Joaquín Caparrós (Utrera, Seville; 68 years old) had a very special day at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Sevilla, the club of his soul, awarded him a very special award: the Golden Bank II Ramón Encinas as coach with the most games coached (241) and the most victories (111 in total). The first went to He handed over the Andalusian club to Manolo Cardo, who was also present at the event.
Surrounded by his family, dozens of players he had coached at Sevilla, Deportivo, Athletic and Villarreal, and world champions like Sergio Ramos, Jesús Navas and Carlos Marchena at his side, Caparrós excitedly took a short break to honor this newspaper. “I want to continue training. I’m 68 years old, but my life is football. Football is passion and feeling, but also a lot of knowledge. I am indebted to him. Today, in an act of pure emotion, an entire life dedicated to this sport came to mind. It is something unforgettable and I am very grateful. “Feeling all this love excites me,” Caparrós explains.
“I can’t stop watching football, it feeds me. The thing is, I am indebted to this sport for turning a 12-year-old boy who dreamed of becoming a Sevilla footballer into a professional coach. I am a coach, I feel this way and I will die this way. “I always want to be ready to manage a team, a group of players and I like that,” warns the former coach of Recreativo, Villarreal, Sevilla (three stages), Deportivo, Athletic, Mallorca between continuous greetings. , Levant, Granada and Osasuna. He also coached the Armenian national team between 2020 and 2022. “I don’t know what the secret was, but I always tried to maintain a line of unity in the message and a lot of righteousness in dealing with the players.” Times undoubtedly change, but football has a foundation that remains the same. You have to be very well prepared and know how to convey your message honestly,” says the coach from Utrera, who recognizes that he had the virtue of adapting to the environment of the teams he coached, such as Deportivo or Athletic.
“In Bilbao they called me Jokin and we returned to play in the cup final many years later after beating the great Sevilla team Luis Fabiano and Kanouté in the semi-final. To my team. You need to be aware of where you are and what the symbols mean. Today with me is José Ángel Iribar, a myth of world football. The feeling of this affection tells you that you must have done something right,” remembers Caparrós.
“You were a visionary and a sports father for me. Of all the coaches I’ve had, I’ll stay with you.” Sergio Ramos’ words leave an impression on Caparrós. “I was lucky enough to give debuts to two world champions like Sergio and Jesús Navas. And I saw two of the best left-handers that this Sevilla youth team has given, Reyes and Antonio Puerta, fall away from me. That the best central defender in the world says that about you…,” agrees Caparrós, who has no doubts when referring to a possible return of Sergio Ramos to the Spanish team. “Sergio Ramos can of course play for Spain again. Of course everything will depend on the performance he can deliver now at Sevilla, but I see him as fully capable.”
The names Jesús Navas, Sergio Ramos, Antonio Puerta, José Antonio Reyes and Iker Muniain open the door to a very special chapter in Caparrós’ career: his passion for the youth team. “I always had the ability to look down and offer options. I’ve always loved giving chances and at Sevilla I had incredible people, like Pablo Blanco, who told me to pay attention to players like Jesús Navas, like Sergio, Antonio or Reyes. Later, at Athletic, I had no concerns about taking out players like Iker (Muniain). If it’s worth it, indoors,” he announces tirelessly. Now Sevilla seems to have cut this thread of transmission with its lower categories. There is the eternal Jesús Navas (he just turned 38 yesterday) and Juanlu, the U21 international who usually replaces him on the right wing. “Well, maybe it’s time to analyze and see how it used to be done when three world champions were won. I think we shouldn’t go crazy and keep looking down because we have a lot of talent there. But yes, let’s leave aside so much data and so many new areas. Sevilla and its province breathe a lot of football and there is no other choice than to take advantage of this great talent,” explains the coach.
Sevilla is currently experiencing moments of concern from a sporting and institutional perspective. José Luis Mendilibar was sacked after the Europa League win against Roma and Diego Alonso arrived. The Andalusian team is in 13th place and has played six league games without a win (five draws and one defeat). Furthermore, they are bottom of their Champions League group with two points from two draws, although they could qualify for the round of 16 if they beat PSV at home and Lens away in the final two days of Europe’s top competition. Caparrós has the recipe to address the problem.
“The first thing you need is a lot of rest. The coaching staff has to trust his idea and you also have to be patient with him. Calm must be conveyed by the sports management and the president. This Seville needs peace. “There is raw material in the squad, so trust,” insists the man whose life changed, in a conversation with José Castro in the summer of 2000. Then, with Roberto Alés as president and Monchi, recently appointed technical secretary, he became suggested the coach of a Sevilla team that played in the second division.
Caparrós and a team led by the likes of Javi Navarro and Pablo Alfaro achieved promotion to the First Division the following year. “They turned us into competitive beasts,” said Pablo Alfaro. From there to Europe. Meanwhile, Iribar was talking. “An award has never been better. With Joaquín in the middle, I couldn’t miss it. He is my friend”. Word of Txopo.
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