close to his players. He really likes to give us confidence, but he also challenges us," says Geoffrey Kondogbia, a talent who Monaco couldn't hold onto amid a huge offer from Inter Milan last year.
Jardim, one of Europe’s most promising young managers, has put that all together after the club moved away from trying to compete with the big spending of Paris St-Germain and seeing themselves out-muscled financially. Turning instead to the recruitment of France and Europe's finest youth is finally paying off, and Monaco sit three points clear of their rivals at Ligue 1’s summit.
In spite of that success and his previous victories over English clubs - Jardim’s side beat Arsenal in the 2015 Champions League knockout stage and did the double over Tottenham in this year’s group stages - there hasn’t been as much desire to poach the manager as there has for his young players.
The biggest teams have been hesitant to hire Portuguese coaches straight from Portugal in recent years - Jorge Jesus being the notable example - perhaps owing to Villas-Boas’ dreadful spells at Chelsea, Spurs and Inter.
His job at Monaco, however, is making people sit up and pay attention.
And the feeling is mutual, with Jardim admitting this week that he would one day love to work in the Premier League following rumours of interest from Arsenal.
"The Premier League is a very important championship, perhaps the most important in Europe,” the 42-year-old said.
“Everybody would one day like to have the opportunity to work there.”
If his upward trajectory continues, there’s a sense that this is a man who Premier League supporters are about to get to know a lot better.
Judging by Tuesday night, it would be one hell of a ride.
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