David Albelda (Pobla Llarga, 1977), eternal captain of Valencia (480 official games, six titles), has taken a liking to the benches. He was promoted to Atzeneta, a small town in Valencia, from Third to Second B and now the team has options to fight to occupy a place in the future First Federation.
Honestly, when he hung up his boots I saw him more in executive tasks related to football than on the benches …
When you retire you have nothing planned. You end up saturated and you need to be away from football for a while. But later, you open doors, test things … I also saw myself more in another type of position. But what started as a hobby has ended in something more serious.
Why do you say the hobby?
Because that's how I started. Atzeneta is a town of 1100 inhabitants and the secret that it is in Second B is due to the contribution of the Ubesol Group. I have a great relationship with its owners (Jorge Úbeda and José Luis Soler). One day they told me: “Che, why don't you train?” Alright. And you get the bug of going back to football. The thing went too well, we were promoted from Third and here we are. Until when on the benches? There is always time to go out and do other things, but now I want to continue.
“I am a competitive animal and I firmly believe that how you train, you play”
In Atzeneta?
We're going to wait. For now I know that I want to continue my coaching career. Self-demand leads you to want to improve. But here we are very good. It is a very healthy environment, but you always have to wait to see what appears. But Atzeneta is an option, yes.
In the Third or Second B fields, did you feel pressure just for being David Albelda?
Neither in the fields nor by the club. The Atzeneta's philosophy is simply to indulge the people on a sporting level. The pressure is what one puts on and if something I have always been a competitive animal. And with the public I have not had any problem, on the contrary, I have felt affection in all the fields to which I have gone.
Albelda directs the training of Atzeneta.
DAVID GONZALEZ (DIARIO AS)
Is he a 'amarrategui' or offensive coach?
If you tell me I'm going to win, I'd rather 5-4 than 1-0. But I don't think there are defensive or offensive coaches. You mark the system based on the squad, the team you are in, the rival … I make weekly evaluations, because I give importance to the rival. But above all I believe in balance, in a compact team, attack and defense as a block. A match has life, cycles, and you have to be prepared to attack and defend.
And is he one of those who screams?
I am one of those who talks to the player, I like to correct at the moment. It is better to give the player immediate answers. The daily requirement is not negotiable, my experience tells me that as you train, you play. I am helped by my experiences with my coaches, in the good and the bad.
“There is no time to wait for Valencia; I have to do my career”
As a coach, does having been an elite footballer influence?
I think it only has one advantage and that is the psychological aspect. It helps you to know at a certain moment what a player thinks: the one who does not play, the one who does it less, the one who does not get things, a bad face in a change … I think that out there, having lived it, you can understand it better, but it only influences that. Because there you have people like Rafa (Benítez), Mourinho or Unai. They replace not having had long careers as soccer players in the elite with dedication and permanent desire to learn.
Which coaches have influenced you the most?
I remember things about everyone. We recently faced Ibiza by (Juan Carlos) Carcedo, who was second with Unai (Emery) and from him I learned the strategy in corners and fouls … From Benítez, without a doubt, the tactical order and simple corrections and easy to understand; from Unai the intensity of the workouts, the duration; from Ayestarán the physical subject … Even from Koeman I have learned things.
“I'm one of those who talks to the player, it is best for them to give them immediate answers”
What did you learn from Koeman?
Well, dynamic training with the ball, for example.
Would you put away three players?
In the way in which he separated Santi (Cañizares), Angulo and me, from one day to the next, when we had a career, the answer is no. But for the ways. Soccer leads to decisions and one is to do without players. But you go face-to-face, you talk, you agree, you wait for the market … changing players is normal; your ways with us, no
“It is hard to see Valencia like this, but it is where we Valencia wanted it to be”
Do you see yourself in the future on the local Mestalla bench?
I do not think about that.
Really not?
There is no time to wait for Valencia. Neither I nor anyone else can be waiting for the club of your life to call you. I'm from Valencia, but you have to make your career.
“I saw myself more in a different position related to football, but now I want to continue my coaching career”
Now I ask the amateur David Albelda, how do you see his Valencia?
Unfortunately, wrong. Socially unstable, badly in sports, because the results and the feelings tell us that things are not going well. As a fan, wanting the season to end and that Valencia continue in the First Division. And wanting everything else to turn around, bigger than small, so that everything is more bearable for the fans and for the people who have had Valencia in their hearts since their whole lives.
Does it suffer?
It's tough, yeah. In addition, the fan, due to the pandemic, has nowhere to claim. I also tell you that I have moved away from the focus of Valencia because it is exhausting. It is exhausting to be continuously in a social war where there are sides, interests … and with the feeling of sadness to think that Valencia is where its hobby has decided to be, when it was represented by some employers who were in charge of the club, such as Amadeo (Except ) or Aurelio (Martínez). It was decided that this was the solution. If we, as Valencians and Valencians, decided that the current option was the correct one … well, you cannot suddenly change everything. Valencia is where we wanted it to be.
The Prince of Johor, who is running to control the club's management, posted a photo of his time as a player on his Instagram …
If a person from outside comes to invest in the club, then they will have to give them time. We don't know him either. If you tell me that Mateu Alemany is coming back, well we could say what we think, because we have already seen him work, but if the Prince gets involved, then we will have to wait and time will tell if he has been able to get this Meriton project on track and if it has been able to improve.
Are you afraid of the descent?
In terms of scoring, it is not good at all. In other seasons it may already be on the decline. If Valencia is not closer it is because there are other teams that have done much worse. There are several who have been left off the hook and who have added few points so far this season.
Atzeneta is doing much better …
There was a critical moment, the truth, which was when we visited Valencia B. If we lost we were very far from everything. We would have been the typical last one with few options to nothing. But we won there and that reaffirmed us, we began to add victories and we are in a privileged situation.
Do you see yourself fighting for promotion to the future First Federation?
We start from the premise that we do not have the pressure of qualifying here. Here we come to enjoy competing. We have overcome the situation and now we are very well, in an optimal situation for everything. If we stay in the subgroup to avoid relegation with the Catalan group, we have a good cushion of points, and if we stay to try to ascend to Second B Pro or whatever they want to call it, we also have a points income to fight it. The situation is privileged for what we had in the first round.