“Walter give us a wave!” urged the Wolves faithful in the Jack Hayward stand. Arms crossed in the dugout in a black and gold club tracksuit, the 56-year-old who spent the best part of two decades in goal for Internazionale was unmoved.
It was only when his assistant on the bench pointed out what was being requested that Walter Zenga raised his arm apologetically. He will know next time.
After a summer of upheaval in which the owner, Steve Morgan, sold the club to Chinese investors for around £45m, there had been a sense of anticipation around Molineux before the first home match of the season. The removal of Kenny Jackett as manager by the new owners, Fosun International – an investment group with interests in leisure companies like Club Med and Thomas Cook – and replacing him with the Italian initially divided opinion.
But while Wolves’ local rivals West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa have also been purchased by Chinese money, Fosun are investors with a difference. Last year Jorge Mendes – super-agent to José Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo et al – sold 20% of his company Gestifute to Fosun and announced a “strategic partnership”, which has already led to a number of big-money transfers to the Chinese Super League – including the Colombia striker Jackson Martínez and Brazil’s Alex Teixeira. This latest venture, however, represents new ground for Mendes, who started out his career working in a video rental store and as a nightclub DJ before moving into player representation.
Yet any doubts about how much interest the 50-year-old was going to take in a club that has been in the doldrums since relegation from the Premier League in 2012 were dispelled when he turned up at Rotherham’s New York Stadium last week for the 2-2 draw.
A raft of new signings – including the Portugal youth internationals João Teixeira and Helder Costa on loan from Benfica, the Atlético Madrid defender Sílvio and Icelandic Euro 2016 hero Jon Dadi Bodvarsson – has strengthened a promising squad that finished a disappointing 14th last season and also convinced fans they could actually be on to something.
The Congo midfielder Prince Oniangué, before his £3m move from Reims, was also at the game against Reading, who appointed their own left-field choice as manager this summer in the former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam. The Dutchman – still strapping across the chest despite being 44 these days – opted for the smarter option on the touchline with black shoes, a suit and tie, albeit with no jacket and rolled up shirt sleeves, but saw his team outplayed for large portions of the 2-0 defeat.
Joe Mason spurned the best of three golden chances inside the opening 20 minutes when Ali al-Habsi denied him when through on goal and the former Wigan goalkeeper pulled off another brilliant save from bright winger George Saville just before the break. But within 60 seconds Wolves had the lead when Teixeira’s deft pass picked out the left-back, Matt Doherty, who thumped the ball into the net.
Reading, who ended last season 17th, started the season with a 1-0 win over Preston but offered little in the way of resistance. Mason made amends for fluffing his lines in the first half by heading home from a corner two minutes after the break and that was pretty much that.
“The team played very well and there was no doubt about the final result,” reflected Zenga afterwards. “The stadium was amazing because the fans were with us during the whole game. We are satisfied but in five minutes we are thinking about Ipswich.”
Having started out as a player-manager for New England Revolution in 1998, Zenga has accumulated plenty of experience. After a successful stay in Romania at a number of clubs including the 1986 European champions, Steaua Bucharest, he moved to Serbia, Turkey and the UAE before finally being given a chance in Italy with Catania. That ended with his defection to their rivals Palermo before he was sacked in 2010.
Aside from a short stint at his former club Sampdoria last season, Zenga’s recent assignments have all been at clubs in the Middle East, not usually recognised as the best preparation for a Championship dogfight. But Doherty, who joined Wolves from the Irish club Bohemians as a teenager in 2010, revealed that they have not had a day off since losing 4-0 to Swansea in a pre-season friendly as the new manager tries to mould his new team. “There’s not one planned for a while, I think. As you can tell by my face, I’m really happy about that,” Doherty joked.
“That’s the way [Zenga] is. I think it will die down. But he said with the first 20 days he wants us to give all our concentration. He’s a clever guy and knows you can’t maintain that for the whole of a Championship season.”
Zenga was certainly not getting carried away just yet. “Our target is to do our best today and not look too far ahead,” he said. “We have to take it slowly because it’s a long season with 46 games. I repeat: my wish is that I want to see this stadium full.”
With a few more performances like this from Teixeira and co, he should get his wish.
Talking points
• The last time Huddersfield played in the top flight, Britain had yet sign up for the European Economic Community and Leeds United were one of the best teams in the land. How times have changed. Saturday’s victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park continued the Terriers’ perfect start to the campaign thanks to a late winner from Jack Payne. But while talk of promotion to the elite for the first time since 1970 may be premature for a team that ended last season 19th, there is evidence that head coach David Wagner’s revolution is taking effect in west Yorkshire. Some astute signings including goalkeeper Danny Ward on loan from Liverpool and defenders Christopher Schindler, purchased for a club record £1.8m from 1860 Munich, and Gorenc Stankovic from Wagner’s old club Borussia Dortmund have settled in well – even if one of Jürgen Klopp’s oldest friends isn’t allowing himself to get carried away. “We don’t have any reason to dream,” said the former manager of Dortmund’s reserves. “We have every reason to work and this is what we do. I was never a dreamer and I was always a worker which is why I am here at this club, this is a working club. We start again tomorrow.”
• Things are not quite as rosy up the M62. When he was appointed at the start of June, Garry Monk made a convincing case for why things might just be different this time around for Leeds United. But after Saturday’s defeat against Birmingham left them in the bottom three with no points from his first two matches at the helm, the former Swansea manager must already be fearing the worst. Massimo Cellino employed 36 managers in 22 years at Italian club Cagliari and is already onto his seventh at Elland Road. Tuesday’s meeting with Fulham – level on points at the top with Bristol City and Huddersfield – will not be for the faint-hearted.
• Luckily for Monk, there is at least one manager feeling the squeeze even more than him. Blackburn’s 3-0 defeat to Owen Coyle’s former club Wigan meant they have now conceded seven goals in their opening two matches – not exactly the return the Scotsman will have planned after two and a half years away. A promising start to his managerial career with Burnley and then Bolton unravelled quickly after the latter were relegated in 2012, lasting less than six months at Wigan. Having now lost the last five matches he has managed in England, Coyle will know he must stop the rot quickly.
• Talking of negative momentum, Bolton fans had waited 495 days to see their side record an away victory until Saturday’s meeting with AFC Wimbledon. Liam Trotter’s winning goal means manager Phil Parkinson has already emulated his predecessor Neil Lennon as Bolton kept pace with Gillingham at the top of League One.
• Competition for promotion from League Two is always fiercely intense and this season looks like it could be even closer than usual. After two rounds of matches, there are no teams left with a 100% record and only Devon rivals Plymouth and Exeter have yet to pick up a point. Luton currently hold top spot despite failing to press home their advantage against Yeovil on Saturday but are one of nine teams level on points with a win and draw so far.
