1 month ago
Luis García was “super cool”, he says. That, astatine least, was nan plan, but things person a wont of moving retired differently. When nan erstwhile Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool subordinate retired successful 2016, it was nan 2nd time: he walked retired of nan crippled successful 2014 and walked backmost successful again six months later. But this time, he wasn’t going to beryllium affected. All that suffering and satisfaction, nan pressure, nan emotion: that was nary more.
“I was ever very competitory and erstwhile I had near football, I thought I wasn’t going to person those feelings I had before,” he says. “I still bask football, still play seven-a-side pinch my friends – each Saturday astatine 10am, Los Jareños Club de Futbol – but I thought I had mislaid that and it wasn’t coming back. In fact, I was trying to debar it; I didn’t want it. So erstwhile it happened, it amazed me. I didn’t expect shot to springiness maine that again. But location I was, crying.”
It was mid-February successful Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia, and nan players García was watching celebrating a historical triumph were his, nan emotion shared. “When I saw them jumping pinch joy, having been pinch them each day, sharing nan agelong journeys, from Malaysia to Vietnam and back, connected to Japan, and past saw them triumph I sewage that emotion again.” For nan first clip successful their history, nan Malaysian nine Johor Darul Ta’zim had reached nan quarter-finals of nan Asian Champions League, defeating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-2 connected aggregate. On Friday, they look Al-Ahli aliases Al-Duhail successful Jeddah. García will beryllium pinch them. He is their main executive.
It’s different, that’s for sure. A large responsibility, too. Which is why García sits connected nan chair astatine Atlético’s Metropolitano Stadium watching 2 of his erstwhile clubs lukewarm up pre-game and chatting astir his playing profession and a caller escapade aft it. When Barcelona come present successful nan Champions League on Tuesday nighttime he will person to travel it connected television. He will besides travel Liverpool against Paris Saint-Germain; though he travelled to Saudi Arabia connected Sunday nighttime and divides his clip betwixt Madrid and Malaysia, he doesn’t miss a crippled and nan relationship remains, nan effect profound.
García still plays for Liverpool’s legends squad – “the champion are astir apt Mark González and Fábio Aurélio, Stevie G [Steven Gerrard] ever plays well” – and says there’s thing rather for illustration getting backmost to Anfield. When he’s asked for his cleanable seven-a-side squad from each those he has played with, he comes up with: Victor Valdés successful goal,
Carles Puyol, Sergio Ramos and Sami Hyypiä astatine nan back, Gerrard, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández successful midfield and Ronaldinho up front. Until, that is, he cracks up and says: “Wait, that’s eight.” But still he refuses to return 1 out.
Istanbul is ever there, too. Asked astir his extremity against Chelsea successful nan semi-finals of nan Champions League successful 2005, nan consequence is immediate: “Yes, it went in.” And erstwhile he’s reminded of nan half-time team-talk successful nan last erstwhile Rafa Benítez wrote nan names up connected nan committee and personification said: “Boss, that’s 12,” he starts laughing.
“Someone told you that one, eh? It’s true, but location was a batch going on,” García says. “What astir sticks pinch maine is really Rafa handled it all. There was vexation astatine 3-0 down, but seeing really calm he was, really he reorganised us, bringing connected Didi Hamann to springiness america equilibrium and push Stevie further forward.
“That was really nan first extremity came and we believed. The 2nd arrived speedy and aft nan 3rd we breathed. And Jerzy Dudek had nan astir awesome nighttime of his life. I was down for nan sixth penalty. Stevie was fifth. I asked for one, kept insisting, but Rafa didn’t fto me.
“When I retired, I was relaxed, welcomed nan pause, but I had besides spent years getting fresh for different opportunities that mightiness originate successful football. I did a master’s pinch Uefa, a sporting director’s course, my coaching badges. Any qualification that was connected nan table, I took it. But I didn’t want to coach. I ever preferred nan business broadside of it to nan on-pitch worldly because I suffered a batch connected nan pitch.”
García nods towards nan pitch. “Tell maine I tin play now and I’m retired there,” he says. “But nan thought of being a coach, being nan different broadside of nan line, each that unit without being capable to personally effect nan game, didn’t appeal. Coaches ever show me: ‘No, but, you can’t ideate nan emotion erstwhile it comes off.’ Sure, but I didn’t want to person that feeling. Or much to nan point, I didn’t consciousness nan call, nan pull.”
“I had ever been funny astir things. I don’t cognize if I was different, but I played nan piano, nan guitar. I had started guitar astatine 15 and ever liked it: acoustic, past electrical successful a band.”
Any good? “Decent. Less truthful connected nan piano, though I sewage amended during nan pandemic. There were ever things to do, learn. I was fascinated by gadgets, caller technology, nan detonation of nan internet.
“I did magic. With [former forward] Santi Ezquerro astatine Barcelona we learned to do tricks together. Proper tricks, not conscionable cards: practising successful beforehand of nan mirror, making judge you do nan movements correct truthful you don’t get detected. I had conscionable ever been funny astir things. So, immoderate comes … ”
Of his move to Johor Darul Ta’zim, García says: “I was cool, relaxed moving pinch ESPN, but past twelvemonth I sewage a telephone to spell and meet Tunku Ismail Idris, nan crown prince of Malaysia, who is nan proprietor of nan club.”
On nan different extremity of nan line: Kiko Insa, who played successful Spain, but besides successful Belgium, Iceland, Latvia, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, wherever he had been for years. He had been astatine Oxford United, too. It was beautiful left-field, but that is nan measurement García likes it: his profession had closed successful Greece and Mexico; six months later he came retired of status to spell to Atlético Kolkata and past each nan measurement to Australia to play for nan Central Coast Mariners.
“I conscionable for illustration caller challenges, trying caller things, thing different, and this was one,” he says. “I went to spot nan prince and perceive to his ideas. It was spectacular. He’s very active, inquisitive. He’s beautiful bully astatine football. I saw him successful a crippled pinch [Robert] Pires and [Ludovic] Giuly, immoderate different erstwhile players, and he scored a belting goal. An assistance to me, too. He genuinely knows nan game, what he wants.
“ The nine has grown massively since [he re-established it in] 2013. He took Johor to 12 convention titles. Opta ranks america No 1 successful south-east Asia.
“Why me? I don’t know. He wanted personification pinch a past successful shot and a different vision, based connected what I person lived successful 3 different continents. There is activity to do, existent work. I spell each period for 10 days, 2 weeks. I’ve been learning for nan past year, knowing nan structure, person an input. I effort to find ways of implementing nan vision. How do we get there? What do we do?
“We’re getting 13,000 aliases truthful successful convention games, much for illustration 30,000 successful nan Champions League, nan biggest successful Asia, and we’re increasing that, building nan connection, nan community. We want group to travel and beryllium portion of it. There are schoolhouse visits, hospitals. Sponsors: Nike, Toyota. The sporting head looks astatine players, we recreation a batch together. I liaise pinch nan operations manager. There’s that position from nan places I person been.”
What is nan astir important instruction from Europe? “One of nan things done good successful England, which we person tried to emulate, is nan strength of nan work. We person 37 players, which is simply a immense number, but we play 70 games a year; 2 cups, nan league, nan Champions League. No 1 plays arsenic many. You request practically 3 teams erstwhile you activity connected that intensity, nan pace. We’re very methodical. People think: ‘Meh, you’re successful Malaysia … ’ But we person nan afloat structure: coaches, analysis, assistants, fittingness staff, dormant ball, digital. The imagination was successful place; I said these are nan things we person to do to get there.
“We play 3-5-2 and that doesn’t change, though you possibly person to accommodate successful nan Champions League, wherever nan level is higher and you can’t property nan same. At astir places a CEO wouldn’t beryllium progressive successful those conversations but, arsenic a erstwhile player, I am. Xisco Muñoz, who was astatine Watford and gets nan philosophy, is coach. The squad is international, pinch Malaysians who are playing very good and an academy that is winning practically each title.”
There are Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, Koreans, Portuguese, Spaniards, Argentinians, Brazilians, a Colombian, and nan erstwhile Wolves midfielder Hong Wan, from Croydon. Plus Arif Aiman – “the pearl of Malaysia”, García says. “Quick, bully 1 connected one, strong, scores goals, he could play successful Europe easily.”
Johor drew astatine nan weekend. It was nan first clip they had dropped points, 21 games into nan Malaysia Super League season, but they maintained their agelong unbeaten convention run: 105 games now, 3 disconnected nan world record.
“Malaysian shot is taking large steps,” García says. “It’s still a agelong measurement down Europe, but Kuala Lumpur are moving well, Kuching, Selangor … we each request those teams to improve. Malaysia only has 1 Champions League place. We person won nan convention each twelvemonth for a decade.
“We’re 4 games from nan longest tally successful history, we dream to scope nan cup last again and nan large situation for america this twelvemonth was nan Champions League. We sewage through, nan first clip a Malaysian squad sewage this far. Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, now Saudi: nan effort nan players make is titanic and erstwhile I saw what that meant to them, to everyone, I could consciousness nan tears.”
