Interview with a Football Coach

Uh, should we go and interview another World

Cup winner?

Oh.

We've had so many this week already.

Oh.

I've just gone for-

Oh, Cesc.

Yes.

Fabregas.

Making an entrance.

Hey. Wow. But before you go, Cesc, I was a bit tentative before because, you

know, before the game you have to have respect,

you know?

Mm.

You concentrated on the game. We talked football.

I was very diplomatic, let's say, but you, sir, are

magnificent. You are going all the way to the top.

I'm talking Champions Leagues, Premier Leagues, Serie As,

everything.

No, Micah, Micah, don't say that.

Thank you. Thank you for your words.

We know each other now for some time and, uh, we have to be

present in life. I don't know if it's the correct word in English,

but we need to

be, uh, always attentive. You know how football works today.

Uh, everything goes super fast. Uh, and again, we have a very, very

young team. Um, now unfortunately I had to tell them and

remind them that we have another big game on Monday and, uh, again,

very, very happy, 100%, uh, historical night for the city,

for the club.

Um, but we need to be responsible and, uh, try to be

competitive every three days, which is the big, big challenge for us this,

this

season. But thank you again for, for your words.

C- Cesc, uh, I mean, congratulation.

Uh, I, I don't know what else to say but as, as I know you,

I know how cautious you

are about everything. I know you're gonna see straight away the

goal that we

conceded because that's how you are, and how it could have...

how, how perfect it could have been and, and better, uh...

and, and have a better game maybe because

that's the way you are, once again.

But I wanted to talk about the freedom that you give,

um, Niko Paz and, uh, Baturina, uh, in terms

of how they, they can move in a way

wherever they want, if you know what I mean,

with the wherever they want.

But, you know, Baturina doesn't stay high and wide.

As, as Ndiaye does, but Baturina doesn't.

Can you explain, if you can, by the way, because you don't wanna say ev-

everything.

Mm.

But, you know, the, the, the freedom that they have.

No, 100%. I think there are players for everything.

We all play football, um, and we know that there are some players that you need

to be a little bit more structured. You...

And there are others that are

more talented and you can trust them in other ways, which then

you will need to tell them more maybe defensively or whatever it is.

But 100% that, uh, um, I always felt that the figure

of a number 10 is, is, is getting lost.

Uh, I was fortunate to play in that position and I think the number 10

position,

that role where every time as coaches, you know, um,

uh, being too much restricted with the talent

that, uh, some players can offer.

And I'm very lucky, uh, to accept that I have two very talented, uh,

kids, uh, very g- 'cause they're very young, 22 and 23,

that they have a, a

long way to go in, um, in today's football.

But 100% that they're... We try to advise them.

We try to show them what the other team is, who they are,

how they press, what they do, if they go man to man, if they

are more zonal, if

they play with one's number six, if the number six is more aggressive

or stays

more. All of these dynamics that happens in... during games.

And from there we try to create superiorities, overloads or, or freeing

spaces for other people to come into the game and, and, and be dangerous in

situations where we want them to be dangerous.

And again, uh, we all do that and, uh, it's all about trusting

the players as well at some point. Uh, we cannot control everything.

I would love to, and I... When I started two, three years ago,

I thought I could

control everything. I accepted that I can't and, uh,

we just try to help them as

much as possible.

You, you, you're, you're, you're being humble here because you

mentioned Arsene

Wenger earlier, and one thing that he really had

is the trust of his players.

And you have a lot of coaches that will sometime restrict those

players to express themself-