Juan Cortescoach of Managuaattend Diario As at the best moment of the leading team in the tournament Closure from Nicaragua. After five disputed dates the team has added 15 points and presents its candidacy for the title. Throughout the interview, the coach from Jaén describes his style of play, his experiences over ten years and his desire to train the Real Jaen sometime. In addition, he gives his opinion on the way forward for Nicaragua at selection level and its exit from alliance.
What balance do you make of your first months in Managua?
– It has been a few very good months where a great job was done in many aspects and was backed by good results as well. At the level of results I think we have played 21 games in total in 6 months of which we have won 15, I think the numbers are very good and that makes everything better. We hope to continue along this line and be able to achieve the sporting objectives set.
Could you have imagined achieving such a good run of results at this start of the Clausura tournament?
– Well, the truth is that we work for that, to maintain positive dynamics for as long as possible and yes it is true that it is not easy to win so many games in a row and having such strong rivals but for that we will prepare, to play each game as a final. The important thing is to continue adding three at the same time to continue improving and growing as a team so that when bad times come we are prepared. The tournaments are decided in May and now this streak of good matches is anecdotal.
“This streak of results is anecdotal”
Which teams do you see as the main rivals in the final part of the tournament?
– Historically, the teams that always fight for the titles are Diriangén and Real Estelí. In recent years, Managua has taken a step forward, thanks to the great management of President Engineer Denis Salinas, who led the institution to continue growing and fighting hard for tournaments.
What are your main arguments as a coach? How do you describe his style?
– I really like a combinative style of play, long possessions, being protagonists with the ball, intense losses with very high pressure, in general I like an offensive team and very organized in all phases. It is true that one has to have different variants and several plans since, like everything in this life, you have to adapt to the environment, the context you have and the players. One thing I like to highlight is the ambition, attitude and commitment that everyone around me has to show. I am very demanding with myself and therefore also with others. Attitude in life can never be missing.
Nicaragua at the national team level has improved in recent years, do you think it has a long way to go to get closer to rivals like El Salvador or Honduras?
– At the national team level, I do believe that they still have a long way to go and they must establish a project with clear objectives in order to get closer to other reference national teams. They have good human material, but there is a need to improve in many aspects from the level of facilities to a serious long-term project. Now it seems that they are starting a good project that we hope goes well for the good of the country and is backed by everyone so that they can grow.
What feeling did you have after being dismissed in Alianza?
– The truth is that I felt bad but with a clear conscience. They took me out with 11 wins in 15 games so you can already see that it wasn’t for anything sporting. There were different non-sports situations that occurred at the level of demand for certain key players, at the level of proposals for changes that they did not want to assimilate and were not supported by the board. My perception is that I wanted to implement changes for the future growth of the club in several areas and they did not like the proposals. If you want to grow and transcend and the board supports these changes, you have a lot of room for improvement, but Alianza is comfortable because what they have is enough to fight for the title always in El Salvador, they are in a kind of comfort zone all levels and what I wanted was to go little by little giving the change to compete well in Concacaf. The time will come that if you do not renew and innovate you will stop having that domain. But it remains as one more experience in my career and learning.
When you started as a coach in Jaén, did you already have in mind such a varied route in countries like Thailand, Paraguay, Mexico…?
– I didn’t think at all that I was going to have a route like this, I was little by little making decisions on the fly based on the opportunities. It is true that I realized that being such a young coach, growth was going to be very complicated in my city due to the saturation of coaches, so I decided to go abroad to grow and gain experience and I have been there for more than 10 years, what is said soon
Do you have any experiences outside of football that you particularly remember in any of these countries?
– I have many experiences, some good and others not so good, since in these years I have had the opportunity to travel to more than 55 countries, either for work, to give a conference or for tourism. I remember in Thailand a trip I made, to go to an island, for 10 hours on a boat where I had to sleep on the floor of the deck and I still remember it, because we had disastrous weather conditions. In Japan and China I found myself with a language barrier and a major cultural change and that creates many funny situations. I would have for a book of anecdotes.
Would you like to return to Spain to train or for the moment do you prefer to stay abroad?
– Without a doubt, I would like to return at some point, I wouldn’t know when but I would like to. It’s a little thorn since I was only able to spend a year there and I would like to return but it would have to be a project that motivates me and is serious. I have had many experiences in football and I like serious and well-planned things. Either those conditions or the team of my life that is Real Jaén. For Real Jaén, I would return at any time they asked me to. I would never say no to Real Jaén.
