[lfc-news] Adios, boot room, the Spaniards are taking over - Observer

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The Observer, 22 May 2005
Adios, boot room, the Spaniards are taking over
By Guillem Balague

Until the 1980s, when shipping-trade links between the countries
dwindled and died, there was an Anglo-Spanish society in Liverpool.
Nowadays the nearest cross- cultural organisation in the North-West is
the Cervantes Institute in Manchester. Maybe, though, there will be an
Anglo-Spanish revival on Merseyside, such is the level of appreciation
for all things Spanish at Anfield.

The Kop have songs of praise for Rafael Benítez, Luis García, Xabi
Alonso, Antonio Núñez and Josemi. And even Fernando Morientes, the
forgotten man of the Champions League because he is ineligible, has his
own song. The lyricists still have a way to go, though, if they are to
cover all the Spaniards on Liverpool's books.

When Liverpool hired Benítez, they did not only acquire a Spanish
manager, but a whole Iberian back-room team big enough to put to an end
the 'boot room' system of years past. Gérard Houllier had a largely
recognisable set of faces behind him - Phil Thompson, Sammy Lee, Joe
Corrigan. There were exceptions: Frenchman Christian Damiano had a year
at Anfield after replacing his similarly low-key compatriot Jacques
Crevoisier. But few outside Anfield can put a name to the key faces
behind Benítez.

At the end of Liverpool's semi-final victory over Chelsea, the usually
discreet Paco Herrera, who travels around scouting for players and
hardly ever crosses paths with the squad, was suddenly visible. Herrera,
who has taken on board the job of rebuilding the inadequate database of
potential transfer targets, could not stop himself rushing on to the
pitch to share with the players the overpowering joy of qualifying for
the Champions League final. As they walked off, he greeted every one
with almost embarrassing enthusiasm.

It is unclear exactly where Herrera fits in the hierarchy. Is he chief
scout or an assistant coach? 'He is my adviser,' says Benítez.

Herrera, a former player with Sporting Gijon and Levante, has coached
teams in the Spanish first and second divisions (Merida, Badajoz,
Extremadura) and his knowledge of European football, his reading of
games and his coaching talent, have proved an essential helping hand to
Benítez.

José Ochotorena is goalkeeping coach for Liverpool and the Spain team.
He, too, has a good relationship with the players and sometimes takes on
the role of agony aunt. Pako Ayesterán, who has worked with Benítez for
the past eight years, takes charge of training, looks after the physical
shape of the squad and also has a say in tactics. 'He is the best coach
I have ever had,' says one senior squad member.

Now that Thompson is back on the satellite rolling results programme
Soccer Saturday, Lee is free to concentrate on his work for England and
Corrigan is a peripatetic goalkeeping coach, the British influence comes
from Alex Miller, the former Aberdeen manager, who helps Benítez and the
team to understand the demands of a domestic competition that has taken
time to master, as well as playing a fatherly role with the
English-speaking contingent. Miller is a survivor from the old regime,
promoted to first-team coach from director of scouting. Benitez has
shaken up the whole club, restructuring every aspect behind the scenes.
He has been helped by the adulation of the fans, the success, at least
in Europe, of his first season in charge and, most important, the total
power offered to him by chief executive Rick Parry. But while he has
taken the headlines, he could not have achieved the first stage of the
transformation without the help of those he relies on in the background.
Even when the staff increases next season because of the excessive
demands on Herrera and Ayesterán, the former Valencia coach will try to
find someone with similar characteristics, despite the interest of old
Liverpool players in being part of probably the biggest revolution in
the recent history of the club.

'I am proud of our technical staff and thankful to them too,' Benítez
says. 'Paco Herrera is doing a very important job in the shadows. He not
only talks to agents and finds out about players, he chats to me about
tactics and analysis of games. Plus, off the pitch he has given players,
especially the ones coming from Spain, the confidence, the tranquillity
they sometimes lack. He is like a father to some.

'Ochotorena trains the goalkeepers, but he has a great personality and
also helps with the analysis of situations. Alex Miller gives us the
British point of view and a local vision of what we are doing. There is
a good harmony among us and I would include there the physios, doctors,
kit men, et cetera. It was going to be very difficult to be as
comfortable and happy as we were in Valencia, but I can certainly say I
have found another place that is treating us as well and that we are
enjoying as much.'

The long professional relationship with Ayesterán is one of the key
reasons for Benitez's success at Tenerife, Valencia and now Liverpool.
They have accumulated a wealth of information about training systems and
tactics. 'We are still open to anybody that can teach us new ways to do
things,' Benítez adds. 'Pako is very dedicated, very knowledgeable and
always learning. Without any doubt he is the best physical trainer there
is, and now he works here as an assistant manager, I place on him many
of the jobs I used to do at Valencia. I need to delegate as I am now the
general manager. Ochotorena, Herrera and the others get all sorts of
information and Pako Ayestarán is the one who gathers it all together
and gives it shape.'

The directors at Valencia used to complain that Benítez never stopped
asking for the latest computer, the newest software. Although he used
statistical analyses in rotating his Valencia team, it is not the
machines that hold the secret of his success but the humans next to him.

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