He managed several clubs in South America and won titles. What is your vision of the South American soccer player and what tools did you give him to achieve the goals that were set?
The South American player has talent, good footing, is individual and anarchic, in the good sense of the word, so, if you add to that great virtue a component of tactical order as a group, it will be an important basis for achieving success. In Europe a high level is seen, but that improvisation, that joy, and that individuality with the ball that the South American player has is lost. Well, in summary, that self-confidence that the South American footballer has, that talent that he presents and that desire to go in search of the goal, aspects that he carries in his blood and that comes from his cradle, I believe that this tactical order to be established, it’s extremely important.
What other aspect do you consider important?
Focusing on objectives is also important. Because I have coached in Europe, for example, in Belgium, and there the players are more programmed to focus on collective objectives, but on a day-to-day basis. And I believe that when you establish it in South America and do group work in that approach to objectives, the South American player wins a lot. And the thing is, the footballer improves, the person improves, and, therefore, the group. In my career I have been in South America for a long time and I am very grateful because as a coach during this time I have been able to enrich myself from the player and South American football.
In football, a united group will be closer to success. How is your management of groups?
It is one of the points that belong to my work methodology and that belong to the way I like to work. So far in my career I have been able to coach on three different continents and met all kinds of personalities, idiosyncrasies and cultures, so I have realized that the improvement of the person is automatically the improvement of the player. For me it is important to see how the person is doing, how the player is doing, how the groups are doing, to see who has the desire and who has the focus to move forward in this or that project, because, sometimes, it happens that some players for Whatever it is, they are not motivated in the club or they are not motivated in the city, or at that given moment, their environment is not suitable and maybe they have to go to another country or another team in that same country to be able to develop.
You are very protective of your group.
It matters a lot to me that those who stay and those who are, or those of us who are at that moment in a club, or in a project, have to give everything. Because with each passing day the details are improved and everything is improved; tactically, physically, and in the idea and proposal of the game. But without the group there is nothing. A united and focused group. To add, I always say the following: ‘I hope that when the season or the project ends, all the players that I have coached will be friends in the present and in the future. Hopefully. Of course, the unequal condition is that they are companions. Maybe they are not friends on the street, but they have to be companions no matter what. And the word partner has too many things that cannot be failed, you have to commit, then comes everything else.
They say that his style of play is defensive, that he is a ‘mouser’. How do your teams play?
It is a derogatory word and is totally opposite to what I am as a coach. What happens is that, imagine, I have been in my career for eleven years, and in all the teams I am not going to achieve results in the way that one wants because I do not always have the right players for it, but the important thing is to get the best out of the players. To achieve the objectives. Besides, here in Bolivia there is a network that does not have many people but that is programmed, in fact, it is contracted to harm Bolívar, to harm the image of anyone who plays or directs Bolívar, because Bolívar moves many interests and is the number one in the country and has many adversaries. So, when I ever heard that word that comes from that sector that is contracted to do us harm, I think it is totally absurd, because this year we have scored 110 goals; We scored 14 goals in the Copa Libertadores, -something that no team did before-, and our game is one of constant pressure, prepositive, and, in fact, we saw it in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores because Inter was saved from we would give him a rout. Likewise, in my first stage as coach of Bolívar, the first half of 2017, we were the highest scoring team in all of South America. So, those who want to do harm do not analyze and only look for these derogatory words.
How did it go on the other teams you coached?
In other countries, with certain teams, I have been able to achieve results without being such high scorers, as for example happened at the Catholic University, where we were a solid team and we remained at the top throughout the year and became champions. Antofagasta, on the other hand, was a happier team with more attack, especially in the second half. In Saudi Arabia with Ittihad we achieved the record of being the coach who was the cup champion with the most goals scored in the history of the championship. So, my idea, and our idea in Bolívar, is prepositive, wanting to have the ball and then go and attack. Derogatory comments are meaningless and do not identify us at all.
What he did lately in the Copa Libertadores with Bolívar had an echo in Peru. What’s more, Alianza Lima in November 2022 sought to hire him. Why didn’t it come to fruition?
Yes, Alianza Lima is a tremendous club, a huge club. Yes, there were contacts, but later they did not progress…
Why was there no progress?
For my own reasons at the time, but I was very pleased that Alianza Lima contacted me. Furthermore, I have to say that the leadership and sports management at that time that contacted me seemed extraordinary to me for the personal, professional treatment, a vision of a fantastic project, the truth is, the best words, however, at that moment in my career and personal moment, I was not ready to take that step, and then other circumstances occurred, nothing more. But it is also true that it was a league where I had not been before and well, I didn’t know about it, but the club, its representatives, and the project proposal they had gave me a fantastic impression. It’s true about contact, I felt honored, because Alianza is a greatbut it couldn’t be and they made a great impression on me.
Alianza Lima recently lost the Peruvian soccer final against Universitario, its classic rival, and this led to the dismissal of its coach. After that, his name was called again to lead the team.
Whenever one’s name is heard in big clubs it is a source of pride. I have a contract with Bolívar until 2025, the year of the centenary, and, regardless of the project that exists, we have to look at it year by year, and see what the direction of the club is each year, but my bond here is strong and we are doing a job very important, not only looking at the present but also at the future. We are working and making young people debut at a national and international level, the project is beautiful and today I am focused on it.
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