In football everyone knows the manager. Most fans know the chairman while some may even know the head physio. However, when it comes to the sporting director, the image gets blurry. They are often the face behind the signings a club makes, the figure blamed for transfers that don’t end up working out or the mystery man that gets spotted on the phone during the chaos of deadline day. But what does a sporting director do? Are they a glorified scout? A boardroom suit? A shadow manager? Or all of the above?

In an era where football clubs are becoming more like businesses- and where success relies just as much on long term planning as on weekend results – the sporting director has quietly become one of the most influential roles in the game.

A sporting director who sometimes is called a director of football or technical director depending on the club or country sits between the clubs board and its coaching staff. Their job is to oversee the entire footballing operation- from recruitment to squad planning to setting a long term vision. If the manager is in charge this week the sporting director is thinking about next season and the next couple of years ahead. They make sure that the club has a consistent identity, a smart recruitment strategy and a squad built not just for now but in the future.

The concept of the sporting director has roots in continental Europe, especially in Germany, Spain and Italy. Clubs like Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax pioneered the role to create consistency during periods of managerial change.

In the UK however the idea met resistance as English clubs traditionally gave managers full control over transfers, contracts, training and everything else. But as the game got faster, more global and more expensive the one-man model started to break and the sporting director entered the picture.

A sporting director has many tasks with the main one being squad building and recruitment. Sporting directors will oversee the acquisition strategy which involves not just who to buy but why, when and how much to pay. They coordinate scouting teams, data analysts and financial planners. They are not the only ones scouting players but will guide philosophy such as: does the club go for experienced internationals or youngsters who have high potential? Should the club have a core of academy players and when is the best time to sell a player are some of the questions that is posed towards a sporting director.

A good sporting director is the bridge between the football pitch and the boardroom as they help to translate the manager’s short term needs into long term planning. If the coach wants a new winger it is the job of the sporting director to find one that fits the system and the budget at hand. The sporting director can also buffer against knee jerk decisions that a clubs board may want to take such as protecting the manager during a spell of bad form.

Sporting directors are also essential when it comes to contract strategy and succession planning. They will negotiate contract renewals, assess the market value of players within and outside the squad and build age profiles of the squad to find out what is needed both in the short term and long term. They also have the task of tracking coaching talent , youth prospects and transfer targets before the competition catches on.

There are a handful of sporting directors who have become icons such as Monchi who was sporting director at Sevilla and built multiple Europa League winning squads through sharp scouting and ruthless sales, Michael Edwards who was the architect behind Liverpool’s success between 2018-2022 and Luis Campos who is a master of unearthing talent before they breakout.

However, not all sporting directors are able to succeed like the names mentioned above. Poor strategy coupled with bloated wage bills and shoddy recruitment can derail even the most richest club. Chelsea in recent seasons is a good example as multiple sporting directors, dozens of signings with no clear identity and has resulted in the formation of a bloated squad with more confusion than cohesion. The line between visionary and villain is thin as a great sporting director is proactive whereas a bad one is reactive.

In 2025 football has become more complex as there is more data, more agents, more global scouting and more financial risk. Managers do not have the time to think 5 years ahead as they are judged game to game and therefore, this makes sporting directors extremely important. The sporting director will provide continuity as they can protect a club from boom and bust cycles and ensure that even if a coach leaves the strategy to success will remain. The sporting director role has increased in prominence as more often than not they are the figure that holds a club together.

You may never know their name or ever see them lifting a trophy but make no mistake: in the modern game, the sporting director might be a club’s most important signing.

They are the ones with a 10 year plan in mind while the rest of us are refreshing Twitter for daily transfer news. So next time your team makes a shrewd signing or builds a team with perfect balance remember that it was probably not the manager, but the sporting director who is constantly working behind the scenes.