Domènec Torrent (59 years old) was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, played as a midfielder in most Girona teams, then dedicated himself to training without leaving the area that was most recognizable to him: Palafrugell, Palamós, Girona… until one day Pep Guardiola changed his life and took him as an assistant to Barça. And from there, to go around the world on the bench: Bayern Munich and Manchester City as Pep’s assistant and then as head of New York City, Flamengo and now Galatasaray, which he will lead tomorrow against Barcelona.
As a child, did you already dream of leaving Santa Coloma and seeing the world thanks to football?
Not at all, when I was little I wanted to be a sports journalist.
Forgiveness?
I went to the Camp Nou with my father, which was the longest trip we made at home, and from the stands I saw the journalists on the pitch talking to the players and what I wanted was to meet the players. Not that journalism interested me much.
And what about traveling?
Neither. You see, as a child I didn’t even consider training or traveling. And he looks now.
Well, you have lived in half the world, what is the best and worst of the places where you have lived?
“As a child I did not consider training or traveling the world; and look now”
Each one has its things, from Rio I keep the beaches, the people, the joy of living; from New York, which is the total city, where I never stopped going to museums, playing sports. One of my obsessions is cycling and in New York and Rio I used to go everywhere by bike.
And from Istanbul?
Well, I still don’t know her. She had never been and it was a great surprise. A huge city where the people are charming with many bohemian neighborhoods. But the truth is that we have been installed for two months, we live near the sports city and I have barely seen Santa Sofia or the Grand Bazaar. I have it pending for when there is the national team break. Then I’ll buy a bike and ride around.
Is language a very big barrier both in professional and personal life?
“In New York I was unknown until I was on TV”
It is one of the main ones, but people are always willing to understand you and help you. The good part is that since I don’t understand the headlines in the sports press or the news on TV or radio, I get used to the idea that they speak well of me. You live more peacefully.
Do you notice the change from living in New York, where soccer is not that important?
Yes. It reminds me a lot of Brazil. Flamengo and Galatasaray are very similar teams, institutions that have a lot of people behind them. They let you know that you are important.
Did you prefer the tranquility of New York?
“Galatasaray in greatness; the Ali Sami Yen is going to be hot”
In the end I didn’t have that much. Soccer is gaining a lot of popularity and at the end of the League I was on TV twice in a talk show and if you’re on TV in the United States, your life changes. The next day they stopped me on the street.
But still, nothing comparable to what you are experiencing in Istanbul…
Galatasaray is more than just a football club. It is an institution not only of Istanbul but of the country. The first game I coached went to Hatay, near the Syrian border, and as soon as we landed outside the airport there was a crowd lined up on the side of the road with torches for two kilometers. I asked worried, “Are they from the rival team?” “No, they are ours”, they replied. Galatasaray is greatness, beyond the moment that is happening. We have many things left to say.
Is it very difficult to take the place of a legend of the institution such as Fatih Terim?
Terim is part of this club. It is an institution by itself and I respect it, but we have come to help the club at a bad time. No one asks the fans to forget about Terim, you can still love Terim and support us. If we weren’t here now, others would be.
Despite the delicate situation of the team, do the fans maintain their support?
The enthusiasm of the people is impressive. They are used to winning, but they maintain unconditional support for the team. For them, playing against Barcelona in the Europa League is an event in which we cannot fail.
Does the public factor matter as much as they say?
It influences us, because it will help us physically. We are aware that against Barcelona we will have delicate moments of physical drift. Due to its quality, Barcelona will have moments of the game that will dominate us and even run over us and that is when the stadium has to do its part.
Does the Turkish hell thing exist?
I haven’t experienced what happened at Ali Sami Yen, but the new stadium is shocking. There are 52,000 spectators that resonate as 100,000. They say it is built in a way that improves acoustics. He helps us and against Barça he will be hot.