Once upon a time, in the 1960s, a child was playing in the streets of Montevideo...

Our school was the home we had in front of the Salesians’ school. We considered the school as a second home, because we used to play here and there. We used to play football mostly, taking advantage of all the possibilities offered by a building like this. It was also possible to learn the trades of shoemakers and mechanics, thanks to which there were always a large number of people, there was always a very dark theater open with its mysterious curtains, and there we were, who was going to do the greatest mischief. That was our playground, that and the street back then. There were far fewer cars on the road and you could walk the ball at your feet on the sidewalk at will. He has to learn all the tricks that are and are not street footballers, and if that were not enough, the competition is in his blood. Nowadays, life and customs have changed a lot, but it is useless to talk about the seasons, each one has its peculiarities and that’s it. The children of today have many points of attention such as the computer, the MP4, or the television. We played football because there was no other choice.

So was it just a game for you or did you see football as a possible livelihood?

I was a good student, a blessed student, and I got very good grades up to the 4th grade of the Secondary. But since I was diagnosed with hepatitis that year, I had to miss the year, and if I were to move forward, I was forced to pass all the lessons in a very short period of time. By then, I was doing pretty well in football, and this incident of life made me feel a certain break from my studies. After that, I kept learning, but it wasn’t the same. I didn't have the curiosity and passion until then. For this reason, when the possibilities of being a first-class footballer appeared, the balance was unbalanced to the detriment of the studies. But I think it’s essential that today’s footballers shape themselves beyond football. I believe that studies develop the ability to absorb information and make quick decisions, which is very useful for football. In the real world there are tools to play football better. That’s why I try to make sure that my players have areas of concern and interest in life, if it’s just a matter of learning a language or taking a computer course, don’t stand still looking at their navel.

As an Andean father, what was your relationship with the Basque Country as a child?

The late father has always spoken to us with love about his land, I have never felt the pain of his departure. In those years, coming here was an expedition, everything was longer, everything more expensive. But my father made us pass on a lot of information during our childhood and adolescence and I regret that I did not manage to capitalize on that information. I could learn more than I could. However, unlike most of my friends, I knew that there was a world that led a different way of life to the other side of the sea. When the guys from here came to visit us, a huge paraphernalia was set up in the house and they told us, “The guys from Europe are coming!” Then, as I grew older, and looking at my uncles’ clothes and lifestyle, it always seemed to me that since my father had made a mistake, things had improved a lot in the Basque Country, and vice versa, in Uruguay we had gone back quite a bit.

I have read in many media that you seem to be from here beyond your South American origin.

In 1983, I had a teammate who played for ten years in Elche and knew the golden age of Real Sociedad, who didn’t know me at all, and in the first training he threw me “you are Basque!” I felt it immediately when I looked in my face. I don’t know how denentz is, but it is true that many of the customs of the Basque Country have always had a place in my life. For example, with my father we often went to watch ball games, at home we ate potato omelette and hake in green sauce, every day I saw my father Elosegi go out into the street wearing a hat... Our father was “El Vasco” in the neighborhood, and since I had been here I needed very few days to adapt. But still, the first thing I did when Real signed me was to go back and forth in San Sebastian. I watched what and how people ate, what they talked about, what their habit was, and every time I heard something about the Real Sociedad, I tried to stretch my ear. I think it is essential to breathe the social environment and make it your own.

A good lesson for those who consider football a bubble.

To convey an idea you have no choice but to convince your peers, and if most of your peers are local, speaking in local keys is the shortest way to convince them. For example, I knew my language would be striking, but I was very clear about what Real was and what it should be. I was clearer than anyone where we had to push. Until recently I have been a prisoner of tactics, but time has shown me that there are more important fields than tactics. Persuasion is the method of success. If the players are convinced, everything is easier, no matter if you play with five strikers and without a goalkeeper. To convey conviction, however, it is essential to get out of the bubble and have real information about the social environment.

Is the pressure real?

Yeah, but it's one of the rules of the upper level game, and if you don't accept it, you're having a party. Football will be the largest multinational in the world, and beyond the frustrations and interests it generates, we need to learn to live with everything around us. I know that sometimes it's hard to get out of training by chance and have 20 journalists and 50 kids waiting. But you can't forget that when you retire, you can miss what's bothering you now, and then it'll be too late. The wave will be over us all, that’s why it’s up to us to enjoy the foam, so that when we look back in a few years, we can have a warm memory of the foam. The key to this is naturalness, living things as they come.

What is naturalness in a world where players and the press can throw the coach?

To be honest, to give each one the information that corresponds without deception. If everyone does their job well, there is no problem, no matter how red the situation is. The press has never harmed me more than I have criticized myself.
I am sure that those who exalt me today will exalt me tomorrow, just as those who exalt me yesterday will exalt me today. The same with the players. I know that if a player does not have faith in the project and in the work he is doing, he can boycott and sabotage the coach in the same way that when he has blind faith he can face the coach. That’s why the work of the Equilis is ours, that’s where the difficulty lies. In my case, I can’t rebuild my family core because I’m always looking forward to what happens next Sunday. It is impossible to build a balanced lifestyle based on results. But that's the way it is and you have to live with it. The decline can begin at any time.

Maybe because society has a passionate relationship with football?

Games have always had an important place in society, and today, football for many is the most vital way of breathing and escaping that society has. Moreover, if there were problems in some localities, if there were no such passion, football would not even exist. But it is the passion that drives people to football en masse, and it is this mass that makes football come to life. When Markel Olano thanked us for inspiring people in times of crisis during the ascent celebration, I thought football was similar to the Roman circus. But yes, it is true that football has the ability to distort and exclude reality to the point of trying to cover everything with a victory. Everything in the world is politics and as politicians like to appear with the winners, when things go well everything looks smiling and with good eyes, and when it goes wrong, the smiles turn into slaps.

What is a good coach for you?

A
person capable of transmitting persuasive ideas that, under the leadership of a group, will carry out the collective objective. Have a passion for what you do, be tolerant of frustrations, accept both the criticisms and the ups and downs of competitiveness, and contribute to the professional and personal growth of your environment on a daily basis. It takes a lot of work for me to prepare for training and conferences. I read a lot and I write down ideas as I read them so that I can use the most appropriate words according to the opponent and the moment. Sometimes I pose a simple fable or situation to the players, sometimes a more fanciful discourse. It’s been a while since I’ve been told that without opening my mouth the players are at the point. But the good coach has to constantly think “where are we?”, “how?”, “where are we going?”, “for the wind or against the wind?”, “what is expected of us?”... You have to walk every day to adjust, adapt, correct your main idea. You should always extend absolute certainty and consistency, but also always have plan B ready. It's not as easy as it sounds.

Working with people is always difficult.

But we are all people, from the star of the group to the one who cleans the clothes. I often tell players that collaborators are collaborators and not slaves. Why do they have to add the empty bottles that we throw on the floor? Why don't we leave all the petos piled up close to each other? Do we have to be throwing the balls away because others are picking them up? No, no, we're all people here, and we're all team members. That is why, in every decision, I consider the person. I am aware that, depending on the time and mood of his life, if I explain this delirium wrong, I can sink him for a while. I always try to know the personal and private situation of my players. Whoever has self-esteem in the sky as a person will also have it as a footballer and vice versa. Imagine, last year I saw a bad player, he didn’t play one in front of him, and when I approached him and asked him what he had, he answered that his grandmother was in a hurry. Our dressing room is not a wall, but a door that is always open to those who have something to say. I’m also a former player, and I’ve long since broken the path that those I currently have under my command are breaking. I know what you can feel, and I know that my trade is based on human relations.

That is to say, that one acts as one lives.

Although the world is increasingly globalized and more uniform, no doubt. Why do you think the game of Brazilians brings joy, samba, sun and beach? Why is the game of the Argentines and Uruguayans more sad, gray, complicated by the rains and clouds, of the rhythm of the tango? The coach can put his hand in, but the natures are the natures, and since we are not God’s, we can only help players become better professionals. For example, I regret to deny a part of my life as a player. I lived too close to my profession, for which I condemned my wife. There was no night, no exit and no outside meals. Everything was clean eating, resting, partying, training... That’s great, but life is unique, it gives you time for everything, and you have to know how to take advantage of everything. You always have to live to the fullest both at work and outside of work.