Pablo Correa, the visionary of the wild card Daniel Wass

January 2012. It is quite cold in Évian, a French town located in the east of the country, bordering Switzerland. There his football team is the sensation. He has just moved up from Tercera to Ligue 1 in just two years. The Évian fights for permanence with a group of modest but hungry players. The clan of the Danes stands out in the squad. Four make up the squad: Andersen, Poulsen, Kahlenberg and Wass. The Valencia player, on loan from Benfica, is the youngest of all. He is only 22 years old and his adaptation is not being easy. It is the first time he has left Denmark and his first experience away from home, in one of the big leagues. The presence of his compatriots and the environment of Évian, very similar to that of Denmark due to its mountainous condition, help him on a daily basis, but in the country things do not go quite well. Wass is slow to make a hole in eleven. The relief arrives on the bench and his life changes.

In January, the Uruguayan Pablo Correa landed at the Évian, a technician who had been at the Nancy for eleven years and who was caught just hanging up his boots. The Charrúa, with permanence as his sole objective, realizes that Wass is different and trusts him from day one. “I soon saw that he is the player that every coach wants to have on his staff,” he tells AS Correa. The Uruguayan coach has only been on the team for a few weeks when he finds that Wass's main virtue is versatility. The Uruguayan was the first to see that the Danish was going to be a great wild card throughout his career. He was a visionary. “Many might think that it was a problem that Daniel did not have a permanent position, but I saw it as a virtue, a big advantage. Wass is very complete to play in any position. He has a route, punch, work and talent “, assures the man who changed the life of the Valencia footballer.

Correa also assisted Wass in the adaptation. He forced him to speak French and to stick even closer to Poulsen, who was already “father”. The coach saw that Poulsen could help convince Wass to play where the team needed him., especially on the right side. That is where Correa thinks that the Danish from Valencia can perform better. Poulsen, with a long history at Schalke, Sevilla, Juventus and Liverpool, did the rest. “Wass had never been an absolute international and from that year he began to count. In addition, he became a coveted piece of French football. Daniel just needed a push and we all gave it to him, “says Correa.

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Wass, according to the coach who turned his life around in France, has barely mutated. The Danish is still with his feet on the ground. “He is a boy with no stories in his head, he always was. Worker, humble and very familiar. No wonder he is now in a great like Valencia. Wass was always on top, in training and in games, “says Correa, who assures that the Danes have a special gene, a competitive aspect that makes them different:”They are pure reliability, I have always said. It only took convincing him that he could be a great right back to really go for the job. If he played on the left side, he did, and if the following week it was indoors, too. He got a good grade where you put him and that's because Daniel is reliable. “

Correa has closely followed Wass's career. Therefore, eight years after seeing that the Danish could be a wild card, he admits that in the position of right-back is where he fits best: “I saw him with Marcelino and the great partnership he made with Carlos Soler. Daniel doesn't mind having a field to run. So you can better exploit your speed. ” Correa has a great memory of Daniel. His tone is sweetened when he has to recognize the type of person Wass is. “I remember an anecdote that says a lot about him. Returning from a game with Évian, after a draw that left us on track, I made the bus stop halfway. I wanted the group to have a beer because we were all happy. Wass was very happy, but turned away from the rest. It was like he was ashamed to be with his coaches drinking a beer, but I saw it as a great show of respect. That led Wass to succeed in French football (he went on to play a Cup final with Évian in 2013) and in Spain, where I admire his career, “Correa said. Many years later, Wass has earned the love of Mestalla for its professionalism and versatility, the virtue that has made it indisputable.

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“Maxi has been tuned and has not lost power”

Pablo CorreaUruguayan by birth but settled in France since almost 25 years ago, does not take his eyes off Spanish football. In fact, veranea in Catalonia and has properties in Madrid. Correa closely follows the evolution of Valencia for two reasons. The first one is for Daniel Wass, one of his 'sons', and the second by Maxi Gómez, his compatriot. “Uruguay is a very small country and we are struck by the great talent that all its forwards have had in recent years. It is true that Maxi is seen compared to Luis Suárez and Cavani. De Maxi highlighted how much it has been tuned without losing power. He is very fast, even faster than the Luis Suárez who arrives at Ajax. It is difficult to get a player to change his physique because if he is poorly tuned, he can suffer a lot. At the moment, Maxi seems to have done well and I think he is a great striker, with a great future “, ends Correa.