A few hours before receiving Cádiz in Vallecas,
Andoni Iraola
(Usurbil, 1982) forgets any tactical concerns to dedicate the afternoon to his young son, barely 18 months old.
Domestic obligations are the best disconnection for the one who was a legendary Athletic side and for whom today, from the Rayo bench, is emerging as one of the technicians with the most future in LaLiga.
You were born in a working-class town, where many people were employed in the Michelin factory. Do those memories link in any way with your daily life in Vallecas? At that time, Usurbil was a place with many industries. In fact, my parents worked in a company related to marble. Yes, it was a working-class town, although of course, it is convenient to save the distances with respect to today, because Madrid is a mega city and in Guipuzcoa everything was much smaller. Today in Vallecas, despite being a neighborhood, many people also live. But it is a site that hooks you from the beginning, because it has a lot of personality. We are delighted to represent the neighborhood. What was your favorite player from your childhood? I was very much like Michael Laudrup, because at that age we all like midfielders and those who are close to the goal.Those were my times at the Antiguoko, when I combined school with the ball. In that team I coincided with Xabi Alonso, Aritz Aduriz, Mikel Arteta and others who ended up playing in the First Division. So we didn't think we were going to make a living from this, but look, we were a good generation and we were able to make a career. Then they still said that "if we don't know where to put this man, let him play right back". And look now, it seems that the greatest virtue of a center-back or a goalkeeper is that he knows how to play well with his feet ... Football has fundamentally changed in terms of preparation. Today the rival is studied so much that there can no longer be weak links. You can no longer afford to have defenses that only defend, because you have to initiate, they will squeeze you, they will tickle you. And that has made the player prototype change,it has to be more complete. The game evolves at a frenetic pace. Almost as much as that of the great elite teams ... The main difference compared to a few years ago is that now everything on the field is going much faster and footballers must be better physically prepared. Those who are only good with the ball will have a difficult time surviving, because the coaches are demanding more and more of them. Today, at the European level, these types of teams already dominate, such as Chelsea or Bayern. They stand out from the rest because in addition to being technically very good, everyone runs and everyone works.You are one of LaLiga's fashion coaches. Do you read or listen to what the press has to say? I've been in this for a few years and over time you learn to relativize, both the good and the bad, what is written about you.I do not have social networks and I distance myself a little from all that. I think your life is healthier when you don't pay too much attention. Of course, sometimes you like to read articles that talk about you, but it is something that should not alter your behavior.
Iraola gives instructions at the Vallecas Stadium. BRAND
It gives the feeling that you have always felt more comfortable in the background ... No, what happens is that what I have always liked, both before and now, is football. This game has other types of things associated with it, but I find myself more comfortable talking about what happens on the field, really. These last days he has been repeating a phrase: "In the field we have to resemble what we want to be". What does Rayo want to be? We want to be a team that always tries to play with personality, try to dominate the ball, as far as possible, other times without it. We want to be very supportive, always posing a threat to the rival. Capable of competing in any scenario. Obviously we are going to find more powerful adversaries, but if we do things well and give our best version,I am convinced that we can compete against anyone. How do you feel, for the moment, more satisfied? I am very happy with the results, but I do not see it as a merit of mine, because we drag a promotion that always makes things easier. Above all, I am satisfied with the feeling of togetherness that I see in the dressing room. I have come across a group with a very good sense of community, which makes things much easier for me.that makes things much easier for me.that makes things much easier for me.
We want scenarios with high rhythms, where many things happen, where sometimes you can sin to go too fast.
You are a newcomer in the category, like a good handful of your players. Is it more difficult to be prepared for these joys or for the defeats to come? You have to be prepared for everything. We are aware that throughout the season, especially for a newly promoted, we were top favorites for promotion. And now they want to place us in a scenario that does not correspond to us. The objective is to continue in First. Within that path there will be good and bad moments, but we are never going to go crazy, nor to get out of the script of what we want to be. The Ray must prevail by intensity and by winning each divided ball. Is there the summary of everything? We find ourselves comfortable in high-rhythm scenarios, where many things happen, where sometimes it is possible to sin to go too fast.We prefer that to slower paced games where we are not so comfortable. It is a decision made because it is going well for us. Of course I respect those who give more importance to possession or who have longer possessions. But we are a team that wants to be vertical and reach the more times the better. And I think we will do well there. Joaquín Caparrós said that you always had a natural leadership in the dressing room. Is it different to act as a leader as a captain than as a coach? It is different, but there are things that the fact of having been a captain helps you a lot in training. In the end, training you have to take many more variables into consideration. In the end you have a lot of like mini relationships with twenty-something players, with more people from the coaching staff and you have more variables to manage.The most important thing is what benefits the team and what does not. That's what most of the decisions, both as captain and as coach, pass on. You were always an example for those who came to the San Mamés dressing room. How do you see the new generations? The relationship of young people when they arrive at a dressing room has changed, although I always say that for the better. Before it seemed that we had to spend two or three years there carrying balls so that they saw us as equals. It was very different. Now the youngsters come up and then they play three or four games and are already considered an important part of that dressing room. Of course society has changed, but I don't think the above was better. Today I see many kids with a mentality of wanting to learn and wanting to study the rival and try to take advantage of each training exercise.What happens is that maybe we don't pay much attention to those.
Iraola, during a match against Espanyol, in April 2008 IÑAKI ANDRÉS
Young people today are said to have no tolerance for frustration. You, on the other hand, as a player made many resignations: you could play for Juventus or Liverpool, you could play Euro 2012 but you decided to have surgery, you even gave up your honeymoon for the national team ... Are we missing that example in the Footballers who are leaving? Man, in the end I more than quit, what I did was choose a career in Athletic, which for me will always be the club of my life and of which I feel super proud. In the end when I say how I could have improved my career, I am never thinking about having gone to another team, but about, joe, if I could have won a Copa del Rey ... And that is perhaps what you miss and not others stuff. And in the end I think so, that there are players who go along that line today as well.Every day I see players in the locker room willing to train with discomfort, or play 80 games a year, willing to give up many things in their personal lives to be professionals. And that is probably not valued either. Last week, during a press conference, Marcelo Bielsa dedicated 10 minutes to warn of the dangers that threaten football with such an overload of international matches ... I could not listen to Bielsa, although I also consider that football, in that sense, is going through a dangerous dynamic. The more games that are played, the more business there is, but there comes a time when the players are at their limits. That's why there are so many injuries and longer templates are needed every time. We have reached a point that is dangerous, especially for the highest level players,that apart they must play European competitions and with their national teams. And it is not for the benefit of the show. Does this business need more crazy people like Bielsa? Marcelo gives football a point of view that probably no one else has. His way of seeing football is also different from the other coaches I've had. Her figure enriches this universe a bit. You also had a relationship, I don't know if I would call it special, but one of great mutual appreciation with Del Bosque. What can you tell me about him? Vicente was a figure who at that time was the perfect one for Spanish football, because in the end the protagonists were the players. His way of leading the group was perfect for that team. With me personally, I will always be very grateful. From the first moment, he trusted me and summoned me.The truth is that with the national team I have not played many games, I have not had great moments, but I did feel that he had that confidence in me. And I, because of the tremendous competition that existed in a world and European champion squad and because of some inopportune injuries, because I probably could not give back. What does a coach like you do when he is not aware of all these things of videos and blackboards? I've always said that coaching is a very ungrateful profession. Even when you are doing other things, ideas come to you and you even have to take notes at that moment. Sometimes at home they end up throwing it in my face. I really like to travel, what happens in the end that these last two years have not been the most travel-prone scenario either. I guess what everyone: read,although I'm not too much into movies, I do get hooked on a series. Although I already told you that this training does not give you much margin, the truth.
The Ray has a very small structure and when something unexpected happens we may not be as prepared as others.
What was then the last book you have read?
Open all night
, by David Trueba, who had it out there pending. But it is true that since I train my pace of reading or watching series has dropped a lot. A few days ago in Vallecas we saw subscribers queuing at the stadium, because it is the only club of the 42 of LaLiga that does not have an App of Ticketing. I suppose that the noise of this type of situation reaches the locker room ... It does come and in the end, whether you like it or not, it affects you. Every week some things happen that are not strictly related to what is Sunday's game. We try to make it affect as little as possible. El Rayo has a very small structure and when something unexpected happens maybe we are not as prepared as others to provide solutions. In recent weeks you have also suffered problems with the grass and had to go to the Ciudad del Fútbol of La Rozas to train.These are things that in a First-class club sound, at least, strange ... Yes, but hey, our job is to adapt to all that. I believe that it is something that we already knew even before arriving at the Ray. And obviously the best thing you can do is hey, because if we have to go to training in Las Rozas for three days, then we will have to go, we have to let the Sports City rest for a week, because it is true that we only have one field and at end every day we are crushing it and we have to train the stadium, we try to handle it as well as possible. I always say that you have to try to find solutions, because problems always appear. Sometimes it is easier and sometimes more complicated, but it is what we try.I believe that it is something that we already knew even before arriving at the Ray. And obviously the best thing you can do is hey, because if we have to go to training in Las Rozas for three days, then we will have to go, we have to let the Sports City rest for a week, because it is true that we only have one field and at end every day we are crushing it and we have to train the stadium, we try to handle it as well as possible. I always say that you have to try to find solutions, because problems always appear. Sometimes it is easier and sometimes more complicated, but it is what we try.I believe that it is something that we already knew even before arriving at the Ray. And obviously the best thing you can do is hey, because if we have to go to training in Las Rozas for three days, then we will have to go, we have to let the Sports City rest for a week, because it is true that we only have one field and at end every day we are crushing it and we have to train the stadium, we try to handle it as well as possible. I always say that you have to try to find solutions, because problems always appear. Sometimes it is easier and sometimes more complicated, but it is what we try.because it is true that we only have one field and in the end every day we are crushing it and we have to train the stadium, we try to manage it as well as possible. I always say that you have to try to find solutions, because problems always appear. Sometimes it is easier and sometimes more complicated, but it is what we try.because it is true that we only have one field and in the end every day we are crushing it and we have to train the stadium, we try to manage it as well as possible. I always say that you have to try to find solutions, because problems always appear. Sometimes it is easier and sometimes more complicated, but it is what we try.
Iraola, in the technical area, next to the Rayo bench.
You finished a degree in New York and started another in Larnaca. What memories do you have of two such different cities? The best thing I could do for my last years, both personally and as a family, was go play New York. It was a very organized league and a club with a spectacular structure and a very good sports city. That experience was very, very rewarding at the time, when he probably no longer had the legs that he had had until then. And what happened in Larnaca was something else entirely. My first experience as a coach, in a very different country. My daughter went there to learn some of the language. And I assumed another facet, with a greater responsibility. On a personal level, it was very enriching to know both cultures. Fatherhood changes everyone's life.How would you define yourself as a father? It is the most difficult question ... We try to be a bit of an example for them, because you cannot prohibit them that you are doing it. Where they learn the most is with their eyes, so at least we try to teach them the good and hide the bad that we usually do. I'm lucky, because for now we can't complain about the two that we have. Despite their quality, the emergence of Falcao is still surprising. You, who have seen him since he landed and are his coach, what has attracted your attention the most about him? I was surprised by the predisposition with which he has come to help from the first moment and to integrate quickly. He has not asked for any treatment or minimally differentiated with respect to the others, being aware that the Ray has not had in recent years someone with the background of Radamel.Still no one knows what he is going to give us at the football level. But the arrival, at least, and the integration have been unbeatable. Not only because of the two goals, which are important in the end, but because of how he has joined the team and because of the fact that having him as a teammate is also a plus for the rest, one more motivation. And that has made us add up everywhere on the board parts of a clear 4-2-3-1. Is this going to be immovable or do you plan to go now to two forwards given the moment of Radamel? The line of four at the defensive level we do not usually change and when I have I have not felt comfortable. From there we usually put three players in the middle, at different heights. In some games, not at the start, but in the second half, we finished with two forwards. I did it sometime in Miranda too,with Marcos André and Matheus, two forwards who were giving us a very high performance. So depending on how things turn out, it is also something that can be raised, of course.
Ancelotti's Madrid, at the level of offensive potential, is the best team in the League.
With a 10-point margin over some relegation rivals and the average goal almost won by Getafe and Granada, there will be those who begin to think about other types of goals. The only thing we have is that we have started well, but that is not a guarantee of anything. We are aware that there is still a long way to go, that there are no clear candidates for relegation and that we cannot stop demanding ourselves this way, because if we do not have this level of demand it is difficult for us to compete against the majority of rivals. From there, hey, as all the coaches say: game by game and we'll see how far we go. How do you see the fight at the top in LaLiga? Although there are other applicants, Atlético and Real Madrid are the ones who have started the best and seem right now the two clear candidates for the title. Atlético already gave a return last year to what it had been doing,with offensive people, changing the system, with those lanes that allow them to play with many players with an offensive profile and this summer they have signed well above. They have a very, very good squad and they are always competitive, so they will always be candidates. Ancelotti's Madrid, at the level of offensive potential, is the best team in the League. Perhaps they have also received some scare back, but their flow is so great that these things can be allowed. We already played against them in preseason. Ancelotti seems to me to be a very good coach and I think they will do things well, the immediate future at Barça is much darker ... He started badly and the injuries of Ansu Fati and Dembélé have weighed on him, but this changes one moment to another. Many times it is enough to touch two pieces to make the team look like another. Of course,the beginning has not been the best, but in the end you never know how everything can evolve.
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