Oliver Glasner is not the kind of manager who makes bold predictions, although it seems to be a different story behind the scenes. A few hours after Crystal Palace’sepic 3-0 victoryover Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals, avideo of the Austrian’s post-match team talkwas released on social media, where he had outlined his expectations of his players during a training camp in Marbella in March.
“I told you guys, this is because I know you guys and I know your talent, especially I know your character, that we can achieve outstanding things this year,” Glasner said. “I felt it, guys, that we are able to achieve, to write history forCrystal Palace. We fully deserve a place in the final, but it’s not the final.”
It would be easy for Palace supporters to get carried away after such a complete display against Villa. But having lost in heartbreaking fashion against Manchester United in their two previous finals in 1990 and 2016, no one will be taking anything for granted in south London. This time, however, Glasner’s experience of the big stage could prove vital to their chances. Having guided Eintracht Frankfurt to victory in the Europa League in 2022 and also to a DFB Pokal final 12 months later, it was surprising that no one else took a chance on him after the German side opted for a change at the end of that season.
The 50-year-old spent almost nine months out of work and had a verbal agreement to replace Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest before they went for Nuno Espírito Santo instead. Palace’s biggest shareholder, John Textor, also considered Glasner for Lyon – another club in his Eagle Football network – before persuading the chairman, Steve Parish, to appoint himafter Roy Hodgson’s second spell at Selhurst Park turned sour.
His impact was immediate, with Palace winning seven of their final eight games – including a 5-0 thrashing of Villa on the last day – to match their highest ever finish and points tally. After a testing start to the new campaign, in which he struggled to source a replacement for Michael Olise, Glasner has once again found the winning formula with a gameplan that everyone buys into.
“He’s a top manager. You can see from the way we play and the way we conduct ourselves,” says Adam Wharton, who was outstanding at Wembley. “He never really lifts his head too much. He always stays calm, that helps us. Staying calm, we know what we’ve got to do. He says it loud and clear at the meetings that we have. It’s the analysis we do, it helps so much. He goes into so much detail that just makes it so easy for us. And then all we’ve got to do is go and work hard on the pitch and we know it will go.”
Glasner was full of praise for Palace’s recruitment of players such as the 21-year-old Wharton – who arrived from Blackburn only last January and is already a full England international. “It’s a great group to manage, to coach,” he says. “It’s all about recruitment and talent and character. Then we can build a group.”
But Glasner also deserves credit for insisting that Palace should sign the defensive rock Maxence Lacroix – whom he managed at Wolfsburg in Germany – and Daichi Kamada in the summer. The Japan midfielder was a star of Glasner’s Eintracht side before joining Palace after an ill-fated season at Lazio, and had struggled initially for form. But having been a surprise selection alongside Wharton in central midfield for the semi-final after a strong performance against Arsenal in midweek, he showed why he is the club’s best-paid player with a mature performance.
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“His technical ability is great,” says Wharton. “He’s played Champions League, Europa League. He’s really comfortable on the ball, keen in possession and runs for days. He had a tough start to his Palace career, probably. But you can see how good he is as a player now.”
Glasner was keen to stress that Palace’s form coming into the semi-finals had been crucial to their success. They put in excellent performances in the drawsagainst Bournemouthand Arsenalafter conceding 10 goals in successive gamesagainst Newcastleand Manchester City. Forest visit Selhurst Park next Monday night before Palace travel to Spurs, and Glasner will be insisting there is no let up with the club requiring five points from their last four matches to beat their Premier League record.
“The job is not done,” says Wharton. “[Beating Villa] was massive for us as a team. We can see. If we stick to the plan, if everyone’s on it, we can beat any team that we come up against. We’ve just got to keep level-headed because there is still so much to play for.”