Sam Allardyce And Rafa Benitez
Former Nottingham Forest and Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon opened up about his difficult relationship with Sam Allardyce during his time at Sunderland in the 2015-2016 season. Pantilimon, who was Sunderland’s first-choice goalkeeper, was replaced by Vito Mannone shortly after Allardyce became the manager. Reflecting on that period, Pantilimon admitted he initially disliked Allardyce’s style of football and approach but has since grown to understand the challenges managers face.
Speaking about his time under Allardyce,
Pantilimon said “Honestly, I was not a fan of Sam Allardyce. But I think now I can say that’s just because I didn’t understand his culture. Until I worked with him, I never had the chance to work with a British coach, or a British manager. I didn’t understand his way of playing football; long balls, sitting deep, all of these kind of things.”
He also discussed how their relationship deteriorated:
Pantilimon said “Even the schedule wasn’t for me. You know, a day off during the week; that kind of thing wasn’t for me. Luckily, for me, I didn’t work with him for that long!”
Pantilimon eventually transferred to Watford in January 2016 due to the situation with Allardyce. While reflecting on his feelings at the time, he added:
Pantilimon said “It’s easy for me to look back like this now, but in those moments, I hated him so much. But now I’ve grown in maturity, and I understand you’re put in a certain position when you take over a club as a manager… It’s much easier to understand now that I’m older but, like I said, at the time, I couldn’t talk with him.”
