Teamwork

Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan and the work of Rafa Benitez. Those were my influences in my early days as a coach.

I played against Sacchi’s Milan for Sporting de Gijón, in the first round of the 1987/88 UEFA Cup. Sacchi captivated me. I found everything he did compelling.

Later on, I became very interested in Benítez. I saw him as a coach who  achieved all that he had through hard work.

These influences combined to help me generate my initial idea on football. An idea that, through work, analysis and adaptation, led to me finding my own style. But I always had those influences, and that initial idea, at the root of it all.

When you embark on your coaching journey, you also need to surround yourself with people who help you become better every day. You cannot do it alone. You need to assemble your coaching staff, and I am very proud of the people who work with me. With mutual respect and support, we have established methods that fit hand-in-hand with a passion and enthusiasm to improve every day.

There are many factors that contribute to your success as a coaching staff, but most important is the preparation of the squad. Making decisions and getting them right. My coaching staff and I have experience of different situations with great teams – experiences that help us continue to grow.

Back in the 2011/12 season, we arrived at Sevilla. We already had some experience of coaching in La Liga. The first was at Recreativo de Huelva in 2006/07, which is still the club’s best season in the top division. Then, at Racing Santander, we qualified them for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.

"All coaches dream of things going well, but the bad moments are what make you grow"

When we took over at Sevilla, they were in a transitional phase after their first Europa League [then the UEFA Cup] victories in 2006 and 2007, and Copa del Rey success in 2007 and 2010. My coaching staff and I understood that the team needed renewing, but the club decided not to make changes. They didn’t think it was necessary. We went along with that decision, but later realised it was wrong.

In early 2012, the team went through a slump and the team was under a lot of pressure. The club decided to relieve us of our coaching duties, which wasn’t unfair. Results are what count.

After we left, it became clear that the changes we proposed at Sevilla were needed. The next coach, Míchel, was also sacked. In the end, they had to make drastic changes – much more than they had expected.

I will always carry hurt with me about how things went at Sevilla. Although we didn’t have the same vision for what was needed, we did work with an extraordinary board and sporting director in Monchi. I have very fond memories of them, because they were very good to me in difficult times.

All coaches dream of things going well, but the bad moments are what make you grow. You have to be reflective and analytical, to find out why things didn’t work out and what to do in the future, without getting overly stressed.

It is also a time to stay true to your convictions, to make the decisions and take the actions you feel are right. You must never doubt what you believe you must do.

"We managed to build a united, cohesive and very competitive team"

That is what we did at Villarreal. After several offers from different clubs, we said yes to the one presented to us by Villarreal in January 2013. Even though we knew the task ahead would be difficult.

Villarreal are now used to playing in Europe, but at that time they were in the second division and eight points off automatic promotion. To make matters worse, in our first game we lost 5-0 to Real Madrid Castilla. 

It was a blow, but it perhaps helped us to recognise the reality of the situation. That defeat was a turning point, because from then on we started to play very well, improving every day. We lost only one game in the whole second half of the season, and won automatic promotion to the top division.

The best was yet to come. With the confidence of the club’s management, we were able to build a project. In the 2015/16 season, we reached the Europa League semi finals and qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth in La Liga.

We found that same trust with Valencia’s executive director, Mateu Alemany. In 2017, he entrusted us with steering that team’s path.

As with Villarreal, our decision-making was put to the test. We had to make a lot of decisions, overhauling the squad with signings and departures. But we managed to build a united, cohesive and very competitive team. 

"A few minutes in January 2019 changed everything"

Valencia is a club that is used to winning, with a demanding fan base. We connected with the players, but our work also made an impression on the fans. After having watched their team go through two inconsistent seasons, their enthusiasm was renewed. Together, we achieved results that were, I would say, against the odds in our first season. We qualified for the Champions League and reached the Copa del Rey semi finals.

The second season was simply wonderful, although we had to overcome a very difficult first half of the season. We hardly lost any games, but we didn’t win many either. We drew a lot of matches in which we were superior.

A few minutes in January 2019 changed everything. We were playing the second leg of a Copa del Rey quarter final, at home to Getafe. Trailing 1-0 from the first game, we conceded in the first minute. On 61 minutes we pulled it back to 2-1 on aggregate. Incredibly, we then scored two goals in injury time. 

From that match onwards, the players started to show everything they had in them. They had played well before, but perhaps not with as much determination and daring as they did from that moment.

It wasn’t just in the Copa del Rey, which we won after beating Real Betis in the semi finals and Barcelona in the final. In La Liga, we had a brutal second half of the season that qualified us for the Champions League. We also reached the semi finals of the Europa League, only for Arsenal to deny us the chance to play in a European final.

The Copa del Rey was much more than a trophy for Valencia. It united the club, the squad and the fans – something that had not happened for a long time. We felt it in the celebrations on the city’s streets in the days that followed. They were extraordinary and unforgettable sensations.

"I don’t think we have ever taken such a short time to accept an offer"

Unfortunately, things happened afterwards that were beyond my control. Situations where results did not rule. In this case, it was the jealousy of the club’s owners regarding an extraordinary general manager, Mateo Alemany, a high-level sporting director in Pablo Longoria, and a coach that, in this case, was me.

Something that was very good – a winning team that still had room for improvement – was destroyed. I was sure that those players, with the experience of winning a trophy the previous year, could have fought for the league. They had both the ability and the confidence.

But, in September 2019, we were out. For all of us on the coaching staff, that dismissal was a tough blow. It was sudden and unfair.

Having overcome that, we decided we would work outside Spain. Then we got a call from Athletic Club at the beginning of 2021. It was an option we hadn’t really thought about, because it was an opportunity we didn’t think would come our way.

I don’t think we have ever taken such a short time to accept an offer. We knew that, at Athletic, we had the chance of coaching a great club, with a different and very special philosophy.

There is no other team in the world where only players from the homeland – in this case, the Basque Country – play. That’s why the youth academy there is more important. Every day we felt that way, and we are very proud to have been part of it. We are also proud of the Athletic fans. 

"we started a new chapter WITH a new motivation – the challenge of managing one of the biggest clubs in Europe"

They were 18 wonderful months, which brought a trophy [the 2021 Spanish Super Cup] and two Copa del Rey finals. It was a pity that we weren't able to enjoy one of the two cup finals with our fans in the stadium, due to Covid-19. I am grateful, though, for having had the privilege of coaching Athletic. It is a special club that I hold close to my heart.

Still, I always had working abroad in mind. Now, that experience has come at Marseille. In July 2023, we started a new chapter with a new motivation – the challenge of managing one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

We have ambitions at Marseille, based on hard work and humility. We have to be a team that competes in every game, from the first moment to the last. Only effort and perseverance will allow us to succeed.

We also want to bring our knowledge, and to be an energetic, dynamic and attractive team. Our idea and concept of football is similar to what the Marseille fans like. They have as much feeling and passion for football as we do.

I am grateful to the owner, Frank McCourt, the president Pablo Longoria and his team, as well as Javier Ribalta, the sporting director, for entrusting us with this challenge. 

Indeed, in our first days in Marseille, Pablo reminded me of a conversation on a trip during our time together at Valencia. We were flying over the Stade Vélodrome. “That must be a great stadium to play in,” we agreed. And it is. Since my first game at the Vélodrome, I’ve felt what it’s like to play with a numerical advantage.

They, the fans, are also part of our teamwork.