Atypical day with games behind closed doors due to the coronavirus.
We are in a situation of uncertainty. Beyond football we want all this to be solved. The main thing is the health of everyone. There should be no panic. We must make decisions We must all go hand in hand and common sense prevails because it is a personal issue, the health of everyone, Then there is the professional issue. Football without an audience is like a play with no one. It is a strange situation. The theme of televisions sets the tone a lot. But we must all go hand in hand for the sake of the show. I hope that all the decisions that are made are so that all this uncertainty that exists at the health level is resolved as soon as possible and that there is tranquility.
Is it a better solution to suspend the matches?
You have to be very cautious because any opinion, depending on the position you have, can be bad for certain people. If there are closed doors in football, we must assess. Soccer is passion and spectacle. Soccer's greatest heritage is fans and players. If the fans can't stand on the field supporting their players, it's unfair to everyone. The main thing is people's health. I hope all this is solved.
What differences are there between being interim and being ratified?
It is exactly the same. At first the interim label was normal. I just thought of the first training, in Ponferradina, then in Fuenlabrada, in continuing to train and enjoying day by day. And I keep doing the same. It is clear that they ratify you and dedicate a video to you as they did with good words towards me, because it fills you with a lot of responsibility and a lot of pride. But I am on alert, and if I used to come to work at seven in the morning, now I come earlier. I see it as a privilege, as a passion, and I have to live it like that. We know what it costs to reach this level and we have to live it as if there was no tomorrow. And that is what we try to do and transmit.
Are you facing the opportunity of a lifetime as a coach?
On the one hand yes. I have faced it very calmly. I have been in this for many years since I left my house when I was 15 years old as a soccer player. I have not stopped. I have done many laps and as a coach I have gone through all the categories. Although I am new to the category I have experience in other categories. I see it as a natural situation.
Did you expect such a situation?
I have had several situations like in Logroñés where I trained when I was very young, in Segunda B, in Valencia … but you never expect it because it is a process that must come alone. This football is rabid today and there is a very clear example in a coach who was my partner, Mere, in Fuenlabrada. Soccer has no memory. It is day to day.
His goal now is to gain continuity at the helm of Malaga …
My coaching staff and I arrived for two games. But we never thought of the second match, always in the first match, against Ponferradina and then against Fuenlabrada. Good results were given and continuity was given. And I keep thinking about the game against Huesca. Being in Malaga is a privilege.
How should Sergio Pellicer's ideal Malaga play?
We coaches have to acclimatize. The great protagonists of this are the players. The conditions of the team are what mark you. If you start the season and design the template with the sports director, you can bet on a model. When you arrive mid-season, you have to stop, reflect, observe and act. From there, think about what you think is best to convey to the players. In the subsidiary we were protagonists, we took risks. Here we try to be protagonists, take the least possible risks in some areas, be a fast team in transitions, solid at a defensive level, defend by pressing up … The best thing about a team is that it is not predictable. You have to have variety. People when they see Malaga know what idea we have. We try to press up, when we don't have the ball we try to be orderly and then in attack try to play in the opposite field and be deep and vertical. Work well on set pieces … A little of everything.
What is a professional day like for the current Málaga manager?
I get here at seven in the morning, breakfast and I start preparing everything. When we finish training we visualize the training, what we have done, and then we plan what we are going to do the next day. Everything has a great job from the coaching staff. Many times we stay to eat here, depending on each day. The first days of the week are much more intense days. Hours? We do not think about the hours, there are times when we are longer, others less and the most important thing is not to look at the clock. We do the work and when we finish we go home. This is a privilege, we don't care about the hours.
There are youth squads on the roster and eight of them have debuted this season.
Málaga has a quarry difficult to find in others due to its quality and competitive level. It is a place where there are opportunities. Here is a highway for the youth squads, but also obstacles. They have to earn it.
If Okazaki did not go to Huesca, Antoñín surely would not have exploded and would not be in Granada today.
Antoñín is a case whose history is made there. He did not want to start training with the subsidiary and it was we who convinced him. Then he earned it and Victor gave him the opportunity because he saw that he had those conditions. The boy has earned it alone. If he had once decided to go to another club, perhaps he would not have had this possibility. We tried to convince him to stay because we trusted him. And then the previous coach Victor gave him that confidence, due to the circumstances and he earned it on the field. And that is a true reflection of what the guys from below must be.
If the forecasts regarding the salary limit for next season are confirmed, it will be necessary to throw away a lot from the quarry.
If next season the situation is restructured it is clear that the future will be the players below. The quarry players are there to help and not to assume top-level responsibilities. That's what professionals are for. The performance of a player every Sunday on the field does not deceive. I do not put a player because he is from the subsidiary or professional. I see performance.
Speaking of youth squads, David Larrubia is already at your service on a day-to-day basis, one of the promises that he is most excited about today.
He is a different player. It is still a second year youth. He debuted with the subsidiary in the first days. It is the club's heritage, like many other players. We must take care of it. You still have a lot of growth phase left. Where it has to grow is here. Mermaid songs will come, and haste is a bad adviser. We have high expectations for David in the not too distant future. Because of its characteristics and its mentality. He is training with us and at a very good level. And the companions see it. Green does not fool anyone.
Is there a chance that we will see him playing with the first team soon?
You have to be very cautious. The opportunities, when they occur, is because we think that the team needs them. We should not put the youth squads because we think it will be the best for them, but because it is the best for the team. The priority is the performance of the team, save the situation. We must be very fair and right now I am being unfair to some players who deserve to play. The performance of the entire group at the training level is being very good. They deserve to play more, but I can only choose eleven and then only three more during the match. There are players who are at a very good level, but they have to wait for their opportunity and they have to understand it.
Was it more difficult to make an eleven with the subsidiary or now?
The day to day has nothing to do. Now that they talk about the subsidiary I would like to break a spear in their favor now that they are not going well in qualifying. It is a team made with many young people and with a maturity process so that the maximum number of players can leave in the future. There are players who have possibilities, then they will arrive or not. But the quarry players are there to supply the top team. The greatest success of a quarry coach is that when a player rises to the next club echelon, he can compete and compete well. When Antoñín came up and competed, it was our biggest victory. What happens is that we are all very resultista. The work of Málaga's youth team coaches has much merit.
Pellicer, Víctor Fernández, Fernando Vázquez … the house technicians also often come to the rescue in situations of greatest need.
For coaches who come up from a subsidiary, especially in a club as large as Malaga, they are due to situations that have occurred, economic or sports. We have to know where we were, how we got there and what we want to do. We know the whole club, the people know us, and the only truth is to work with common sense and do your best, nothing more. Be transparent in everything. Sometimes it is much easier than people think.
One of the debates of the moment is carried out by two from below, Luis Muñoz and Keidi Bare.
All good players can play together. Luis's best conditions are as a midfielder. When Keidi was recovered he played against Las Palmas. Against Zaragoza, due to the context of the game, we thought that the situation could be better like this. Keidi is training stronger even than before and is a more important player for us. I am clear that they are going to play together. Luis Muñoz has taken a step forward and is earning it, but they can play together depending. they will all be important. Blessed problem.
The renewal of Luis Muñoz does not seem easy. Do you think it would be a significant loss for the club if you end up leaving?
The contractual issue must be resolved by the directive with the player himself. I repeat again that the best scenario for the players who are from the house is to be here. The rush I think sometimes are bad advisers. We know how the world of soccer works. The players are professionals and if something important appears it will be complicated, but I think Luis and the rest of the youth squads are very involved with the club and I always want to be optimistic.
With all this talking about the salary limit and the problems that lie ahead in summer, do you think there is a future in Malaga?
We are optimistic. Malaga is a very big club. Since José María (the judicial administrator) has arrived, he has transmitted a lot of tranquility. And everyone knows the situation we are in. But we can not think of July 31, but on Saturday, in sports. We know there are 11 finals left and a long way to go. If we improve the present, the future will be much better.
How is José María Muñoz, the judicial administrator?
Very good. We have had two meetings with him. He came to the game (against Zaragoza) and went to congratulate us despite the defeat for a job well done. And it has given us calm. She is a person who looks very calm and must have her times. A football club is not an ordinary company. We feel very calm with what he has transmitted to us and that in the end is transmitted. Everything that comes from outside, that there is transparency and that there is tranquility, influences the day to day.
That institutional tranquility was necessary.
Every week, especially since my arrival, was to talk about everything except soccer. That, in the end, seems not, but it is transmitted to the protagonists, the most important, who are the players. The fan, who arrives on Sunday, wants his team to win and everything that has happened during the week, extra sports news, all he does is distract. In the last two games we have seen a dedicated stadium. The fans have always been there and the players notice it. The other day it was a shame because we had a great game. We deserved victory. It is good that the fans are excited, but we have to get the necessary points to maintain the category and rest assured that is the goal.
What about Manolo Gaspar, the sports director?
Manolo are people of the house. The first day he said to me: “Pelli, as you are, to work.” Often the difficult thing is the common sense and to speak with transparency, with the heart, face to face and soccer. That Manolo does and I do. And then with the players when it comes to signing… we coaches are not here to sign players but to help. That's what sports management is for. And Manolo knows that we must work hand in hand.
Three winter signings. It was not easy under the circumstances.
It has a lot of merit for the circumstances that are and for the economic situation that exists. They are bets from the sports management and the players themselves. And you have to thank him for that. It is the best way to send a message to all the people who want to think that they can come here. This has to be seen as a showcase. With all due respect to many teams. Playing in Malaga and before this fans is available to very few in this category. That must be a plus and makes that footballer see more the subject of a passion than the contractual one. That has been the key to Tete, Sergio and now to Aaron.
Tete has fallen to his feet ...
You have had your process. He did not play in Elche and made his debut against Numancia. He started playing. We are not surprised. We already knew him and we knew that he was a player with a great level. He has helped and the team has helped him. It is a total success.
The team has improved. Where is Pellicer's credit?
Pellicer's credit goes to the players. The protagonists are the players.
How do you rate the amount of praise you are receiving from your players?
Receiving good words is also fine. Praise and criticism have to keep us in balance. We are the same as two months ago. It is much more beautiful to be told how good you are than how bad you are. But we have been in this for many years and we are clear that we must enjoy every minute that we are training. I look, pinch myself and tell myself that we are privileged.
I was referring more to the praise of the players …
I have always spoken to you with complete sincerity. I have also been a player and the worst thing is that a coach does not tell you the truth. We have always been with the truth ahead and the way of working, the results, seeing that the team is getting comfortable … I have noticed from the first day the affection of the players, of all the people of the club and, above all, from the hobby. We are people of the house and they know that we are going to give everything.
Are you worried about Sadiku's drought?
Forwards and goalkeepers are very special cases. Streaks sometimes come without knowing why. He does a very good job in the pressure and at any moment the goal will appear. You must be calm and have no anxiety. This goes on streaks. Every day we work and try to improve. We are not concerned with Armando, nor with Sergio (Buenacasa), who the other day gave ten very good minutes. We trust our forwards and second-line players, who must also contribute a goal, such as Adrián, Tete Morente, now Aarón, Juanpi, Renato … The goal is very important.
Saturday comes Okazaki.
I could not know him personally and professionally, but I perceive the affection that his colleagues and the people who were here had for him. We wish him all the luck in the world starting on Sunday. We will try to make you feel uncomfortable and that people can congratulate you on your victory and your defeat.
Juanpi is going to more.
The good soccer player is a good soccer player always, that is not forgotten. All players have moments, but the most important thing is to be calm. The confidence of a player goes with the minutes, but there are players who need their best level. And Juanpi is proving it. Also Adrián, Dani, who is having foot discomfort and is making a great effort every day to be able to compete … We are looking for the best version of all the players. We cannot afford to lose any player along the way. The ego of each one must be kept on the sidelines, the important thing is the team.
Are you ready for the next FIFA Virus?
We are prepared. We will face it when it comes. It is what there is and we cannot excuse ourselves because it is what has been all season.
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