Former Sevilla, Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui has explained that in his view, football is like a circus, but denied lying to the media as part of his job.
The Europa League-winner has been out of work since leaving Wolves at the start of the season, and was heavily linked with Milan in recent weeks, as they look to replace Stefano Pioli. The reaction of Milan support has not been positive though, and the Rossoneri have reportedly changed their minds on the Basque coach. Diario AS say that Lopetegui is disappointed with Milan, having turned down other offers in expectation of the job at San Siro.
In a recent interview with Sid Lowe for ESPN, the Milan job was not discussed, but Lopeteguin give a number of interesting insights into how a manager deals with the press, beginning with whether maangers lie as part of their media duties.
“No. I tell you what I think most helps my team. Sometimes I could be nicer. Sometimes I could give more of a headline. But the ideal headline for me is that my team has won. And with time you learn better how to manage all the games that are played. Sometimes your message is for your team, sometimes for the environment around it. Sometimes there is a message you want to deliver.”
Lopetegui also admitted that at times, coaches are hoping particular questions will come their way in order to deliver that message.
“Yes, sometimes and if not, you find a way. You get to Rome via Galicia! A donde vas, manzanas traigo. [Where are you going, I bring apples: a Spanish phrase that means you respond to a question with something else entirely]. Sometimes you’re conscious of the headline they want, and they ask the same thing seven different ways to get there. But you don’t want to give it. You know that you can say 99 things that are interesting or useful but that one thing is what they will use. You have to be responsible for who is listening to you.”
However the entertainment aspect and the intense attention can sometimes lead to distractions.
“Football is like a circus. There are lots of rings. We’re all under the same big top, but there are different stages. The coaches are the ones with our heads in the lion’s mouth. And if we look elsewhere, if we allow our attention to be drawn to the other rings, that lion is going to eat us. You have to focus on what’s there. We’re all under the same roof. I understand a journalist’s job but I know that the view is different.”
“We both look at the same river but you’re looking at it from one bank, I’m looking at it from another. Your responsibility and mine are different. If I have the lion’s jaws around my neck and I look across at…”
At this point, Lowe suggested that the journalists were the clowns in the circus metaphor.
“I’m not saying clowns! Besides, what I most like are the clowns. If I look at the trapeze artists, the lion is going to bite my head off.”
Lopetegui had a particularly difficult time of controlling the message towards the end of his time at Sevilla, as the tide of discontent rose, but still has yet to dissipate, four managers later. As he says, experience has allowed him to play those games better, and no doubt there is a part of him that would’ve preferred to have had it when he took the Real Madrid job, where the circus is loudest and brightest.
For the full interview, click here.
