–Javier Clemente?
-Yes.
–I’m calling from the newspaper EL PAÍS, my…
–And how do I know that you work at EL PAÍS?
Well, it’s also true. But you have to be Clemente and have had many three-year terms with the press in front of or alongside him to realize that, as he says, it can’t be that just by presenting himself from a newspaper, someone already has one Talk to the newspaper for an hour. Phone: “Maybe it’s a boring guy at home who found my number.” The trainer suggests that someone he knows, including the journalist, confirm his identity. The process is strange: we have to look for a bridge that, as we call it, shows no signs of success. “I don’t know that one, I don’t know the other one either.” Finally, a name unlocks the interview: José María García. “Man, when García calls me.” The Movistar+ documentary “La España de Clemente” highlights Clemente’s distrust of the press and his close relationship with García – the earthquakes with his sports radio rival José Ramón de la Morena and PRISA, his corporate group – triggered, well explained. Editor of EL PAÍS – and yet one of the audio recordings rescued from the documentary shows a dialogue between the legendary journalist and his friend the coach: “You have to leave immediately. “Better tonight than tomorrow.” “Why, because you said so?” “Because you failed, Javier.” Clemente’s years at the helm of the Spanish football team deserved a documentary film.
Let’s remember the scene in which the protagonists in the decisive game against Ireland told how they placed seven central defenders on the field, “they were even playmakers, and I was still on the bench,” says Alkorta. Luis Enrique can’t even talk about laughing. It was won 0:3. Clemente has just finished his stint as Libya’s coach. It has been unemployed for a year. “I am a coach. The thing is, they won’t hire me now. As soon as I receive an offer, I will get back to you. I enjoy training. Sunday when I train is a happy day. But I don’t train. I accept. “I’ve been doing this for 43 years.”
Questions. Are you still so tense with the press?
Answer. I? Not at all. And I’ve never been that way. What struck me is that they were with me. But I wasn’t tense: I had a great time.
Q It didn’t seem like it.
R. Do you know what’s happening? That there is no job with benefits in this country, not even that of a politician. But the journalists catch them. Are you a politician? Give your best. Are you a journalist? The same. But not the journalist: the journalist has the right to intimidate and not answer. How can a journalist tell you: “I want to do an interview with you”, you answer that you don’t have time, and he tells you: “Well, be careful of the consequences”? To the consequences of what, idiot. What are you giving me for birth? Well, there are such journalists.
Q You wanted to go into close combat.
R. I fought as much as I could. If someone comes and starts insulting and mocking, then I will fight. If you do an interview full of untruths with one of my players, I say at a press conference: “Yesterday you wrote this, this and that: it is false.” And then he catches you in private: “Damn, you are making me appear in front of all the journalists attention.” “Oh, and you get my attention in front of all of Spain.” “Well, you call me and tell me in private.” “Well, before you write, you also call me and tell me in private. ” It is impossible. The journalist wants to do whatever he wants.
Q You have created an opinion.
R. Journalists They create states of opinion. I dedicate myself to training and you make a series of comments on my work and people join in. That’s fine. I accept that. One more thing is what I will explain to you now. We dominated Sevilla in the important games, except when we played against very small rivals. I have asked the association to play these games on all pitches in Spain so that people from outside Seville can see the team and fill the stadium. What did some of the press do? “Clemente doesn’t love Sevilla.” I want to upset Sevilla. Make a mess and turn Seville against us.
Q What do you think of what is happening between the Spanish football team and the association?
R. It seems like a mess to me.
Q De Rubiales said he wanted him to spend a few days in prison.
R. He won the elections with very little nobility and with very little cleanliness: he played dirty. He got the ending he deserved.
Q Which team plays the direct football that you learned in England and that you liked?
R. None.
Q Nobody?
R. No, that has changed. Up to the English league. There was Pep [Guardiola] have varied. But something doesn’t change: the community between the audience and the club. And be careful, they are still dynamic, tough and physical teams, more of a shock. But the difference that Pep’s team conveys [Manchester City] Compared to the others it is very large.
Q Guardiola.
R. The smartest coach in England. With a difference.
Q Because?
R. Because in ten years the style of play has changed many times. It varies depending on which men he brings with him. If you didn’t get a result, bring one, bring another. And that is variety. The concept of the game varies. He’s a very intelligent guy.
Q Do they have a relationship, do they talk about football?
R. Have Relationship with him especially in the summer when he comes on vacation. He organizes a golf tournament in which I take part. Sometimes we make comments about football, but we don’t talk about football. Let’s see: He has a much higher level of football knowledge than me. I can’t argue with him. He plays the football he likes and I like a different kind of football. We both respect each other.
Q What vivid memory do you have of the leagues you won with Athletic Bilbao?
R. It was very important for Bilbao as they hadn’t won the league for many years. But people have somewhat forgotten that the team that became champions was very good. A very good team, very well positioned and very well prepared since the youth team: I had seven or eight players from this team in the youth team. Three years later they were playing in the First Division. And it is no coincidence to bring them together with the elite who were already in Athletic and became champions two years in a row. It was an impressive party. A joy. I’m in public a lot, a lot. I like to play with him: chop him up, turn him on, make sure he doesn’t get distracted and be with his players.
Q Santiago Segurola says in the documentary that the good news about you is that you have a style, your teams know what they’re playing, and when you die, you die with the style and with them.
R. My style was to carry the players I carried. The style is made by the players. And I have to think about how to beat the rival, and not just think about us, no matter who we get. I look at the opponent and say: How do we beat these guys? Well, I take the players who know how to do that and they go on the field. And what do you do? What you know. That’s it. They say that football has developed a lot now. The technology, the videos, the scouts, the studies. And for what? Not at all. To decorate the film. A circus. Football is simpler than all that.
Q To count.
R. The first thing you need to do is know your rival. And what equipment do you have? There was a type of player I liked: quality, dedication, when they were on TV, I don’t know. And I saw what the players I had were capable of. Can they play fast? You can. You can play slowly. You can play one touch. You have skill. You have no ability. I say: Damn, I have a damn good team. What are we playing against? Against the rival. What is the rival doing? Because if you, as a rival, let him do what he is good at, he can beat you. Does the rival do these four things very well? You have to stop them and try to do the things you are good at. For this you need a loyal team, a team that is happy, a team in which there is a good atmosphere among each other, a team that is respectful towards everyone. This is a football team. I turned the national team into a piece of football team.
Q What do you think more and more stars or even European talents like Gabri Veiga are moving to Arab football?
R. Oh, very good, great. It’s professional football, right? Working people want to make ends meet financially so they go where they pay the most. And if they earn in Arabia ten times what they earn in Spain, they have the right to leave the country.
Q Don’t those who fight to win the league or the Champions League and remain in the memory of the fans forever deserve enough?
R. I think the difference between 5 million or 15 million a year carries more weight than titles and fame. The players want to turn 32 with their lives sorted. Many things and a lot of earning opportunities surround them. I think it’s very good that players go for a lot of money. That seems very good to me.
Q He says in the documentary that football is a fun sport because anyone can win.
R. If you’re not better, you don’t always lose. And if you can’t make the other person better, do it: you get him into trouble, you stop him from playing. There is a lot of talk about Getafe and Bordalás. Hey, Bordalás is thinking of a way to beat some guys who are superior today: This is it, and he wins. And then the loser says: “It’s a shame that they play this football.” I heard Quique Setién say that about Leganés, a humble team that Setién tried to stop against Barcelona by taking the ball away from them or something like that. Already. Of course Leganés would like to play like Real Madrid. And how do you do that? Do you have the same budget to buy similar players? There are people who go through life smartly, and what doesn’t work is smart.
Q “I prefer a bad defender to a stupid one.”
R. Those defenders who start dribbling know that if they take it away it’s a goal. And the others who make a fool of themselves in the face of difficulties and lack of quality. Give me villains, don’t give me fools. The fool has no place on my team.
Q He was seriously injured at the age of 20, was already in the elite at Athletic and a very good player: he retired. At the age of 30, he was the coach of Athletic and won two leagues with his regular team and took part in two World Cups with Spain. Would you change your career to avoid suffering the injury you suffered playing football?
R. Without hesitation. What I like most about football is playing. To everyone, come on.
Q And the least?
R. That so much has changed: everything is lies, everything is fraud, very dubious arbitration matters. Now comes Rubiales, now comes Tebas… Go back 40 years. People went on the field, supported the team, the managers were humble. Those from the region passed the reel onto the field, set up bars, served at the bar and held raffles. There is now an impressive amount of chorizos and delicacies available. When money intervenes so much, things start to rot. Respect, authority, treatment of the public. Do you think a major league team can get off the bus with 100 kids waiting for them, all get off with their helmets on and not greet any of the kids? Fuck the golden men.
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