• Analysis How David Alaba conquered the Real Madrid dressing room

Near the house of

Jagoba Arrasate

(

Berriatúa

, 1978) there is always a fronton. A matter of luck and taste, because the

Osasuna

coach

is still defending himself on the track. He left the Basque ball because

his hand

"

swelled up

", but he stays with the shovel. There he enjoys the free moments that the position leaves him in the direction of

the revelation team of the League

. The Navarrese have slept this week in Europe and today they visit the

Santiago Bernabéu

. In the talk with EL MUNDO, Arrasate, a professor on leave of absence, defends the character and football of the north and explains the comparisons between a professional locker room and a school class.

You reached Segunda B as a player and ended up training in Primera. Are there prejudices in the profession regarding the obligation to be successful as a player in order to train? I think not. In my particular case it has been within normality. As a footballer my ceiling was Second B, I had no level for more, and as a coach I have been fortunate, the luck of training as an amateur and then in the grassroots football of the Real. The year I spent with Philippe Montanier was very important to me, there I saw the bulls from the sidelines and I learned what day to day life was like. The debate on whether there are more opportunities for coaches who have been elite players before exists, but there is everything, one thing and the other. What I am clear about is that having been a player is an advantage, you know what happens in a dressing room, you empathize, you know what it feels like ...What changes the most from amateur to professional football? In the end, the tasks, the training and the methodology do not change. We all find ourselves comfortable designing that. In First, the repercussion changes, the influence that what you do has and that there are 25 players in a selection process who are the best in their town. Managing all of the latter is the big difference. Also the issue of the press, the media. But the training itself is the easiest thing, we have done it since we were children. Where did soccer start for you? At the age of seven my father signed me up for beach soccer in Deva, in Guipúzcoa, and from there. I remember that we could only play every 15 days due to the tides and it seemed eternal. I wanted more and I already started in football. Then my father took me to Atocha,and one of my first memories is a Real match against Maradona's Barça. What did you think about your first day at Berriatuko, the first team you coached? I was 30 years old, while I was playing I was already training in the lower categories, but we did not have an amateur team because Berriatuko had not been there for a long time. We took the team out when the youth players came up, I became a coach and my adventure began. Inside he already had that rigor and that desire to talk about tactics, but he knew that the boys of the town could not bore them with that. It was Second Regional! (laughs) But I was already beginning to think about being a coach. Then the opportunity came to me in Elgóibar. "Do the training fun", I understand that this comes from his work as a teacher. I understand pedagogy as a way of life, as a teacher and as a coach.When I have 15 kids from the town who play soccer but have their job and their studies, those two hours I can't hug them with the tactic, I need them to come with enthusiasm. They were great years. As a teacher I have always liked to empathize with the student and with the player it is similar. You have to get the most out of everyone, and being equal to everyone is unfair. You have to squeeze one if you need it, give another time or resources ... Football has evolved a lot, but how does that show within a technical staff. What are the biggest changes? As a coach you never have a ceiling, it is continuous learning and football is evolving so much ... Within the staff, beyond the game pattern, there are a thousand things to control and adjust. We have data on everything and the week's work is aimed at a match,So we have to adjust the work methodology, the technology, the group management, which is something that has changed a lot ... With these large squads there are more people who don't play and we have to take that into account. The systems, the tactics, how we evolve and how flexible we are within a game, the variants ... We have to be open to everything without losing our essence. And what is its essence? My idea is that the fans are proud, because here everything comes together, what I have and what I am. And they are compatible and you can get there in different ways. Northern football is not the same as what Madrid, Betis or Barça can do with their DNA. We have to be protagonists in our own way.Historically, northern football has been more tactical, warrior, set pieces ...Is this still the case or have teams like Real changed that definition? Yes, it is true that Real is a different team, but Athletic, Eibar, Alavés or we have hallmarks that are wanting to arrive fast, each corner is celebrate, fighting teams ... Northern football has always had that. To begin with, the fields have been different. Before it rained and the grass got ... You had to get used to it. Now the fields are good, but the essence of direct play has remained. I think it all has to do with the culture here. In the Basque Country and in this area they want people who give their all, honest, sacrificed and make an effort. Here at El Sadar they applaud you for that. Why is it unusual to see him having a few beers surrounded by his coaching staff on a terrace near El Sadar? Well, I don't know. For us it is normal.The Basque coaches also get together for dinner and then each one fights for his own thing. Morbidity has taken hold of football, but in the Basque Country these things are taken for granted. Is it important to be from the land to play here? There is a feeling of belonging, a very deep rootedness. I just left my child and he is wearing the Osasuna shirt, nobody wears the Madrid or Barça shirt. 40% of the first team are from home and have common values. Ancelotti said the other day that he was afraid. You? I felt totally identified with him. Before each game you have that inside, you put yourself in the worst. And it's that little bug that we need, the day we miss that, I don't know if it will be worth it. Are you afraid of the Bernabéu? It gives me respect. We know it is a great team.Are you able to disconnect? I remember when I was a teacher I used to prepare the training sessions during recesses. Now I have a wife, three children ... It is difficult to disconnect. Either you turn off the cell phone and the TV or nothing. The sports director, the captain, the doctor calls you ... Do you enjoy training? From Monday to Friday I do, and I think everyone is something vocational. The training, the day to day ... The problems come in the competition, where we have objectives. You don't sleep there, you have a stomach ache, you have a bad week ... Butwhere we have goals. You don't sleep there, you have a stomach ache, you have a bad week ... Butwhere we have goals. You don't sleep there, you have a stomach ache, you have a bad week ... But

joe

, the competition hooks you, it's an adrenaline rush to work for something. If you get it, it is rewarding, and if not you get frustrated. Competition makes sense of everything. It's a bit unfair, but it leads us to be better.


What can Klopp, Guardiola or Ancelotti learn from Arrasate? (Laughs). It is that you have said three ... They little, they already know them all. I would say that we play for our fans, so that they are proud. For you, as a fan, is it negative that so many games are played? I remember that before they gave a game on Saturday night on regional televisions and you were looking forward to it. Whatever it was, you ate it. Now the feeling that I have, starting with my son, is that few people watch the entire game. Come little bits,

highlights

, the cuts of the goals, some plays ... That information yes and more than before, but seeing the 90 minutes less and less.


Is it a problem of the type of soccer of today or a generational culture issue? I think it is more cultural.

You may think that the Premier is above the League, but a Manchester United-Liverpool is also seen by few people.

It is cultural, we see the goal and that's it.

We want it all chewed up, summarized in the most important thing.

Before it was different.


According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • sports

  • CA Osasuna

  • Real Madrid

  • First division

LaLigaInterview with Sergi Darder: "People are not aware of what it means to be a footballer"

LaLigaThe martyrdom of Koeman

LaLigaAncelotti: "What they did to Koeman cannot be tolerated. Society has a problem"

See links of interest

  • La Palma volcano

  • Last News

  • Translator

  • What

  • Holidays 2021

  • 2022 business calendar

  • Home THE WORLD TODAY

  • Master investigative journalism

  • Alaves - Elche

  • AS Monaco - Red Star

  • Fenerbahce Istanbul - Barça

  • Olympiacos Piraeus - Alba Berlin

  • Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv - Zalgiris Kaunas