Marcelino García Toral is once again the protagonist in a reference football magazine. If a few months ago he had an important space in ‘So Foot’, this time it is ‘Onze Mondial’ -also a French publication- which dedicates a few pages to the Asturian coach and his method.
“The coach is the one who suffers the most in defeats.” This is how François-Miguel Boudet titles the conversation with Marcelino that appears in number 349 of ‘Onze Mondial’. “But it is also possible that we are the ones who enjoy the victories the most”, continues the coach during the interview.
Marcelino acknowledges that in his beginnings as a coach he found inspiration in the figure of Rafa Benítez. “When you are young you have less experience to solve difficult situations. With maturity, experience and analytical reasoning, you can find solutions, face each scenario”, he explains. “With very talented players, as was the case with Dani Parejo at Valencia or Iker Muniain today, we try to integrate them into the core of a collective idea. They must feel comfortable with the game we propose and with their teammates”.
In the interview, Marcelino highlights once again his admiration for Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan and Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona. For his current club, he only has good words: “We don’t know what will happen in the future. In Bilbao I am living an extraordinary experience. If they had told me 18 months ago that I was going to train Athletic, I would not have believed it”. A happy present and a future to write: “Before signing here, I considered going abroad to work. This is still an option in the medium or long term.”