Valerón: “The Cruyff proposal marked me to become a coach”

How is this new experience on the bench with the Deportivo subsidiary going?

Well, very happy. Very happy to be back at Depor and for everything that I found. I am very excited about this project and that Depor has trusted me to be part of it. I have spent these years looking for my place in football outside the field of the game and here we are.

It cost a bit, you and Depor had already talked more times in other years …

It is true that there were situations before, but things come when they have to. Also that one feels prepared and that at the same time they trust you as a professional; you have to give everything.

Hasn't it been a bit sad for you to come back and find Deportivo in Second B with everything you lived here?

I still see Depor in the same way. The category is different, but you see the fans, the stadium, the people… The story is what marks it. Fernando Vázquez said some very wise words in which he indicated that the category is the least important thing, that what makes a great club is its history and everything that accompanies it. And that continues to hold.

He said before that he was looking for his place in football. Do I hesitate between the way of training kids or coach?

When I retired in Las Palmas I stayed at the club helping in grassroots football, being at the club on an institutional basis… I went around various things, but I wanted to have the title of coach to see how I was doing. In the end weeks, months go by and you realize what you like, what you want to do.

He has taken that step in the Depor. It helped to decide to have Manuel Pablo second, Fran directing the quarry, Duscher, Donato …

It helps a lot. Choosing the site is very important and I think I am in the ideal place. I think I fit perfectly.

Now that he is a coach. Do you see in a different way the criticisms circulated in the locker rooms through which you passed with your technicians?

I will tell you that I have always tried to respect the coaches because it is difficult to handle all situations. But there is no doubt that now I understand many things that, although I respected them, I did not understand before. Not just with me, but with others. As a coach you have a totally different vision than that of a player. The player sometimes doesn't see it that way.

What are your references as a coach?

There are always proposals with which you identify more when you are a player, but the perspective changes a bit when you become a coach. I have added good things from many coaches and proposals until you find yours. It is a sum of what I lived as a player, the styles of the teams… But inside me there is something that marked me to be a coach, the proposal of Johan Cruyff.

Cruyff left his legacy and style at Barcelona. How about what is there now?

I think Barcelona has tried to maintain that philosophy all these years. At times he has had it clearer and at others he has gone through more doubts. In the end, each person who is in charge of a project has their way of seeing it, their nuances. From outside…

What he will know very well is a Canarian boy named Pedri …

Yes of course. I did not have the opportunity to train him, but I was in grassroots football in Las Palmas and I watched him play and train. They were already excited then. A different boy was seen coming.

What do you think of what you are doing at Barça? Does such an irruption surprise you when you are so young?

With his age, so young and the feelings he is leaving, everyone is very surprised. In the end there was the doubt, the doubt of never knowing for sure how evolution will end. Everyone thought that by going to Barça, a team like that … But he has cleared everyone's doubts. Proving that he is a player despite being so young. It doesn't look like he's that old.

Some more years he has another countryman from Arguineguín, David Silva …

David is still at a very good age to continue playing. I was very surprised that he ended up at Real Sociedad. No one was expected to return to Spain and La Real. I don't think anyone would link him to that team. But that decision shows a bit what it is like. He is looking for something that feels. He felt that his site was that.

Do you think Silva is looking for what Valerón achieved during some years? Enjoy playing.

I think he really enjoyed playing. But it is true that at a time you will probably bet for the pleasure of playing. He has rejected very important offers from big clubs, foreign leagues … to go and enjoy football the way he understands it. And helping a team like Real Sociedad that has a very clear proposal. He knew that he would have a good time there, that he would be comfortable.

Is the Real Sociedad an example to imitate in the quarry issue?

They are the models that everyone wants to copy when they do well. And not only because of the sporting result, but also because of the football proposal it makes. It is positive to look at those projects seeing players coming out. But behind that there are many years of work, and that is the difficult thing in this profession, long-term projects. Finding the patience for the quarry to bear fruit.

Are there any Pedri projects lost by Abegondo?

Hopefully. It is very difficult to know now. Deportivo, with the new board of directors, has a quarry project that is not in words, it is in deeds. It has been seen with the bets they have made. We will try to make it bear fruit and see in the future a Depor with that identity and betting on people from the house.

How do you rate Fabril's start to the league? Three games, undefeated, five points …

Well, we are happy with the work. It is a practically new team, with a different dynamic than the one that has been taking place in recent years. We want to bet on the people here with a young team. The feelings are good and there is a lot of work ahead.

He had to miss the debut of the team because he was confined by a positive in the coaching staff. Did it hurt a lot?

More than annoying, it was the illusion of the first game after having a good preseason. After doing the work with the guys and the time came.

How do you see the whole Covid problem in a category like Third?

It is somewhat complicated. You are always uncertain if everything is going well, if the competition continues … Then you look around you and you realize how lucky you are to be in a club like Depor. They have the means, everything is organized, the protocols are spectacular… That is not what many teams we play with. We had two cases and nothing had to be stopped.

El Fabril has its demands. What is the priority, results or first team?

For me, the priority of every subsidiary is always the first team. The objective is to train the players so that they can reach the first team in the future. How do you get it? Competing. That the players show themselves and develop their skills. We want the boys to have a year in which they achieve growth, both footballing and personal, in order to have a future in professional football. Hopefully many in the first team and those who cannot, elsewhere.

Mujaid, Valín or Gandoy are already with the first team, and for now there are two kids alternating Fabril and Depor, Adri Castro and Juan Rodríguez. Where do you see them in the immediate future?

It is very difficult to know. I was in a subsidiary, then as a professional player I lived with the boys and now it is my turn in the club structure. The evolution of the players has to be seen, you never know very well. We have a very clear case in Valín. He was there to see how he was progressing and he is there playing because of the circumstances. Those things cannot be controlled. In the end the player has to be prepared to give an optimal level when the opportunity comes and stay.

Is the message to the kids 'when the opportunity comes you can't let it go', or is it too much pressure?

Each player has his maturity, the circumstances are usually different, each demarcation is different, the needs of the first team vary … What they have to be clear about is when the time comes, to give the level. It may not come at the moment now, but in the future it will serve permanently.

One remembers Valerón player and imagines a super offensive subsidiary. What is your proposal?

One of the things I learned is that in football all the proposals are valid. What you have to achieve is performance, results. Each coach has his proposal, but everyone agrees that he has to be efficient. I summarize this in one sentence: you have to solve game situations. If it is done, things can be achieved.

And what does that translate into?

At Fabril we have it very clear. We want to be a team that takes the initiative with the ball. To dominate the game, I think there are two fundamental things: getting the ball out and defending high to recover sooner and attack more.

I can't imagine Valerón throwing a fight in the locker room after a 0-3 at half-time …

(Laughter…). I am not going to fight for a 0-3, I am going to fight for other things. I am more concerned with conduct, behavior. I try to make the boys see that there are many variables in a result. The important thing is to make an effort and do the job well. We want the ball and for that we have to run and press, make an effort. If you do it as a team, everything is easier. That is what we demand of the boys.

Don't they wonder in Las Palmas what happens so that Valerón and Manuel Pablo are in charge of the Depor subsidiary and not there?

It is not that we have been there all our lives and suddenly we have come to A Coruña. We both have a very important link with Depor that conditions us when making decisions. Manuel lives here, I was there for many years… When you want to enter the world of football as a coach, something similar to that of a player happens to you, at one point you feel that you have to go outside. And if I have to go to the place where I have experienced such beautiful things, much better.