In his room hung a poster of
Maradona
, the icon of the generation that woke up to football in the 80s, but his reference was another.
If the first memories leave a mark on the personality, they will understand who
Paco López
(Silla, 1967) is when they know that the first player who left him "spellbound" was the Chilean
Carlos Caszely
.
Leader of Colo-Colo, retaliated by the
Pinochet
dictatorship
, signed in the summer of 73 in
Levante
, a Second B with promotion aspirations that, despite his goals, finished in Third.
A six-year-old boy who from the cement stands watched him with admiration until he disappeared from the pitch knew nothing of what was happening in Chile, the same one who today is the coach with the most victories in the history of Levante in First Division and who is now two steps from taking him to the final of the
Copa del Rey
.
The greatest milestone that that child could never imagine who each week traveled with his father the 16 kilometers that separate Silla from the Orriols neighborhood.
The future did not yet exist.
Paco López's world is small, he resides in his town and revolves around his family, the ball and the Barça bars.
He wore the shirt for four seasons, jumping between the mud of Second B and the silver category.
Skillful and clever right-handed winger - "but short", he always points out - he will never forget a duel against Écija in the promotion for promotion to Second in 1995. He scored two goals in the first half, but was sent off and they could not avoid the comeback of the Andalusians (2-4).
In that
playoff
, Paco
played for promotion and his Achilles tendon
.
You risked a break without having the contract renewed.
«Paco is like that, he's one of us»
, say some of his «usual» friends, whom he continues to accompany and with whom he maintained the custom of having dinner every Monday at a bar in town,
«like a normal guy »
.
As a player: Torrent, Hercules, Extremadura, Castellón, Murcia and Benidorm, his place was always in modest fields and the coach was born there.
On this road there were curves, but always next to his brother Toni.
«When
we were
little
we used to play in the dining room at home, which was a muddy field
, the legs of the chairs were the goals.
When we heard my mother's keys, we repositioned everything, ”Paco reminded his brother a few months ago.
From that dining room they have gone to the office to analyze rivals and decide alignments with the rest of the coaching staff.
"It is unconditional support," acknowledges the technician, as well as that he paid "a penny" to make his bed.
As coach: Catarroja, Villarreal, Benidorm, Alcoyano, Cartagena - his only experience in the Second Division that lasted four games, all lost - and the Valencia and Villarreal affiliates, where he coincided with
Marcelino
.
In May 2017, he reached an agreement to lead Hercules, which was undone by the economic problems of the Alicante team, and ended up on the bench of Atlético Levante, a subsidiary of the Granotas in the Third Division.
He did not imagine that this decision would mark his life.
His arrival coincides with that of
Juan Miguel Bernat
at the newly created high performance psychology department in Levante.
Aware of the importance of sports psychology, as a player he had made friends with José Carrascosa, one of the pioneers in Valencia, and Bernat became an ally.
The messages both will be essential when months later he takes the reins of the first team.
His wife's double cancer
The end of 2017 is tough for the coach.
His wife, Hermi, was diagnosed
with breast cancer,
followed a year later by another tumor in the uterus.
Prize in football, blow in life.
She is his greatest inspiration, the one who has taught him the importance of
"transmitting positive emotions"
, of sparing no effort, "but with confidence and enjoyment."
She is the biggest "fan" of Levante now that her sons
Gerard
and
Marc
live it from the United States, where they play for two universities.
Quico Catalán
put the team in his hands with a call that he took from the branch bus on the way to Elda.
The challenge was enormous: at one point of the descent and there were 10 days left.
The permanence closed in eight, with a resounding victory in
San Mamés
(1-3) and the win (5-3) in the Ciutat of a
Barça
that wanted to finish the 17/18 season undefeated.
You earn admiration and continuity.
Since then there have been delicate moments, hard-fought saves and feats such as beating Real Madrid and Barça at least once a season and more in the last three than in the club's 111 years.
But there are two things that Paco López will never give up: being happy, one, and the personality of his team, two.
"Why don't we enjoy what we have?"
Remember when Levantinism takes its feet off the ground and forgets how
great it is to be small
.
His football is offensive, "but not suicidal"
, and seeks to squeeze the qualities of his players to the point of making them huge.
They are participants in decision-making and are responsible for them.
He, like a father, very firm but close and human, guides them.
«He is capable of putting you a video of the rival and asking you, how do we attack him?
You know how we will do it, but it makes us think ”, they say from the locker room.
His message penetrates and the reason is told by him:
«I don't know if I am a leader.
I am a person before a coach, honest and fair »
.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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See links of interest
2021 business calendar
Sevilla - Barcelona, the semifinal live