The Asturian coach sat with Jorge Valdano to chat for an hour about plenty of aspects of his career. A good part of the conversation was about his initial sensations as the Athletic Club coach, a team he arrived to in January.
“We can’t be more grateful as a coaching team for those first days of work, that were great. The help they gave us was just amazing“, said Marcelino regarding the gameweeks after his arrival to Bilbao. A change of scenary as a result of a rapid decision: “I’ve never taken a decision so rapidly in my career. In that moment we thought it was the only opportunity to coach Athletic. And ofrtunately we took the right decision“.
the great success of the ‘Supercopa de España’ was an incredible impulse. “The players gave us the chance of winning another title. I told them: “Guys, you’ve made us the happiest people in the world. I spent 16 years without winning a title and in 16 days you made me win one“, said Marcelino, who told Valdano some other key things about the team’s performance: “My perception, after three months of work with those players, is that they truely respect the coaching staff and team, the work, the institution, the club… I think that comes in hand with the club’s roots, they believe in the team and feel attached to them since they were kids“.
Apart from going through several other moments as a coach, Marcelino also talked about the coaches that were a reference for him: Arrigo Sacchi and Rafa Benítez. “I coincided with Sacchi in the UEFA Cup knockout stages when I played for Sporting. The progression and game style of the team surprised me. On the other hand I identified Rafa as a coach that, without being a former succesful player, he achieved plenty of things through hard work. We have a very good relationship, we keep on talking and think alike“.
