Life story of Frank Arnesen
In the ruins of an old factory, trees would cast their shadow resembling to fans in the stands. Three pipes on the floor would serve him as rivals. He would dribble past them one by one and would shoot towards a make-shift goal. Again and again. He was never really satisfied and wouldn’t stop dreaming. Neither does he stop dreaming now.
Since the carefree ‘60s several things have changed. He no longer sports shorts and worn-out football boots, but well-tailored suits, while his long mane has been replaced by a clean-cut short hairdo. One thing however remains unchanged: Frank Arnesen’s passion for football.
“The joy and restlessness when going to watch a football game is unique, regardless if it’s the Champions League final or a match between 10-year old prodigies”, the Danish Sports Director of PAOK explains, adding: “That is something I try to convey to my scouts. When watching a game, one must feel the intensity rushing through their body. Almost like going on a date”.
Well, he has probably forgotten that last part. It’s been so long since he was a party animal. In his teens, he walked out of football for almost a year to devote himself to music, had long hair like Mick Jagger, played the guitar, was nicknamed “Gasoline” and would appear drunk in his matches. But dating would come to an end after he met Kate, his wife in 1974. She set him straight and one year later, while she was already expecting twins, they left for Amsterdam as he had signed for AFC Ajax.
Frank Arnesen in his music and party yearsShe has been following him everywhere ever since. Eagerly or not so eagerly at times. Their four children (Anja, Britt, Sebastian, Rebecca) don’t do the same, as they have their own lives now. The Arnesen family is a modern, cosmopolitan, yet old-value family who manage to keep in touch despite being dispersed between Copenhagen, London, Eindhoven and Marbella.
“We all gather together, parents, children and grand-children at Christmas in London and at summer in our home in Spain and have a great time. That is how I learned things from my parents in Denmark”, Frank Arnesen says.
The family “boss”
The secret behind the family’s happiness was and is Kate: “She knows me well and understands my ambition. She is the boss, but I make decisions. When I left Eindhoven in 2004 she wasn’t that happy, because our children and grand-children were living there, but she didn’t refuse. I made the decision and we left thinking that it would be for the best”.
That is Arnesen’s way of thinking in all sectors of his life and career.
This specific philosophy made him leave the Netherlands and set off for England and Tottenham Hotspur FC and later move to another neighbourhood in London, having signed for Chelsea FC. The latter decision catapulted him in the football market, but did not win him any friends in the English press who dubbed him “ruthless and greedy”.
“Yes, I felt bad having to break my contract with Tottenham, but I knew that such opportunities come only once in a lifetime. Sometimes you just need to look after yourself. That is what I did. It’s that simple. The project at Chelsea included building the whole academy from scratch and dealing with football on a daily basis. I had no second thoughts”.
That exactly is his trademark: the self-assurance oozing from his every move and decision. His name alone can open any football door in Europe, as his former Denmark teammate Jan Mølby has said. But that self-assurance was always there, even when he was a kid.
A beloved “egoist”
At the youth ranks of BK Fremad Amager, his coaches used to call him an “egoist”, because –being the team prodigy- he would always try to do something more than the rest, respond to the challenges set by rival defenders who considered it a trophy to “defuse” him.
Several coaches tried to convince him to simplify his game. He refused to adjust and that worked at the benefit of Danish football. He continued playing for the fans, seeking spectacular plays, evading rivals like he used to do with those pipes on the floor, with that trademark sudden change of direction.
Member of the golden generation of Danish football, Arnesen conjured up 14 goals in 52 caps with Denmark. Here, pictured with Lerby, Simonsen and Elkjær.Frank Arnesen became the fans’ favourite among a charismatic crop, including Søren Lerby, Morten Olsen, Allan Simonsen, Michael Laudrup and Jan Mølby. “It was his rock’n’roll boosting the national team of Denmark”, as stated in one of his two biographies, “Frankie Boy”.
He scored 14 teams in his 52 caps with Denmark, won the European Cup with PSV Eindhoven in 1988, six Dutch league titles with AFC Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, one Belgian league with RSC Anderlecht and the “Player of the Year” award in the Netherlands in 1979.
«I don’t regret anything»
Having self-confidence as a child helps keeping away any feelings of insecurity as a grown-up. He might feel stress, but never insecure. Frank Arnesen banked on that trademark self-confidence of his. When most people in English football were livid over his behaviour and would analyze the “Frank Arnesen phenomenon” that brought down even the mighty José Mourinho at Chelsea FC, he was astute to realise that such are the workings of a man-eating system.
“I don’t regret anything”, he says. “It’s of no use and completely against my philosophy. As years pass, I have come to realise that making decisions should mean being in absolute control of one’s actions. Of course one should never lose their self-knowledge and the ability to assess their decisions. No. When making a decision, one should have the courage to admit if they were wrong. Not insist.
Did he waste or make money for Chelsea FC?
English media didn’t see eye-to-eye with him. In negative situations, they would focus on failure. He was a man they never really accepted after all. A casual browse through the headlines of that era would convince anyone that Frank Arnesen was to blame for every evil at Chelsea FC.
They would write lengthy analysis on the players he brought to the youth ranks and never made it to the seniors, they would post financial reports about the sums spent from 2005 until 2009 when he was in charge of the Development Sections and they would point the finger at him –accusations publish in the most prominent publications, such as The Guardian.
He didn’t respond –his sense of decorum didn’t allow him to. Only after two years since his departure from “Stamford Bridge, did he choose to defend his work with hard evidence. The 62 million pounds spent to buy top youth prospects made their way back to the club’s treasury after these players were sold.
Roman Abramovich trusted him blindly, but English media were on a crusade against himChelsea FC system failed to absorb the moves of a man who has proved time and again capable of discerning a football talent. He has done that with Ronaldo, Phillip Cocu, Arjen Robben, Mark van Bommel, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Branislav Ivanović, Nemanja Matić, Salomon Kalou, John Obi Mikel…
Even those who never got to wear the Chelsea shirt, such as Miroslav Stoch, went on to carve out a decent career in football. Daniel Sturridge and Fabio Borini are at Liverpool FC, στη Λίβερπουλ, ο Gaël Kakuta moved to Rayo Vallecano in Spain, Ryan Bertrand moved to Southampton FC for 16 million euros, Jeffrey Bruma is at PSV Eindhoven, while Chelsea FC’s B team, filled with players signed by Arnesen won the league in England.
That is his motto. And he explains himself: “In a big club like Chelsea FC, it’s wrong to assume that a 19-year old child is able to deal with the pressure. Only a few can play at a high level in that age. Chelsea FC never really gave opportunities to their younger players, because they needed to win all their matches. I’ve always thought that patience is a virtue”.
The virtue of patience
Chelsea FC are not a patient club and have often been made to pay for that. Take Matić for example. Arnesen brought him to London for a mere 1,7 million euros. His talent was not assessed properly and, after a while, he was transferred to SL Benfica for the sum of 5 million euros. In 2014, José Mourinho –Arnesen’s archrival- had to play a staggering 25 million euros to bring the Serbian midfielder back to “Stamford Bridge”.
In his following steps, Arnesen himself lacked patience to see his work through. Lack of stability at Hamburger SV didn’t allow him to work under the conditions he had set himself and he left relatively early. At Metalist, he needed to leave before even starting to work, due to the Ukraine conflict.
It’s all about football
Frank Arnesen however can’t leave away from football. “In 2000, after six years as technical director at PSV Eindhoven, I thought it would do me good to leave football. The engagements had become overwhelming. I handed in my resignation and announced I would take one year off. I realised soon though that I couldn’t live without football, so I dismissed the notion of keeping away. PSV Eindhoven failed to find a proper replacement and I returned under different conditions and more freedom, but football remained in my everyday life. I cannot picture my life without football”.
As his exquisite cottage in Marbella, Spain, was beginning to look like a luxury “jail”, PAOK’s offer came. A club with the required prospects, administrative stability and a will to develop in all areas convinced Arnesen to put his suit on and come to Thessaloniki to build the football section from scratch, as their Sports Director.
As he says, you never know when that train will appear. Letting it run him over was never an option. He jumped on board and is now a vital cog of PAOK FC…
First statements of PAOK FC new Sports Director
