As a La Liga manager spoke, very few listened as the press had their story. A question had been asked. What was the difference between this Athletic Bilbao team and the one from a year ago? The direct answer to that question wasn’t the interesting part but it was when the Coach turned to speak about Caparros when Viva La Liga’s ears listened up.
‘Caparros is one of the best managers in Spain, his only problem is that many win trophies on the teams he has spent years building’ he pointed out. And you know what? He is right.
When people talk about great managers they talk about Ferguson, Mourinho, Pep and Wenger etc. What makes a good manager? Trophies? What about the Coach who works on a budget that wouldn’t be able to pay Messi’s or Ronaldo’s salary and manages to keep that team in the top division. Are his accomplishments any less than a coach who spent millions to win the league? The thing with Caparros is that he has built and contributed to many trophy winning sides, more than you would think and all this while wearing jeans!
Take a look at Spain’s World Cup squad. Everyone points out to the Barça connection and whilst it is impressive there is one thing that people never point out when looking at the victorious team; the Caparros connection. 7 of the players of the 23 squad have played for Caparros at one time or another. Some players owe more than their medals to the Andalucían but their careers. Looking at the World Cup squad and who had a connection to him, at Sevilla he brought through Carlos Marchena, Jesus Navas, Sergio Ramos and although he wasn’t in the World Cup squad he also brought through Jose Antonio Reyes, at Deportivo La Coruña he worked with Joan Capdevila and Alvaro Arbeloa and at Athletic Bilbao he brought through Javi Martinez and developed Fernando Llorente. When Llorente was called into the Spanish National Team for the 1st time most believed that it was a mistake and that Del Bosque had meant to call up Joseba Llorente from Villarreal. As Llorente scored his 3rd goal, his 1st hat trick in La Liga, against Rayo Vallecano this weekend everyone hailed the big striker and rightly so but still no one mentioned the great work done by Caparros.
But it is not only the Senior Spanish team. As he proved at Sevilla, Depor and Athletic he is an expert when it comes to developing youth. Look at the Under 21 squad that won the Euros last year. There are at least 4 names there that have passed under the tutelage of Caparros and in the Under 20 squad that went to the World Cup in you have Aitor Fernandez. His fingerprints are all over the development of some of Spain’s finest youth players but still he fails to get the plaudits he deserves.
It is not only Spanish players who he has helped to launch. Julio Baptista, Dani Alves, Adriano and Renato all worked with him at Sevilla. While Monchi deserves much of the credit it was Caparros who managed to take these players and blend them into the squad. For those who think it is easy they should look at Atlético de Madrid who have had many problems when signing South American players with maybe Kun Agüero and Forlán their only real recent success.
Some will say that anyone could have been successful with that Sevilla side and that could be true to a point but if you take a look at where Juande Ramos has gone career wise compared to Caparros and you can see that with Caparros it was no fluke. He has taken Villarreal and Sevilla to the top flight. He managed to get Sevilla back into Europe. He took over a poor Deportivo and saved them. They lacked patience and fired him a little while later and he rescued Athletic and then got them to the Copa Del Rey final and back to Europe. Last season he finished 6th but his contract wasn’t renewed. The only blot on his copy book is that spell in Switzerland and he can hardly be blamed for that.
So with all this in mind is it any wonder that with the news that emerged this weekend that Jose Mourinho wants to return to England at the end of the season that some Madridistas are calling for Caparros. A minority they may be but for those who want to see more players from the Cantera and more passion in their team he is the perfect choice. Should Valencia let Emery go he would also be a contender there. He was on the Atlético short list this summer but with Simeone only after taking the job it would be hard to see him there in the short-term. But all this is just speculation because at the moment he faces a new challenge keeping Mallorca up. With little money, a poor fan base and little in the way of Cantera he has his work cut out. Still, he has had scouts all over Spain looking out for youth players who he can entice to Mallorca and one wouldn’t put it past him to lead Mallorca to safety.
As for the man himself, when told of the comments and praise given to him from another La Liga manager outside the Rayo Vallecano ground, he just smiled and said that La Liga is full of great managers and he is far from one. Class all the way.
Around the Grounds
Whilst the rest were up at the Santiago Bernabeu, Viva La Liga was in Vallecas to see the thrilling 2-3 game between Rayo and Athletic Bilbao. With 4 goals in the opening 30 minutes fans were kept on the edge of their seats as both sides forgot how to defend. A great atmosphere with Rayo and Athletic fans mixed just added to the perfect experience. A first La Liga hat trick for Llorente sealed it and Rayo will need Diego Costa and Jorge Pulido signed on loan from Atlético de Madrid to settle in quickly.
Barça draw with Villarreal and while everyone will point out that there is now a 7 point gap it seems very unfair that most have over looked a great Villarreal performance which will give their fans something to be cheerful about.
They applauded him, they chanted his name but Luis Garcia showed that there was no place for sentiment in La Liga when he took all 3 points on his return to Levante. He said during the week that Dani Guiza needed a goal, he got it. Let’s hope he can get a few more.
News in Brief: Abel Resino’s return to management ends in a win against Betis. The former Atlético players and manager has a point to prove and has started in the best possible way. Sevilla lose and the pressure is building. Manolo Preciados may be out of a job when you read this as his Sporting got hammered and it seems that the league’s longest serving manager may soon be out the door. Real Madrid won against bottom Zaragoza and some believe that’s the league done and dusted and they may be right. The Cholo effect continues with a scrappy dull game but still Atlético yet to concede. Racing draw with Valencia to cap a terrible month for Emery.
Results: Espanyol 1–0 Mallorca, Rayo 2–3 Athletic, Madrid 3–1 Zaragoza, Villarreal 0–0 Barcelona, Betis 1–2 Granada, Real Sociedad 5–1 Sporting, Levante 1–2 Getafe, Racing 2–2 Valencia, Málaga 2–1 Sevilla, Osasuna 0- 1 Atlético.
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