After the end of the 23-24 campaign, Marcelino García Toral spoke to several media outlets and according to Diario AS, the Villaviciosa-born coach confirmed himself as the ‘Saviour’ of Villarreal and almost worked the ‘Miracle’ of getting the Submarine into Europe. The sports media considers that Marcelino ‘knows about football and human relations, he delegates the merit of the yellow reaction to the performance and worth of his players. But now he is looking to the future, focused on consolidating a project that began to take shape in a second round of Champions League matches’. In a conversation with Javi Mata, the Asturian responds to his statement to the media on the day of his presentation, when he said ‘My name is not Salvador and my surname is not Milagros’ on his return to the yellow club. ‘In the atmosphere there was a feeling that just by us arriving we were going to solve an important problem like the one we had. I wanted to show that we were a part of the club and the team, an important part, but not a decisive part. For me the most important part is the players. I wanted to show that my arrival alone was not going to solve everything. And so it was, because at the beginning, with injuries and bad results, it was more difficult. Then we reversed the results, confidence increased, signings arrived…’.
Marcelino recognises that he decided to return ‘due to a combination of circumstances. The first is because some people to whom I have always been grateful, thought of me as a solution for the present and a project for the future. There is always a part of the head and a part of the heart, and at that moment I thought I should come and help. The players and the project I thought it was good. I thought it was the right time’, despite the fact that the club was not doing well in the league table.
‘When you win there is joy and when you lose there is frustration. Moods in football are key and I believe that moods are generated by human relationships, by daily work and by believing in and helping each other. I am very grateful for the affection and respect of the Villarreal fans. It is a personal satisfaction to see that people are satisfied with your work. But the great work here is that of the players. Without them it would have been impossible to have a second half of the season as we have done’, emphasises the coach who was named one of the best coaches of the championship by La Liga and winner of the best in March.
The Asturian recalls that ‘the player, within a collective framework in which he feels secure and satisfied, increases his performance. And if the player increases his level and his confidence, the level of the collective increases. You never know what is more important, whether it is having a clear idea of the game or the player having a high level of performance. But it is clear that both are necessary to give the level we have given in the second half of the season. If you can get the team to have a clear idea and the players to recover a better level, you have a reliable and winning team’.
Marcelino is satisfied with the team’s second half of the season and says ‘I was aware that the team would not suffer to be saved and we were close to Europe. Two or three specific situations prevented us from doing so. If we hadn’t conceded four goals to Madrid you would have won, or if you hadn’t conceded four goals in France you would have gone through, and that’s what hurts me. It’s in my head that we’ve corrected it, but not completely. If this team wants to be in Europe, it has to concede around 40 goals’.
Marcelino recognises that ‘now comes the most complicated moment in football, which is making decisions for the future. The most difficult thing in football is signing, much more than coaching. Now is when you put together a team and at the end of August you assess what you can do and what you aspire to. I expect a market with movement and a long one. I always say that the important thing is to have the team in place by 31 August. I’m used to long markets, with the exception of Athletic because that was the easiest thing to do. Markets have their moments, at the beginning they can be expensive and then they get cheaper. Let’s see what happens this time. If the powerful teams take a long time to close their squad, it’s logical that those of us who are at a lower level will also take a long time to do so’.