Transcription
Although we are already immersed in the full World Cup dynamic here at Pizarritas, we are going to continue making time to talk about the most relevant topics of the Spanish League, and evidently, one of them is the arrival of Ñigo Pérez to the Villarreal bench. To start, guys, I would like to know your opinion and a small headline, because I understand that we all see it positively, that we are all optimistic, but at the end of the day, it is a very important leap for Íñigo, and surpassing what Marcelino García Toral was already doing for Íñigo and for anyone, well, it was evidently very complicated. It seems very exciting to me, honestly. I am very eager to see the new Villarreal of Ñigo Pérez. I believe he deserved to take a step forward in his career, and for Villarreal, his arrival seems like a breath of fresh air in every sense, which I think is necessary. I believe that Ñigo Pérez's experience in Villarreal will be very rewarding, both for the squad and also for the fans. Besides signing one of the best coaches in the league, you are planting the seed of a project that I believe will only grow. And it seems like a very difficult challenge to me as well, because Villarreal is coming off wins, they have been doing well, and well, Ñigi, with his first experience away from Vallecas, has to contribute to Villarreal continuing to grow, which I don't think has much room for growth. Today we are going to analyze with data, with data from Microsoft Billon Stats, how he can make the team grow, how he can fit in tactically, because there are common things, but also big and profound differences in style, and the squad should not change drastically, because at the end of the day, guys, this is not exactly a change of cycle, because with Marcelino things have worked really well. We all know that they fell out of the Cup prematurely and that the image in the Champions League has not been up to par, not of the expectations, of Villarreal's possibilities. We have to be critical in this regard, but I quite agree with Nauel that Marcelino has come quite close to the ceiling of points, continuity, and competitiveness. I think perhaps in terms of brilliance, of joy, something may have been missing. I understand that at the project level there could also be some wear and tear, and hence the decision to end the Marcelino era. The club is also asking for the issue of the youth academy, which is fundamental for the institution. So far, so good, but in terms of demanding results, it would not be a failure if next year Villarreal is not at this season's scoring pace with Marcelino. Nau, it is very difficult to achieve that already. But at the same time, people from outside say, "Hey, when Marcelino was here, we had a historic season in the league, and if you don't start well, it can lead to doubts." It's logical. It has even happened to Guardiola, that when he arrived at Bayern after Bayern won a treble, it's normal for the demands to be high. I think it would be good for Villarreal to mark that there is a change of cycle and that there is a change of policy in the market. Do you think there is? Honestly, I think it depends on what the team does in the market. The intention is to give first-team space to many players who are pushing from Villarreal B and the youth team, and I think for that there have to be a series of departures that, hey, really change the squad. I think Villarreal must strive to mark the change of cycle, to say, "Hey, what we have done is very good, and from here we want to do something different." I think that would help to lower expectations, and I think lowering expectations is always positive and always gives more time and more oxygen to a coach. That's how Villarreal is, I think, right? Also, giving that time and space to the coach they are looking for or with whom they are looking to make that change, make that turn. That's why I understand that the Íñigo era has everything to go well, that is, from the tools with youth players, with first-team players, with patience from above, as well as a team that, as we say, is coming off wins, but that will try to give a twist to that style of play. Yes, in fact, it would seem very intelligent on Íñigo's part. I consider him a super intelligent coach. It's a pleasure to listen to him in press conferences, it's a pleasure to talk to him about football. It would seem very intelligent on his part not to burn all bridges. I mean, even though this is a new page in Villarreal's book, there are things from the Marcelino model that can be leveraged, and I am convinced that he will maintain them. I was talking about the change of cycle because it's true that I think Villarreal detected that it was perhaps starting a trend that, if the ball didn't go in, could be dangerous for the club in terms of investment and salary mass. If you don't leave space for the youth players, in 5 years you won't be able to sell Jeremy Pino, Alex Baena, Pau Torres for Jorgensen, Nicolás Jackson, for the fortune you sold them for. And that's where things can get complicated. In fact, I think Villarreal has seen Sevilla's beards burn and has put its own to soak, because when you get into the top four, it's very tempting to increase the bet to stay there, because we always say every year, "Come on, someone can enter that top four and accompany Athletic, Barça, Madrid." and no one has achieved it, and in fact, those who have tried have ended up mortgaging themselves. So I think there Villarreal, with a lot of perspective and a lot of business sense. Evidently, you're not going to explain anything to the Ras family at this point in the movie. They have decided to anticipate a possible wear and tear, to re-channel what the institution's project should be, and I think for that they must assume control of those expectations, as you are saying, assume that Villarreal has to compete more in the Cup, that they have to do better in the Champions League, but that if next year Villarreal finishes sixth, then it is something quite normal and natural. And I think that in fact, the congregation that attends the Ceramics stadium can buy into this as the start of a project, especially because when you sign Ñigo Pérez, I think you are signing a project, you are not signing a coach for a quick fix. You have anticipated with Íñigo, and Íñigo in Vallecas has shown, I would say especially three things, Adri. He has shown himself to be capable of building very well-rounded teams, that are very well-positioned, that are competitive, that are always in the game. He is not the typical coach who has created a beautiful team in his elite debut and we have to see if it has continuity. No, no, no, no. He has created a well-conceived, mature, and well-managed team. Exactly. It's quite replicable elsewhere, isn't it? It's an author's team, but from a versatile author. Two, I have always loved how he has set up matches, and the players tell you this today. Look, we ran into Gerard Gumbau in the newsroom, we haven't asked him, he's one of Ñigo's favorites. Rayo's players tell you that Ñigo is the type of coach who tells you where the spaces will be and what you have to do to take advantage of them, and that's gold. And finally, and this is where there might be a change, the dressing room management. Rayo's is a family, he has managed it very well. I think he has used it as a lever to be ambitious with a club that sometimes seemed not to want to be, but here it is also true that Villarreal's is very different. I'm not saying Villarreal's dressing room is bad, I'm saying that there is no other like Vallecas's right now in the Spanish League. IGO Pérez already knows what it's like to inherit a good structure that was working and from there build his own. That is, he did it with Andoniola with the brief passage in between of Francisco, which didn't work, but he took advantage of Andoni's model, which he knew perfectly well, and used it as a starting point to build and do his own things within the team. And I am truly convinced that he will take advantage of Marcelino's model to, from there, with that competitive base, get his hands on it and give it his own stamp. That they are not so different. They are not so different in some ways, are they? It's curious because in a parallel world, Alex, right now Íñigo Pérez is the assistant coach of Liverpool in a parallel world where a work visa is given to you instead of taken away. Where there is no Brexit. Where there is no Brexit. It's incredible. That's how it is. Football and life take you down paths where you don't know, and now one is the coach of Liverpool and the other is of Villarreal, and that speaks to the talent of that coaching staff. Hopefully, that coaching staff, Ñigo Pérez's, will grow soon, but well, that's as far as we can read. Whoever needs to get the message will surely get it. Look, I don't doubt that he will adapt well, Alex, but for example, with Microsoft and Joh Stat data, we want to illustrate how they are two radically opposite teams. It has only been Ñigo's Rayo and Marcelino's Villarreal in terms of defense, attitude, height, and proposal. I would say here that we know one team, one team of Ñigo Pérez. So, I wouldn't even say it's his idea of defending, but Rayo Vallecano was one of the top teams in all defensive metrics when it came to recovering the ball, in the passes they allowed the opponent, fifth in pressures in the opponent's half, first in quick recoveries, and as we are seeing there, Villarreal was either last or second to last. So, these are two defensive attitudes that define everything about the team, or one of the teams that pressed the most and allowed the most. Yes, to be a team a little more, let's say, passive, right? To allow the opponent a little more, but within allowing the opponent a little more, they were setting a trap for the ball holder, right? Because an error was what then allowed Villarreal to attack with very few passes. And then Rayo, we saw them go very aggressively, very high, very intensely, especially I also liked this one about quick recoveries because they are the league's team that recovers the ball fastest after losing it. That is, in the seconds, in the 5 seconds after losing it, Ñigo's Rayo activated very quickly. It activated. Here we have the data ahead of Barça or Athletic, who have always prided themselves on that high press in recent years, which were our flagships, right? Within Spanish football, of the press, etcetera. And Rayo Vallecano, obviously, has been there. And I, guys, understand that we will see a Villarreal like this because, well, let's see, the profile of the forwards might lean a bit, but I, for example, understanding that Villarreal will sign someone in midfield, like Pap Gay, for example, I can imagine him quite well in that role, and Comesaña, who was at Vallecas. Of course, of course. Yes, yes, fitting in wonderfully. Yes. I was checking the stadium in Vallecas measures 100 by 65. I was checking how much the Ceramics stadium measures because it doesn't seem like the Camp Nou, it also seems like a quite reduced stadium in that sense, 105 by 68, meaning there isn't much difference. It can be narrowed a bit more. It can be narrowed a bit, perhaps. Of course, maybe you can move it a bit towards the sideline, right? To make the field a bit narrower, but I think we will see a recognizable Villarreal from that way that Ñigo wanted his team to be proactive even without the ball, that is, to be an uncomfortable team, that doesn't immediately retreat, but wants to steal the ball high up. For example, I know we'll get to specific names later, but the name of Carlos Romero fits very well for me at left-back, where I think my doubt here, guys, is because part of what I focus on is the management aspect because they have told me about Íñigo P as a manager, they tell me about a guy who takes his work very seriously, very sentimental. If that was a family, he was the head of the family, right? So every problem, every situation, he took it upon himself. Of course, at Rayo, Álvaro, Isi, De Frutos, and the other forward who used to rotate, are players who are soldiers when it comes to pressing. And if Palazones is a kamikaze, Álvaro, more of the same. Of course, if you want to establish that, Adri, Pap Gay and Comesaña will surely accompany the defenders too. But Nicolá Pep, you have to convince Nicolá Pep, Alberto Moleiro, and let's say Gerard Moreno and Mikautadze that the moment they lose the ball or a teammate loses it, they have to react immediately to press. And I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying that with Marcelino it was the opposite, and that it's much easier to convince, because besides, they were already convinced with Iraola, the players they had in Vallecas, compared to the ones they have now in Villarreal, because yes, it's modern football, teams know they have to press, but if one of you negotiates the effort, if another thinks about it a bit, they will tear you apart. Well, that's the challenge that Íñigo has, one of the challenges upon his arrival at Villarreal, convincing this group of another way of playing. We know that when there's a change of coach, the squad, as a general rule, perks up and says, "Oh, let's see what this one will tell me, I want to earn a spot." And players who might have had so much prominence with Marcelino might want to take advantage of Íñigo's arrival to convince the new coach that they can play more. So I think, I quite believe it from the management perspective of Íñigo, based on what he did in Vallecas. It's a different challenge, it remains to be seen, but I would say that I am optimistic in that regard as well. I would say that there are many more gaps in the Villarreal squad than we are currently seeing. I find it hard to think that Papi will stay next season. I think it's time to let a player like him go. I think he has completed a cycle. I think Villarreal's midfield needs ball-managing profiles that it doesn't have. Well, yes, the name Unai López has been mentioned a lot. Well, we've already seen Macía debut, but he's 17 years old and he seems green to me. Yes, a renewed one. No, no, but but I mean that they are looking for him because they are market names that have been mentioned for Villarreal. Last summer, Nau, the name of Alexis García was mentioned, I don't know to what extent it was probable, who in the end was a player who filled that role. So, for me, this Villarreal, because this Villarreal with Marcelino, I think it has had a problem, it's that I don't think it has been noticed in the league, but there have been situations in league matches and especially this has happened in the Cup and in the Champions League where positional attacking has been a struggle, meaning it was a team that on the counter-attack, and let's look at the numbers, Villarreal's counter-attack was incredible. We had a great time because Villarreal was a team that when it struck the first blow, it scored the 1-0 quickly, it unleashed its prime and scored three goals in a moment. It did this, for example, to Rayo Vallecano itself. Leader in goals on the counter-attack, leader in goals from direct attacks, third in progression speed, a very vertical team. It worked very well on the counter-attack, and it's important that Ñigo also maintains this, but in return, Nau, it has been very noticeable that Dani Parejo has played a testimonial role, and that Gerard Moreno, until the last part of the season, could barely participate with continuity. I think that for this midfield, I don't know if Alexis, I don't know if Milla, who looks like he's going to Arabia, I don't know if another player of that profile, but that role has been left vacant because, moreover, Thomas Party, who could have been something similar, well, he has been a complete disaster. Yes, it's likely they need a very consolidated starter. I think perhaps it's the only signing for immediate performance that we see this summer for Villarreal, and then see if Macía is ready for the first team, and if not, look for some kind of complement with another young player. And then there are a series of X-factors that we don't really know what to expect from them. Terrat was a signing by Quique Setién at the time, and he only played at Villarreal with Setién when he left. Well, the loan at Getafe was very positive. I think the one at Espanyol was less than we expected, also because of what it meant for him to return to Espanyol. In defense, there is a tremendous amount of doubt because Logan Costa and Cambol have played very little this year and were starters, apart from the fact that a lot of money has been invested in the position of Juan Foyd's problems. In goal, I don't think there is anyone indisputable, and I think all three have good arguments to think that they want to leave or that the club will want them to leave. Having Gerard Moreno and Joselu Pérez with very similar virtues and defects in terms of continuity, I think it should raise some questions. So, at Villarreal, there is that concern of not repeating mistakes that have cost Valencia and Villarreal many disappointments, like overloading the salary mass, investing a lot of money in players who then perhaps don't work out and you don't know how to get rid of them. So, I think in that regard, I think it's very important to have a coach who is not a slave to his ideas and who can adapt well to what the market offers him. I think for this, Marcelino is a more rigid coach, and in that regard, I understand that Íñigo can fit in very well, that he can adapt to what he has left in terms of established players and in terms of players that the sporting director believes have first-team potential. In fact, that's why we mentioned Papi Gay, it's not that Papi Gay's cycle at Villarreal has ended due to performance, but because he is likely in the summer where his valuation will be highest and where, due to this change, not a change of cycle, you can operate in that way. He already arrived, I think it was in a winter with 30 million, but it was a somewhat complex situation. He is a player that Villarreal has always known how to sell this type of player. In return, you would have to bring another one. I have a doubt, you haven't mentioned it, Nau, but the position that I think changes the most between what we have seen of Marcelino's Villarreal and Íñigo's Rayo is the right-back. Why? Because Villarreal always built with three, with this formation where the right-back was low, sometimes Foyth, sometimes in his day it was even Pau Navarro, Altimira, no, Kiko Femenía, sorry, last year Kiko Femenía was also there a lot. Of course, Freeman, of course, these are profiles that are perfect for Marcelino at right-back, but with Íñigo, the full-backs have had a direct path, a clear road. It's ironic because Rúben, until last summer, was partly owned by or well, Villarreal had a part of him, not anymore. But that's an issue for me because Carreras fits incredibly well, and I think he can provide magnificent performance. He also has a bit of Pedri's style in terms of cutting inside and repeating efforts, but at full-back, sorry, what did I say? Carreras, Carreras, no, Carlos Romero, but right-back. There I really don't see anything replicable. That's a position where I understand that if Íñigo wants to build offensively like he built his Rayo, they will have to sign because Mourinho is a center-back, because I like Freeman more in defense than in attack, I don't know. Yes, possibly there they will have to invest for Villarreal to look for a more Íñigo-profile full-back. When I said at the beginning that it seemed like a very good opportunity for both parties, especially for Villarreal, because it's a breath of fresh air, I said it because now that you've highlighted things about the style, I think the feeling is that Marcelino's Villarreal, within the success it has achieved with Marcelino in the league, became comfortable within its way of playing. The team became comfortable and stopped growing in other phases of the game that cost them dearly, especially in the Copa del Rey and in the Champions League. That day against Pafos, it was a totally sterile positional attack, the team didn't know what to do with the ball. So, I think that's where Ñigo Pérez can also shake things up from the tactical board and make the team grow in other phases. Yes, especially to see a different image, right? Of a Villarreal that we understand has one of the best attacks in the league, which has been the case in terms of numbers, but in certain situations it seemed like they couldn't quite break down the door, right? When they faced a block that perhaps had their position very controlled. I remember a match in Vitoria against Deportivo Alavés this season, what a Friday night match, the goal by Nicolá Pepé, right? Yes, indeed, Nicolá Pepé's goal, where Bill Kowski, the Alavés center-back, almost scored an own goal. And in essence, of course, these are matches that Villarreal fans will have in their memory saying, "Wow, it's not happening, it's not happening, it's not happening." It's a margin, it's a large margin for improvement that he has there. Of course, he has a very large margin for improvement, and within Ñigo's inexperience, he will now have to solve a different puzzle because there is one thing that is common between how Villarreal attacked or used to attack, and how Rayo attacks or used to attack, and that is verticality. Look, in the end, Villarreal started from very deep, and Rayo, when Rayo was better, started from very high up. In fact, that's why it happened in Strasbourg, that's why against Palace they could hardly compete. The recovery height. Of course. Here we see with Marcelino, second in direct attack, second in counter-attacks, fourth in progression to the opponent's goal in meters per second. Ñigo is fourth, fourth second. That is, he is a coach who also wants to combine quickly vertically. He is not a coach, I don't know, of more possession. It's true that it's positional play, but it's always very vertical positional play, always very electric, with long passes, making the field very wide. As I said, he constructs attacks in a different way, the width is given by different players, Rayo has even played without a clear striker, and with Marcelino there are always two forwards, but the essence of seeing a Villarreal again in attack with the capacity to be rock and roll, I think that will be maintained. what can be done in one pass, not in two or three, basically, right? Not to chew too much. Yes, yes. Not to chew the plays excessively, because we have seen that Ñigo's Rayo, when it had the ball, it was to attack, to progress directly, and its way of dominating was by responding through pressing and intensity and giving a lot to the attack, feeding it, putting a lot of coal into the attack so that you arrive as soon as possible and can recover and be up there and set that rhythm that I hope we will also see at the Ceramics. That's where Villarreal made a mistake when they wanted to introduce Quique Setién and Pacheta. I think they looked for a very radical change. It's clear that what has worked best for Villarreal lately has been something more pragmatic, more vertigo, more killing on the counter, pressing high up, of course. I think now more or less everyone presses very high up, but well, Unai Emery and Marcelino, right? And at Villarreal, there is a conviction that the path to follow is something more similar to what Pellegrini was in his day. Of course, in his day, 20 years have passed. I think Íñigo is a good hybrid. I think we need to take steps in that direction and not make such a radical U-turn as was made back then. Well, I hope Íñigo does very well, I hope those market doubts are resolved positively, and I hope we see a Villarreal capable of doing more with the ball when it can't run, but running just as well. That's the challenge. Of course, it's very difficult because we insist, we could understand or we can understand the decision that Villarreal made with Marcelino, we can understand it. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that Marcelino's work has been spectacular and that he has set the bar really high. We will soon do more analysis of new coaches on new benches, even some who are staying, as is the case with José Bordalás with Getafe, but we wanted to start this, let's say, beginning of the 2627 League with this new Villarreal of Íñigo Pérez.