Ernesto Valverde & lessons from the dressing room

As part of the Golden Coach Congress video conference organised by Aitor Karanka, Ernesto Valverde spoke about the important aspects -- and the irrelevant ones -- of being a manager. In a relaxed atmosphere, coaches like him, whose philosophy is not just vital but viral in who they are and being honest (it's not always the same), offered up little jewels. 

Valverde recognised that everyone has their own style that develops from deep-rooted beliefs, almost unconsciously, but that the path is long and you polish things dependent on the players and club you're working with. From the outside, being an elite coach seems simple. That a training exercise here and a chat there can change the dynamic and correct changes. That's how many see it. But these things, as in any complex ecosystem, depend on many variables. 

In addition, he offered the participants a little trick: remove yourself from the noise (us, the media) because you can make worse decisions caught up in the racket. It's not easy to do that because we pass the day trying to enter their world with different tactics, applying charm, words, threats or whatever. We throw the rope one way as they jump to the other side, but as if they weren't. To not confuse matters but also to not be punished. 

In any case, Valverde, like all those involved, enjoyed chatting about football in a familiar atompshere. For the update of Lionel Messi's authorised biography, Valverde gave me a couple of clues about how to treat a unique player, which is an extraordinary experience for any coach. The first gesture of the confidence that Leo had in him from the start was when during a training session he said: 'The Brazilian is going to go.' Neymar was leaving for PSG and that was how Valverde received the confirmation. He had imagined the team going in one direction and 20 days after pre-season had started, it was time to re-plan everything.  

More Leo 

Before coming on against Sevilla, a game that was slipping away from Barcelona, Valverde put his hand on Messi's shoulder to suggest something. He stopped. He looked at him for one second and he said, "it seems you know what you have to do." He had caught him in one of the rare occasions when he was on the bench, able to analyse what was going on like a srugeon. 

There's a queue to learn even more from the thousand lessons that football has offered Valverde. And there's a desire to share them.