Manuel Vizcaíno is the president of one of the teams recently promoted to LaLiga Santander, Cádiz. The mandatory maximum of the club speaks in this first chapter of the interview with AS about the evolution of the Cadista entity, that she found mired in a great debt and that, to this day, her accounts are healthy. It also tells how the project will be for next season and what the goal of the yellows will be in the First Division, among other current issues. This Saturday we offer you the first part of the interview, tomorrow, the second.
When he arrived at the club in 2014, he found a debt of 20 million and cause of liquidation. Now the club is in First. How has that evolution been?
According to the bankruptcy administrators' reports, the only solution was to liquidate the company. The important thing was to have courage, daring and common sense, which is what must be imposed in any type of business management. The culture that existed was not one of common sense, the last few years had been very turbulent, the organization was used to having a different boss every year and with different criteria … common sense had to be imposed as a way of working.
Is the club's current debt zero?
The debt, technically, is zero regardless of whether you may be financing the treasury and you are using loans in some cases. This year it may be yes or no, it depends on the year, because the operation of any company requires these mechanisms, but technically it is zero and it is recognized that way.
'Sell to grow', the motto under which Cádiz works.
Everything is for sale, but nothing is given away. We never have and never will. If we understand that there is a market opportunity that makes us grow, we will, because we have always done it and we will continue to do so.
Does Cádiz follow the model of Sevilla de Del Nido?
It is the model that I have sucked and applied, being completely different from it. I would never do the things that he (Del Nido) does nor would he do the things that I do. There is a model based on ambition, daring, humility and work. That philosophy has made a great Seville and allowed me to have the necessary knowledge so that by developing it we have achieved the objective in Cádiz. The model works and let's see how far we can go.
Is Cádiz coming to LaLiga Santander to stay?
You have to do things very well to avoid repeating the transience of the last ascent, now you have to prove it. We have to find a way to continue working so that he stays. In the First Division there are 20 teams, and not all of them seek the same thing: some try to win the League, others the Champions League or UEFA and others seek to stay. We have to be in that last group and push for it to be achieved. Cádiz will compete in the First Division all the games to try to win them all, the 38 games. We will continue with the fight that is not negotiated, with our DNA and we will be a tremendously uncomfortable team.
What is the basis on which the Cádiz project is built in LaLiga Santander?
Reinforce what we do well and improve what we have to do. The First Division is not the Second, there are things that help us from what we bring, there are others that we have to improve and there are new things to incorporate. That is the new “gazpacho” that we have to make, that balance. If we do the same it will not reach us, but we are clear about what to do, we have to fit the pieces of the puzzle.
How has COVID-19 affected Cádiz?
We have had significant losses. The matches in which we have not been able to have an audience have been in which they were expected to be full. In general, football has fallen and it has affected us. Obviously not as much as the bigger teams, because they live more from the stadium, the subscribers, the tickets, the sponsorships … It has not affected us all equally.
The sales of players like Álvaro García, Manu Vallejo, Aridane, Aitor García … have been known to cover well in the team.
If you sell to put money in your pocket or to waste money, the club does not grow. If you do that, you are left without a player and without money, you have to invest it to create a more competitive squad. I remember that the sale of Álvaro García or that of Manu Vallejo, which were sold for twice the first offer that came, Cádiz has had two full templates with twice the salary limit that it could have, and thanks to that it has continued to pay debt, growing, improving facilities and, in general, we have grown thanks to those sales. We have even gone up to First. We sold to grow.
It seems that the market is going to lag more than in other seasons.
It's going to be late and it's strange. You can see that the cuts have arrived, the sales, the clubs are cautious, trying to be intelligent … the proposals that are there are low, everyone is scared. It is logical. You have to be calm.
What is the most special match that you have experienced related to the four promotions (two with Cádiz, one with Cádiz B and one with Sevilla Atlético) that you have in your career as president?
From Second B to Second, when I saw that the team had a chance of promotion, it was after the match against Racing de Ferrol, in the first leg, 0-0. I knew the team would be rocky. Caparrós said that the playoffs were tied to zero. That came to mind and I knew we had found our way. Also in the match against Almería, when we beat them 2-1 at home, that's when I saw that we were on the way to be promoted to First Division. What I do not want is to be the president of Cádiz with the most promotions, I cross my fingers so that it does not happen.
What do you think of the possibility of a League of 24 teams in the Second Division?
One thing is for professional football to appreciate that LaLiga Smartbank can have 24 teams, and another that a circus has been set up based on interests to force a League of 24. LaLiga has done well to remain firm and I hope that Everything ends as it has to end, with strict compliance with the protocol by all LaLiga Smartbank teams, of the follow-up to what LaLiga has sent and that has no consequence other than the relegation and promotion achieved on the field.
Is there concern in Cádiz about the FIFA sanction of two windows without signing for the Momo M'Baye Case?
At the moment it is suspended. We are convinced that we have done everything well and we are convinced where the problem comes from. We don't want to go in there, we'll wait for it to be resolved.
How is the judicial situation with Quique Pina?
It is past in Cádiz.
Do you think LaLiga Santander will start on the scheduled date?
I think so, it has to start on September 12. They are moments of pulling forward, of union and intelligence.