Jose Bordalas interview: On nine siblings, Johan Cruyff & coaching in England

Jose Bordalas interview: On nine siblings, Johan Cruyff & coaching in England

Bordalás es el técnico de moda en LaLiga
Bordalás es el técnico de moda en LaLiga | sport

The Getafe coach has spoken to SPORT about his management career so far

Jose Bordalas is a coach in fashion. Surely he, after spending 18 years coaching in the Alicante area, wouldn't have expected this. He has arrived at the elite on the back of a number of different experiences and he's learned from everything: from being one of 10 children to being sacked. 

G: A memory from your childhood? 

B: I am the eighth of 10 children. Five boys, five girls. I was the fifth boy. A humble family. We looked after each other, the eldest after the next ones. I have great memories of never being alone, always protected. As there were so many of us, you have to learn, share out tasks, help, respect... Living with so many people shows you how to treat everyone and that translates to society. 

G: Your first job?

B: Cleaning windows, delivering newspapers... To allow me a luxury, like some simple jeans. 

G: Was there anyone else at home that played football?

B: My brother, but he didn't go pro. I was passionate and spent hours playing on the streets with cousins, friends, neighbours. I wasn't bad until I had a serious knee injury at 16 and then a number of relapses that stopped me from developing my passion. 

G: Were you the one with the ball that picked the teams?

B: Yes, I remember I was the leader, I liked to take the initiative. I had the ball, picked the teams. Maybe that's why I became a coach later. I always focused on the details, when I was young I watched games and not just the great players, but also the collective way of playing. When I had to stop playing, a friend encouraged me to help kids and that's where I started. I said to myself: 'I love this.' 

G: Did you think you'd move on to coaching adults? 

B: Yes. I trained kids for a few months. At that same club, the U19s weren't doing well and the president spoke with me about taking over and we won promotion. Then I moved on to the B team in the regional divisions and we went up again. Then the first team, Alicante, who were in the third division. I knew it was for me. 

G: Your first big mistake? 

B: I coached a team with players with a lot of experience that lacked that motivation to achieve our objectives because they'd done it all before. I thought I could convince them to get the best out of them. I was not capable, but I learned a lot. 

G: What was that young coach like?

B: You're more impulsive. Those of us with a strong character sometimes rush decisions but the day-to-day shows you that you have to be more thoughtful, analyse more, take the decisions more calmly. Football moves quickly and if you don't adapt, you're left behind. 

G: Coaching references?

B: I have always admired Johan Cruyff. When he was a player at Ajax and later as a coach. In videos, for example, of Germany '74, you see how Holland press after losing the ball, something which has later been labeled a recent thing. But they were doing it then, in a more unordered way, but that was a team that suffocated you. 

G: What about Johan stays with you 

B: Above all his leadership, his character, his way of understanding football. I have an opinion different to them majority: when they speak about Johan the coach they think about long spells of possession, but if we look back we will remember the number of changes of direction from Koeman, the space made by Stoichkov, by Goikoetxea, Bakero arriving from the second line... They could really mix up their play. 

G: Do you learn the most when you get sacked?

B: No doubt. Alaves hired me with the objective of establishing the club in the second division. However, we beat those expectations, went up and everyone was super happy. My relationship with the directors and the club is fantastic, that's the reality, but, well, that was their decision. A huge disappointment. 

G: How did they tell you?

B: The president Querejeta called me and told me, without giving many details or explanations. In any case, the disappointment did not las long. What hurt most was not that they got rid of me, but that they did it at the last minute. I had to take over Getafe with eight of nine games gone and they were bottom of the league. 

G: How's everything going so well at Getafe?

B: There's a good understanding with the president, a man who's spent many years in football and recognises my work. He's supported me with important, difficult decisions and, in that first year, many player changes. There's a lot of value to what this team is doing with the resources we have. You just have to look at January. Espanyol, bottom of the league, took a player from us. We wanted Braithwaite and he went to Leganes (before Barça). 

G: Can you see yourself in the Premier League one day?

B: Yes, it's something I have always had in mind and, as a professional, I would love to. I think my way of understanding the game would fit and I would enjoy it a lot, no doubt.

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