The commentator of the channels Football1 / Football2 Kirill Krutorogov tells about the revolution in the Spanish national team, its new head coach and what will happen to the team in the near future.
If you ask the young fans of Real Madrid: who is the best defender of the team in history? The majority will confidently call Sergio Ramos. If this question is asked of those who are more experienced - the answer is "Fernando Hierro".
In the late 80's the natives of Andalusia, the brothers Hierro, were in Valladolid. Both acted in the center of defense. Senior, Manolo, signed a year later with Barcelona to not play a single match for the Catalans. Junior, Fernando, a year later moved to Real Madrid to become a legend of the Madrid club.
At the "Santiago Bernabeu" he spent fourteen seasons, a lot - in the status of captain, and won sixteen trophies. Including five league championships and three Champions League Cups. Playing on the position tsentrbeka, he managed to score in the example of seven to ten goals per season, and his most fruitful was the season 1991-92. , when Fernando 21 times struck the gate rivals. Not less useful and productive, he was in the Spanish national team - 89 matches and 29 goals. And in 2001, Hierro with the 21st goal scored for a while, even became the best scorer in the history of "Fury Roch"! This is without mentioning that with growth under meter-ninety and a mountain of muscles he was a wall in defense. But the main thing his weapon - the brain - instantly analyzing what is happening and deliberately taking the right decisions in a few moments.
Madrid he left at 35 to earn some money in Qatar Al-Rayyan and finish his career in Bolton. The seats in the structure of Real immediately for him was not found. But invited to the Royal Spanish Football Federation for the post of sports director. It was in 2007. On the eve of the big triumphs of the "Fury Roch", about which the Hierro-player only dreamed. In fact, his duties included the qualitative functioning of various national teams, communication between coaches and clubs, building a vertical from junior teams to the main. It is not necessary to say that this is a personal merit of the sportsman and only him, but at that time a serious rise in Spanish football began at the national team level, which led to numerous trophies not only of the first team but also of teams of different age categories, as well as the stable fantastic transition of football players on the steps from the youth to the top.
In 2011, Sheikh Al Thani bought Malaga and called Hierro for a leadership position in a very ambitious (in words) project. He did not refuse, because it was about the team in which he took the first steps in football. But quickly realized that in reality it is not a project, but a soap bubble, based only on populism. In 2014, he, finally, called the club, for which he did a lot - Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane left the post of assistant Ancelotti and headed Castile, and the vacant seat was taken by Fernando. Only for the season. Rafa Benitez asked him to stay at his headquarters, but he refused.
The only experience of the head coach was at the Spanish fire extinguisher team in Oviedo - the club of one of the richest people on the planet Carlos Slim. The emphasis is that, as in the case of Malaga Al-Thani, Hierro came to where he promised serious financial prospects. But the resources of the "blue", despite the possibilities of their owner, are very modest. So Hierro-coach for almost the entire season kept the team in the playoff zone for the place in the example, but at the end of the force exhausted, they rolled back into the middle of the table and there and finished, and the novel Oviedo and the legend of Real ended by mutual agreement of the parties. It is not entirely correct to make a projection of the Asturians' performance on the prospects of the Spanish national team under Hierro, but try to understand what kind of coach he was in this short time: in 42 Segunda matches the "Karabagh" were one of those who rarely painted a draw, missed and scored on 47 goals, 18 times having played on "zero" - that is, acted uncompromisingly and very pragmatically.
By the way, on the eve of the start of the selection for the World Cup, the Spaniard almost headed the Israeli national team - broke at the last moment. And so could I cross the group with my own. After Oviedo Hierro almost immediately returned to the post of sports director of the federation, which caused approval of the old-timers of the team - Ramos, Pique, Iniesta and Busquets.
When the president of the Spanish Federation, Luis Rubiales, began to throw lightning at the announcement of Hohen Lopetega as the head coach of Real Madrid, he nearly made him the scapegoat for Hierro himself, saying that he is the link between the entertainer and the officials, and here such a puncture, before it became public and produced the effect of an exploding bomb. In the corridors of the federation immediately zashushkalis, naming the name of the new sports champion - Jose Francisco Molina, ex-Atletico, Deportivo and many other teams.
But Fernando swears that he himself did not know about Lopetega's decision. Marca even published a video made in the evening before the announcement of Lopetega's dismissal: the sports director of the federation Fernando Hierro very impulsively communicates with the guilty entertainer, it seems that he is making claims to him, and he at first allegedly tries to justify himself, and then silently listens,.
Nineteen hours between the announcement of Real's Julien Lopetega head coach of the team and the statement of Luis Rubiales about his dismissal from the post of the Spanish national team was named the worst in the history of "Furia Rocha".
Despite the abundance of available free Spanish coaches, held and knowing what victory is like - Luis Enrique, the Federation officials decided to appoint Chief Fernando Hierro. The choice is logical, because Hierro, unequivocally, in the subject of everything that happens inside the team to the smallest detail, is integrated into the collective, recognized and respected by him. Reached very much as a player, and therefore is an example and has considerable authority as the same Zidane in Real Madrid, which even the most star players could not respect.
Lack of serious coaching experience is not seen now as a big problem - Fernando does not have time to change anything. In fact, the most important thing for him is to retain, not to destroy and not to break the accumulated and deceived Lopetegi. His concern now is to support, guide the players, slightly adjust the actions during the matches and the tournament, choose the composition, make decisions. A tangible impact on the training process and the game plans set by the predecessor should not be - hacking from the shoulder, showing his self, then being a negligent sapper and blowing up on the first mine.
Another thing is that the team was replaced not only by the head coach - her face and voice, but the entire coaching staff! And this can not but affect the workflow.
Together with Hierro, Spain's Hualien Calero (to be the assistant to the Chief), Juan Carlos Martinez (physical training coach) and Carlos Marchena (responsible for interaction with the Federation and organizational questions). Interestingly, the first two were previously assistants to Lopetega during his work in Porto, and Marchena recently entered the sports department of Seville with Paco Gallardo and Joaquin Caparros.
Very controversial was the first press conference of Fernando Hierro in a new position. But not because of him, but because of the words of Sergio Ramos, who also took part in it:.
"We do not recognize the decisions of Rubiales. But he has power, and he can decide. We, as players, decide on the field. We must turn this page over immediately. Although there are still moments in which there is nothing pleasant. Hullen was part of this project. I do not recognize the normal situation, but Spain must be above any individuality. Several people could occupy the vacant seat, and Hierro one of them ".
Rubilles himself said that the players will not sabotage his decisions:.
"Lopetega's explanation did not convince me. I listened to everyone, but this is my decision. As for the players, they are fully determined to hold the tournament well. No rebellion, with players all in perfect order. Fernando Hierro acted very decently, and the players gladly accepted him and told me that they will be for him a mountain "The most enthusiader" Fury Roch "could simply state:.
"We did not have time to change anything, but we know clearly what we need.
Clear idea and clear concept. And to change something in this situation is simply impossible ".
It is interesting that despite the numerous achievements of Hierro-football player, in the current Spanish national team there are guys who have achieved much more, including at the national team level. Fernando, when he was a player, participated in two world championships and two European championships, and all the time the "fury rocha" stopped in the quarter-finals. Maybe it's karma?.