EU coach Olot. A lover of challenges, Sallent has accepted one that stands tall. He takes the team with all the enthusiasm in the world, convinced that there are ingredients for optimism. His landing is not the result of chance; he admits that he had been dancing for a long time in a club like Olot.
Pick up the phone on the way to Sant Antoni de Calonge. Gabri Garcia (Sallent, 1979) has settled there. The family has had a house there for years and, an hour away from Olot, it is more comfortable than going up and down Barcelona. He talks about the challenges he has faced as a player and coach, declares his admiration for the way the club has just opened the door for him and shows his faith in salvation. He dresses it up with his close relationship with cycling, reviewing the technicians who have gone through it throughout his career as a professional.
I have heard him tell his colleagues at Ràdio Olot that he has just accepted the most important challenge of his career. Do you like challenges?
Yes, as always. As a player, I left Barça, the club of my life, to go to Ajax, to live an adventure abroad. As a coach I have always had challenges. I left the Barcelona youth team in the middle of the season to try my luck in Switzerland. And with Andorra, it was not at all easy to move up from Primera Catalana, when the leader had many more points than us. The one in Olot is the same. It’s interesting to have.
A challenge or also shit, seeing that the team is down in the standings.
The idea is to get it out of there and I think we can do it, I’m pretty clear on that. I’ve been thinking for a long time that Olot is a club I like. Where he saw me. Ever since I wanted to be a coach I had in mind being part of such an entity. It’s crap at the classification level, but not in terms of the people who are part of it, not by a long shot.
It arrives alone. Impose?
Sun is harder, of course. He had always worked with Albert Jorquera, but this time, although he wanted to get involved, due to circumstances he could not. I arrived alone but I don’t feel it at all. Olot makes me feel comfortable. I am surrounded by competent people who are eager to work.
What do you have to do to get started when you arrive at a club that wants to get out of the pit?
When we get to a new club, all the coaches do it with the best of intentions. Some even claim to have the recipe to save themselves. It’s about changing a few things. The day to day, the routine. You need to give it a spin. On a mental level, above all. Retouch some things when it comes to football, improve some aspects. For example, we are getting weaker.
What certainly shouldn’t change is the attitude of the group.
No, nothing. This is very satisfying and rewarding for a coach who enters a locker room again. The players are receptive, eager. They compete to the fullest even though the results don’t come out. I thank them. To them and also to the club staff.
Now the most important thing is the result or do you also need to pamper the way you play?
Everything is tied, we must not separate it. Of course now we want to win, add three by three. But everything has to go hand in hand. I always think of my teams because one thing leads to another. We are playing well as a team, now we need to see in points and results.
Does Olot already have a style of play that resembles what you like?
Yes. When I arrived I already said that I wanted to give continuity to what is being built. There are things very well done. I want to continue with that base. We all have our own way of working and I will bring my nuances, but without making big changes.
He played for Barça for many years and then for Ajax. Two clubs with similarities in terms of style. Is it reflected in your teams and do you want it to happen with Olot as well?
Of course, all of this has influenced me quite a bit. And it goes a long way in how this team wants to play. Being associative, brave, creative, going on the attack. Olot had already assimilated this style. I like to continue it, as I said, with those things that have given me the experiences as a player.
He spoke before of a weak team. Now the priority is to improve the numbers on defense?
Yes, it is one of the aspects that we need to improve. They will score more goals for us, for sure. We must try to keep the figure as low as possible. We also need to correct the issue of the stopped ball.
So far the team has strengthened in the winter market. Does it make a positive balance?
Yes, I am very happy. Three interesting players have come who will bring youth and many other things. There are three signings, one per line. Everything is more balanced and there is more competition in the staff. We want everyone plugged in.
When did you realize you wanted to be a coach?
It was more towards the last stage of football. In Switzerland I suffered injuries and when you are an age and you are more outside than inside, you look at it from another perspective. Still active I started training until I put it on a scale and preferred to continue with the courses and stop playing.
Which coach has influenced you the most?
I tell the players that many of them will one day want to be coaches, as happened to me. And that they may not like all or nothing of each of the technicians they will have. It is impossible. During this time, let them stick with what they think is best. It happened to me with everyone.
So Louis Louis Gaal wasn’t just calling right and left?
I had really good stuff! He was demanding, very honest in the effort. Some take tactical concepts, others their dressing room management. It’s a mix of it all.
Have you already had time to grab your bike?
Not yet! I hope to be able to do it tomorrow (today for the reader). It’s a sport that makes me feel really good.
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