Different Personality Types within Football – by Chris Morgan

During lockdown, we have all started to come up with different things to pass the time. My friend Chris Morgan read Thomas Erikson’s ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ and decided that he would write an article on how Erikson’s theory related to football. There is a link at the bottom of the article for the book’s listing on Amazon.

Like with all forms of life, not all successful footballers are the same. They have all worked hard throughout their careers; but how they have achieved those results has largely been dependent on their personality type.
Thomas Erikson’s book ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ categorises individuals into four different personality types. These are ‘Red’, ‘Yellow’, ‘Green’ and ‘Blue’.

The different categories are based on the ‘DISC Behaviour Assessment Tool’. ‘Reds’ are the dominant characters who tend to enjoy leading a team. ‘Yellows’ are the influencers who tend to be very charismatic. ‘Greens’ are steady characters who get on with the job in hand without causing too much fuss along the way. ‘Blues’ are compliant and analytical, making sure that tasks are researched thoroughly and the job is done to a high standard.
It isn’t always exact science as many people can have characteristics of more than one personality type. The information provided in this article is based on behaviour on the pitch and off it in post-match interviews and punditry.

As football is a results business, you would expect many footballers and managers to have Red characteristics. This is because Reds are very determined characters who are task-oriented and driven towards achieving goals. They enjoy taking a leadership role and tend to be quite opinionated. They are also tough characters who usually aren’t overly concerned about upsetting people along as it helps to achieve results in the long run. 

Red
Sir Alex Ferguson is an example of a Red and not just because he managed Manchester United for 26 years. He was a very determined character who wasn’t happy if his team weren’t performing to the best of their ability. He didn’t regularly celebrate goals as he was very much focused on the bigger picture. He was a leader on and off the pitch and demanded control over transfers and team selection. He knew everyone at the club on a first name basis. It didn’t matter if you were cleaner or a chef working in the kitchen, you were all part of his team and responsible for your role in the club’s success. 

When Ferguson first joined Manchester United in 1986, he increased the level of discipline among his players. Many of whom before were drinking too much which was affecting their fitness. He also often protected his younger players as he didn’t like them speaking to the media. 

Ferguson wasn’t always the most likeable character and had a few fallings-out with players over the years. He sometimes had short fuse after a defeat which is common among Reds but then would calm down and focus on the next game. Many high profile players who disagreed with Ferguson received the “hairdryer” treatment and were eventually sold including Roy Keane (another Red) and Jaap Stam. Ultimately, the team was more important than the ego’s of those individual players. Despite his slightly aggressive management style, he is very highly-regarded and considered to have been one of the greatest managers of all-time.

Yellow
Not all successful football managers have Red characteristics. Jurgen Klopp’s fits in the Yellow category. His management style is very different to Ferguson, yet he still led Liverpool to Champions League victory last year. Klopp is a very charismatic and inspirational character who is quite difficult not to like, no matter which team you support. People look forward to his post-match interviews because he is entertaining. 

Even when his team lose, he still has a smile on his face and is a naturally positive person. This is a stark contrast to Jose Mourinho (slightly Yellow but mostly Red). When his team are winning he can be arrogant and occasionally amusing, when his team are losing he can be moody, rude and unpleasant.

Much of Klopp’s success is very much due to his likeability amongst Liverpool players and fans. His players enjoy playing for him as he gives them the opportunity to play creative, attacking football. This style of football entertains the fans and encourages them to get behind the team. Klopp will regularly get involved in team celebrations and can often be seen motivating the crowd during games.

Yellows often like to be the centre of attention and a football pitch provides them with the perfect opportunity to do just that. Whether it’s Klinsmann’s famous diving celebration or Adebayor running the length of the pitch to the celebrate in front of the Gunners fans, players have that ten second opportunity after scoring a goal to make a lasting impression. It is quite clear Bruno Fernandez enjoys the attention he has been getting from the Old Trafford crowd since arriving at Manchester United. Throughout his career, David Beckham has always been the centre of attention whether he is scoring goals on the pitch or building his brand off it. 

Green
Greens have some similarities with Yellows. They tend to be relationship-focused and will strive for harmony within the changing room. They are the complete opposite to Reds as they will avoid conflict as often as possible. Gareth Southgate is most likely a Green personality. He struggled early on in his managerial career and this may have been due to his lack of discipline over players. 

Before taking the England role, many people questioned whether Southgate was the right man for the job. This may have due to his track record in management or because he wasn’t as charismatic as Terry Venables or as tactically-aware as Sven-Goran Eriksson. He isn’t the loudest or most dominating character, he just does his job to the best of his abilities.

Southgate led a very young England side to the World Cup in Russia in 2018. When approaching major tournaments, most managers will try and motivate or put pressure on their players in order to encourage them to achieve their best. Southgate’s advice was quite simple “go out and enjoy yourself”, a concept which seems alien considering they had the pressure of the nation behind them. Whatever he did seemed to work as he led an un-fancied England side to the Semi-Final and restored the nation’s faith in the team. 

Unlike Ferguson, players could always be open with Southgate. He saw himself as a team player rather than a boss or leader. Gareth is also very modest in post-match interviews. He would often state that football is a team effort and refused to take all the credit for the team’s success. Jose Mourinho on the other hand takes all the credit for his victories and blames someone else when his team losses (quite often the referee).

Unlike Yellows, Blues and Greens don’t like to be the centre of attention. Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or six times and is considered one of the greatest players of all-time. He’s very humble and doesn’t tend to make many wild statements on and off the pitch. He simply turns up, does his job, scores his goals and picks up his awards. There are many other players who could fall into this category including Paul Scholes, Luka Modric and N’Golo Kante.

Blue
Blues have some similarities with Reds because they are task-focused. However as general rule they tend to be less driven by results. They would rather ensure a job is done to the highest required standard and can often be found in sectors such as Finance and IT where accuracy is of upmost importance.

Some might argue that a Blue’s level of attention to detail is not overly suitable for football. However, Leeds United Manager Marcelo Bielsa has led his side to the top of the Championship and won trophies in Argentina. He was recently labelled as the best manager in the world by Pep Guardiola.

Bielsa has achieved his success through a high level of attention to detail. He is able to provide detailed analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of opposition players. This was highlighted in January 2019 when he was accused of sending representatives to spy on Derby County training sessions. Instead of denying the charges he called a press conference to expose his style of management and Derby County’s tactics to the media. He had detailed analysis on the in-game positioning of Derby County players. His defence was that he didn’t need to spy on their training session as he had already gathered detailed analysis of their players from his research analysing footage of their previous games.

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