Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in a crisis off the pitch again but this may be their biggest in the era of chairman Daniel Levy.
Spurs are managerless after firing Antonio Conte but now also face being without a sporting director after Fabio Paratici was given a worldwide ban on all football activity for two-and-a-half years by FIFA on Wednesday.
The initial ban was dished out to the 50-year-old by the Italian football federation for alleged financial irregularities dating back to his time with Juventus. Paratici has 10 days to appeal his worldwide ban to FIFA’s Appeals Committee.
The timing is an awful one for the north London club heading into the final part of the season, with Paratici having been expected to lead the hunt for a new manager with the club currently being under caretaker charge of Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.
But Paratici won’t be the first sporting director to suffer misfortune at Spurs as Sportsmail looks at how it’s gone wrong for previous appointments under Levy.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy (above) faces a huge crisis with Fabio Paratici suspended
Frank Arnesen (2004-2005)
Sporting directors were not new by the time Arnesen arrived at Spurs in 2004, with David Pleat having fulfilled a similar role under Levy having been appointed by Sir Alan Sugar three years before the end of his ownership of the club in 2001.
But after a hapless 2003-04 season where Tottenham were on the cusp of being sucked into a relegation battle, Levy led one of the biggest summer revamps during his tenure.
Pleat, by this point an interim manager, was gone and taking key positions at the club were Arnesen who would overlook new manager Jacques Santini.
The Frenchman’s arrival was seen as a coup and he agreed to join after leading defending champions France into Euro 2004. Martin Jol also joined as an assistant.
The trio made 10 first-team signings in the summer, led mainly by Arnesen who in his previous role at PSV had unearthed gems including the Brazilian Ronaldo and future Manchester United stars Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam.
But it all quickly fell apart. After average results at best, Santini was gone by November and replaced by Jol as boss.
By June and just one year in the role, Spurs suspended Arnesen after he expressed a desire to join Chelsea. Inevitably he moved to the west London club later in the month after he had been spotted on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s boat, with the rivals agreeing a financial settlement of £5million.
Frank Arnesen (left) arrived at the club in 2004 along with Jacques Santini (centre) and Martin Jol (right) but was gone a year later after becoming interested in a role at Chelsea
Damien Comolli (2005-2008)
Levy’s next move was to directly replace Arnesen with Damien Comolli who in a previous role worked as a European scout at Arsenal.
Tottenham’s fortunes on the pitch took a turn for the better during his tenure, recording then best Premier League finishes of two fifth places but he had many disagreements with boss Jol who was unhappy with signings being made.
After Jol’s sacking in 2007, Juande Ramos came in as manager who helped the club win their only trophy in the Levy era with the 2008 League Cup.
Ramos’ dreadful start to the 2008-09 season though saw him axed along with his coaching staff, and soon after Comolli too was also given the boot, with incoming manager Harry Redknapp wanting greater control of first-team matters.
Comolli brought in key Spurs players during his tenure including Gareth Bale, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric.
Damien Comolli (right) was essential to helping Tottenham sign Luka Modric in 2008
Franco Baldini (2013-2015)
At the request of Redknapp’s successor Andre Villas-Boas, Levy turned back to a managerial model involving a sporting director at the end of the Portuguese’s first season at the club.
Baldini left Roma to take up his position at Tottenham but he wasn’t a totally new face in England having previously been an assistant to Fabio Capello during the Italian’s four-year run as Three Lions boss up to 2012.
It was a hectic first summer for the Italian, who had to deal with the world record transfer of selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for £86million and then using that money to fund an infamous seven replacements at a cost of over £100m.
Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue and Vlad Chiriches were all bought in but only Eriksen showed initial early promise, leading to underachievement on the pitch and the sacking of Villas-Boas following a 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool in December 2013.
Baldini offered his resignation following the poor start to the season but even as the likes of Chadli and Lamela eventually became useful squad players, it wasn’t until the the end of Mauricio Pochettino’s first season at the club in 2015 that he exited White Hart Lane having been increasingly sidelined.
Franco Baldini was brought in to assist Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas in the transfer market
However, he soon fell out of favour following a £100million summer spend up that saw many of his signings flop. (Left to right), Paulinho, Christian Eriksen, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches and Erik Lamela
Paul Mitchell (2014-2016)
While Baldini was still at the club Mitchell joined Spurs in late 2014 having previously enjoyed a positive working relationship with Pochettino during their time at Southampton.
His early work was positive and he helped bring in a nucleus of talent including Toby Alderweireld and Son Heung-min. Dele Alli also arrived but it was Pleat acting as an advisor to Levy who who would be key in landing the midfielder as Spurs enjoyed third and second-place Premier League finishes as well as a Champions League final with the trio heavily involved.
Yet his role at Spurs very quickly turned sour as he clashed with Levy, leading to him resigning ahead of the 2016-17 season and serving a 16-month notice period.
Paul Mitchell fell out with Daniel Levy before serving his notice and moving to RB Leipzig
Fabio Paratici (2021-present)
After Mitchell’s exit, Spurs adopted structure similar to that of Redknapp’s time in charge, with Pochettino having a more hands on role in player recruitment.
But once the Argentine and his successor Jose Mourinho exited the club, it was felt a sporting director was needed to steer the Spurs ship out of choppy waters.
Paratici had come in following his work at Juventus and he got off to a terrible start in helping the club try and appoint a new manager. A bungled search saw moves for targets Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso collapse, while eventual appointment Nuno Espirito Santo was a disaster and gone in four months.
But the Italian did then help the club appoint Antonio Conte and by then landing key deals for Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, the team qualified for the Champions League on the final day of the season after pipping rivals Arsenal.
However, Paratici was this term dragged into the scandal from his time working at Juventus and his future at the club is now far from certain.
Fabio Paratici has endured a mixed tenure at Tottenham but his worldwide ban to be enforced by FIFA means he is now likely to leave the club by the start of next season
Paratici’s 30-month ban stretches across all football-related activities, administrative, sports or any other, at national and international level.
The news is expected to rule him out of having a role in the search for Spurs’ new manager, summer player transfers or contract negotiations with star striker Harry Kane.
Ever since it emerged that Paratici had been suspended by the Italian football federation in January, the director has been gradually sidelined by the club.
Indeed, Sportsmail has learned that Paratici was adamant that Conte should see out the season at Tottenham. He is now likely to leave the club by the start of next season.
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