Catoira or the great opportunity of a privileged memory

Those who know Domingo Catoira (1972) say that his memory is privileged, that he is capable of quickly recalling players, prices, clubs and also the most relevant data to cover any position in the squad. “She would even remember your mother-in-law’s name,” they joke. Then other aspects come into play that depend on the resources and on each club, also on the ability to process this data and adapt it to the needs of the squad: appropriate player profiles or previous football analysis to make decisions. “You have to get it right,” she said at his introduction. Therein lies the key to any sporting director, and in that the unknown that must demonstrate the one who will be from now on the maximum responsible for the preparation of the template.

For example, from his time in Valencia, the best known, they comment that his were the bets of players like David Remeseiro, Jasonwho barely got to play or the one from Mouctar Diakhabywho has not been an untouchable in recent campaigns but has had a notable participation. The club that paid 15 million. He performed better in clubs like Valladolid, where among others he took over the services of Raúl de Tomás for a season, today in the blue and white entity. That Valladolid was the base of the one that, just after, got promotion to First Division with Sergio González on the bench.

Catoira is a great connoisseur of the Spanish market and was passionate about Brazilian football. Although he has been in the offices in most teams in roles such as technical secretary or scout, he has been accumulating experience, especially in his two-year stage at Espanyol in which he has had to deal with special situations in the different markets. and has been able to understand which players work more or less, acting as Francisco Rufete’s right hand man.

From Super Depor to live football from the offices

Although he was born in France, Catoira, of Galician descent, moved to La Coruña where he began to develop his career as a player. He failed to reach the elite despite being in the Deportivo quarry at the time of the Super Depor embryoto later play four seasons at Lugo, where he did not get to coincide in the first team with Diego López, that in youthful age he did not debut until the 1999-00 campaign, when Catoira went to Novelda.

The former central defender developed the final part of his career in the Valencia area. After the Novelda he went to Benidorm, where he continued once retired in the technical area until in 2010 that friend Braulio Vázquez, now sports director of Osasuna and his former teammate at Deportivo, called him to go to Valencia as a scout. He then went to Valladolid and then returned to Valencia until he ended up leaving the club and Rufete rescued him for Espanyol. Two years later, the great moment of his career arrives.