Unaï Emery interview for The Tactical Room Early this month, Emery gave a very long interview to Marti Perarnau for the Spanish magazine “Tactical Room”. He did explain numerous details about his two-year spell at PSG. The interview isn’t available for free but hopefully this PSG fan forum (Culture PSG) bought it and translated most of it into French. http://www.culturepsg.com/news/club/neymar-le-vestiaire-lasentinelle-psg-real-son-avenir-emery-s-est-confie/21127 I’ve translated it through Google Translate (I’ve checked it all and made sure the whole thing was coherent and conform to the French version Matthieu Martinelli translated from spanish). Honestly, this is one of the best interviews I’ve ever read. See the credits at the end of the interview. On PSG bench, you’ve been seen less agitated and more measured with your gestures and instructions you gave to the players. Am I wrong? I’ve controlled myself, that is for sure. My prior is to adapt to the team. Not long ago, a journalist asked to Garitano (Leganés coach) why he wasn’t wearing a suit during the match, and Asier told him that he wanted to adapt to the club. Leganes is a modest city from the outskirts of Madrid and for him, the suit wasn’t natural in these circumstances. Here in Paris, something similar happened to me, I had to adapt, to conform myself to some formalities which make that I stay the same but with certain nuances in my relations with the players, the direction, the stadium, the supporters. I reduced my expressiveness on the bench to adapt to PSG. During the week, you do your coaching job, but during the match, you are dependent on what the players do. How do you this manage the feeling of being always at the mercy of a stroke of genius or a mistake that can ruin your work? I manage this feeling through experience, having experienced many situations like these. I remember Europa League quarterfinals with Sevilla. We had beaten Athletic 1-2 in San Mames and everything was playing in our favor, but Bilbao managed to get us back to Sánchez Pizjuán by pushing us into overtime. And at one point, Susaeta finds himself face-to-face with our goalkeeper and I felt that this action would undoubtedly determine the outcome of the playoff. If they scored, everything was over. And seeing the action, I repeated to myself: "Normality, normality, normality". Because Susaeta could miss this opportunity as well as convert it. I learned to live these moments with normality. The moments that go in your direction and those in the sense of the opponent. Susaeta did not score. It's not easy to do it under certain circumstances! And the same thing happens when it's my players' turn to have a stroke of genius or miss an easy goal. Normality. These are things that happen. And, when you are in a team like PSG, which wins often, you are used to win and to the fact that each goal action is a little less decisive than in other teams where this type of action happens less often.
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At PSG, when one of my players succeeds a stroke of genius and score, I feel a certain normality. It is "normal" that this player succeeds a stroke of genius. I sometimes talked to Neymar about it. It has always been my habit to prepare the set pieces, and that has often been successful. But when you have Neymar, sometimes you do not need much more: he is the strategy. Marcelo Bielsa explains it very well when he distinguishes the talented players, who perform certain actions in a natural way, and the other players, more numerous, who do not have this gift and to whom, in the case of Bielsa, it’s about making them repeat the actions so that they can succeed in the field. As a coach, I've always tended to tell my players what to do, like someone moving a joystick, but when you get to PSG, you realize that players themselves choose the most effective solution. One day, I said to Neymar: "Ney, there are situations of play that I always worked before the matches but in your case, you imagine them from yourself".
Why is it better to manage a great team rather than a modest one? I’m not talking about the huge possibility of winning title but rather of the different methods that supposes? Let's start from a principle that I consider basic: coaching is very, very, very difficult. From there, coaching very high level players is even more difficult. Why ? Because to succeed in convincing is the most fundamental thing to be able to train: the players must believe in you. They believe in you because you have a record, because you are very strong, because your presence imposes, because all that you say always ends up being realized ... Whatever the reason. But they must believe in you. And in big teams, players expect precisely that: that the coach is never wrong. It's also what they're looking for in a smaller team, but they're also aware that the margin of error is greater, that you can have poor results more often. This is not the case in a great team. You must be right even for the smallest of details: in the work, the planning, in your speeches, the way you pronounce them, the moment when you pronounce them. Everything is a little more difficult. Maybe from the outside, we can think that we can afford to work less, but it's the opposite. You must have the right word at the right moment and this helps the team win. In teams like PSG, winning is the norm and that's what gives relevance to your actions and your words. In smaller teams, the results are more variable. Here no. Here, you almost always win and that's what forces you to aim right at the moment. Everytime. A squad with players like Neymar, Cavani and MbappÊ, is well served in terms of egos? The first thing is to have a normal relationship at the personal level. Individually or in groups. A coach must have a relationship with a player similar to that of a father with his son. At this level, it does not please anyone to have to reprimand a player because he has done something wrong, in the same way that a father does not like to shout at his son. But yet, it is sometimes necessary to do it, and it must be done without it leading to a degradation of your personal relationship with him. With your son, it is easier, because after a reprimand, he knows that you will remain his father, always with the same love. While with a player, it can happen that the relationship breaks and he decides to leave the club. Page 2 sur 10
For this reason, knowing what you say and how you say it is a more delicate question. Because it can have an irreversible repercussion in your relationship with the player. In a smaller team, the risk is lower because the whole group knows that you are in charge. In a larger team, responsibility is sometimes held by different people. One day, Jorge Valdano made me the following reflection: "In Barça, the leader is Messi; at Real, it's Florentino Perez; and at Atlético Madrid, it's Simeone. " A player, a president and a manager. Each time, a different leader profile. I know when I'm the main person in a group and when I'm not. It's a process that every coach has to live and internalize, it's something you learn with time and experience. In each club you must know what role you play and what role you are assigned by the rest of the group. My opinion is that at PSG the leader is called Neymar. Or more exactly, the leader will be called Neymar because he is becoming one. Neymar came to PSG to be the leader, to live the necessary process to become the world's number 1. This is a process that is still missing a bit of time to consolidate. In Manchester City, the chef is Pep. At PSG, the leader must be Neymar. I think I controlled this locker well. My greatest satisfaction is that after losing against Barça last year and against Real this year, the team did not sink. A few weeks ago, for example, we played a horrible 1st half at Saint-Etienne, but after the break, with one less player (11 vs 10), we reacted well and managed to equalize. A staff member told me at the end of the match: "Unai, today the players have demonstrated that they were with you. If it were not the case, we would have lost”. And he was right. If the team had wanted to kill me, it was the moment to do it, everything was against us. But the team was able to react. This is my main satisfaction, although of course it is something very personal that will be little valued outside. Of course, I do not control everything. The two eliminations in CL demonstrate this. It's hard to control all the factors needed to manage a great team, and I still need to improve. A few months ago, a PSG player told me: "Mister, this year you changed." It's obvious. I can not be the same with or without Neymar. We experienced a process of mutual adaptation with the player, a process that is still going on. It's not something instantaneous, you have to get to know and know each other. To manage Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar is not easy: they are the best in the world and that weighs a lot. We must adapt to them. Look, one of Guardiola's chances in City is not to have a major figure to adapt to. He has great players who, in the moment of truth, become one. And when it was necessary to take radical decisions, Pep took them, for example by doing without Deco, Ronaldinho or Ibrahimovic when the latter had problems with Messi. And in doing so, he avoided serious problems. Speaking of relationships with players, at no time did you mention the language theme, which is a crucial barrier to connecting with a player? Fortunately, the French I studied being young was useful to me. It's indisputable that I do not master it 100%. One day I heard Benitez saying that he was not able to transmit all he wanted in English, and that surprised me because he speaks it perfectly and that he arrived in this country there is 15 years, but he lacked a small percentage to connect perfectly with his players. My mastery of French was enough to explain and make me understand. Page 3 sur 10
It is obvious that one of the reasons for a coach's success is communication and connection with the players. I am talking about emotional connection. In addition, I tend to talk a lot in a locker room, although it is obvious that at PSG I reduced the intensity of my speeches to 60%, but I managed to transmit in French thanks to what I I studied being young in Hondarribia and what I learned during those two years. All my communication with the team was in French, and I think we understood each other well and that language was not a barrier in this process. Playing every 3 days does not facilitate the team development process? We went from training cycles to prepare for matches, to cycles where matches follow each other. On the other hand, a week full of work seems almost too long now, but I try to take advantage of it because it allows you to progress through the sessions. But at the highest level, it has become a rarity, we go from match to match. This reduces your work to analyzing matches and viewing videos with players. At this level you can hardly work match situations in training. You do not have the time. Better to prepare a small video with the precise action you have in mind, and players, who are usually smart, can grasp the idea in 5 minutes. I have always favored the following types of work: field work, video work, general repetition and match. This sequence is now reduced to only two stages: video work and match. This methodological change also includes the stopped phases (corners, long and short free-kicks). Yes. Usually I worked half an hour on Friday and half an hour on Saturday, but now it is limited to 510 minutes during the pre-match chat at the hotel, which significantly reduces the range of possibilities. You end up having a more limited number of actions on stopped phases intended to surprise the opponent. Even if sometimes you have surprises. I have always had 3 norms on stopped phase: to play it quickly before the opponent is organized; play it short (Stade de Reims style) to move the opponent and create spaces; play it direct from defined combinations. I have always worked on these 3 principles. But it happens that at the beginning of the season, Neymar had just arrived and we had not yet had the opportunity to work these actions with the one who was going to be our shooter. First match at Parc des Princes against Toulouse, corner, Neymar plays it fast and Kurzawa scores. We had not worked with him at all. This is what I said later to Neymar: "All my work is reduced to your strokes of genius." Question about the playing style To be competitive is to adapt to the reality of the opponent. Sometimes you win because you use the ball better and sometimes you have to adapt and give up having it. That's why I really appreciative Guardiola and Simeone. Because they are very competitive, in opposite styles. Of course, I arrived at PSG and I knew it: it is a possession team, who likes to have the ball, who tries to always score. I arrived with an idea of continuity. Let me tell you this: PSG played well and won. It may be that people do not value it enough and feel that it is very easy here. What happened to us? We missed a little competitiveness in important moments.
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Why ? Because this team does not have enough matches in its championship that make you suffer. To be competitive is to know how to suffer. Suffer as do Simeone teams to win. To suffer as Pep suffers to win in England. My team has two basic principles: we want to be a possession and pressing team. This is the basis. Have the ball and get it back as soon as possible. I nuance: I speak of possession game and not position (juego de posicion) because there are times when you can win through the positional game, there are others where you need a lot of permutations to surprise the opponent. After of course, as Guardiola says, if you have to win with a long clearance from the goalkeeper to the attacker and that he scores a goal with the ass, very well. We work that too, of course. Let's talk about the n°6 position, which is the mirror of a team. Has this been a weak point for PSG this season? I say that because Motta, Lo Celso, Rabiot, Verratti, Lass have alternated at this position. It depends ... I remember that when I analyzed Real, I thought that Xabi Alonso was suffering when he had to run towards his goal and therefore that we had to attack this weak point. When I analyze Barça and I see Busquets, I also think that Sergio suffers behind his back. If I see Thiago Motta, this is also the case ... All the great No. 6 positional (regista) suffer when it comes to running towards their goal. But you are a team that have the ball 70% of the time and this is more important than knowing if you are suffering when you run towards your goal. Knowing what you are doing towards the opposing goal is more important! It's you who dominate the matches. This is why the performance of your No. 6 in the phases where you do not have the ball is less important, because they are phases that last less time. If I put in 6 a destructive player, it takes me away much more in the construction phase than it brings me to the defensive phase. Of course, we must make Thiago Motta better in the phases without balloon, ok. But if you analyze Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets, you make exactly the same observation. Of course they suffer on these phases, but they bring so much with the ball. I do not think this post was a weak point of PSG. Motta is a beautiful No. 6. His problem this year has been injuries. Motta brings a lot to the team, his contribution with ball is huge. He has trouble running towards his goal? Yes, but two European champions like Xabi and Busquets have the same characteristics as Motta. I do not think that the PSG problem was the problem of No. 6. Let's talk about Rabiot. He is an 8, but is more comfortable to play 6 than 10. Even if it is more a 8 than a 6. When you want to play with a 6, a 8 and a 10, Rabiot is found with a difficulty: he needs to run, run, run, and not to play statically in a fixed position, and still less playing back to the play (pivot role in midfield). Rabiot does not really like to play 6, he prefers to play 8, but I prefer that he play 6. That's why after the elimination against Real, I told him he would play 6. Because in this position, he can face the game, with a wide range of action, can switch with Verratti. It is in these conditions that he is the most competitive.
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With some players, you can not impose a strict idea, you must adapt to their characteristics in order to gain in individual and collective competitiveness. Lass? He arrived in late January, after playing for 6 months at a very low level and he needed time to get back to the top level. About Champions League Pep told me last year something fundamental: to win the Champions League, Barรงa had to live two crucial moments in its history: the goal of Bakero against Kaiserslautern (in 1991, goal that avoids the elimination in CL, Barรงa won the cup a few months later) and Iniesta's goal against Chelsea. It misses this goal at PSG! It could have been last year when we lost 6-1 against Barรงa, maybe it was time to break that ceiling/roof and pass the course. Or this year against Real, when we had the opportunity. PSG is missing this match, this founding moment, to have its "Bakero goal". Even while being inferior, even if it does not deserve it. But "BAM"! You mark this goal and your destiny changes. To become great teams, all have to go through moments like these. The only team that does not need it, because it has known enough in the past, is Real Madrid. This year, we experienced this moment when everything could switch. It was Bernabeu. Real was suffering. We could see that it was suffering. We had talked before the match, "to lose, Real must suffer." Our goal was to make sure that they suffer and that they can not come out alive from this moment. To bring them the fatal blow when they were the most in trouble. We had the opportunity in the second half, 1-1. At that moment, I was very quiet, because the victory seemed to be at hand. And yet, we had spoken before, attention to the beginnings and ends of half-time with the Real, it is always the moment that they choose to return to the match. And on this match it happened all that we did not want. End of the 1st half, we concede a penalty and they equalize. Second half, we do not concretize our high time. End of the match, they take the advantage and double the stake. We did not finish when we could and we did not suffer when we had to. If they put you the 2-1 goal, you must be able to suffer to the end, cling, fingers clinging to the table, suffer, suffer again, resist and make sure that above all, the score remains there. About the return match against Real Madrid at Parc des Princes Of course, the return match is another story because Real arrived at the Parc with very favorable conditions. We needed the match to go crazy, but we did not get there. Maybe because I lined up control players, instead of players to speed up the pace. There I did not have control of the team. I put players to control the moments of tension, but the match asked for something else. From the 15th minute, I told Carcedo, my main assistant, that it would not do it. For this match against Real, we needed the madness of the match against Barรงa last year: it was necessary to break everything. And that in this madness, that Rea wouldl take fright. We managed to get it by the Bernabeu at times, but not at the return.
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In these two big playoffs against Barça and Real, it misses 5, 6, 8 minutes at PSG ... That's it. The last minutes. PSG needs to break this ceiling/roof, to break this barrier, this psychological boundary. Why Verratti was sent off? Because of the emotional frustration he felt. Because it's hard to resist this kind of frustration. You have to get used to living with, playing with and overcoming it. Probably that would not have happened with a Real or Barça player. It is when we pass this barrier that we can make the leap of quality. When we finally get that Bakero goal or Iniesta goal. Why did I sub on Pastore at 0-1 at the Parc? Because Pastore is an uninhibited player, who will try to do you a nutmeg (little bridge) without worrying about the risks if he loses the ball. He's a moments player, that could help us change the dynamics in which we were. About PSG strategy PSG needs to live this process. By recruiting Neymar and Mbappé, we put immense pressure on ourselves because now we are identified as the money team. Ok, but Real has been doing the same thing for a decade, buying Cristiano, Bale, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric ... Players made and confirmed. And they have Zidane, who is the best coach Real can have. Maybe for other teams, Zidane would not be the right coach, but for Real it's the best and he shows it. Can he improve? No doubt, but he knows how to manage this group and keeps the players happy. The players explained it: Zidane is the best coach for them because he understands them, they are happy with him and they know that in key moments they can not disappoint him. Can they be better? Yes, because they are not always constant. But Zidane knows what this group of players needs and does everything he can to make them feel comfortable. Being comfortable makes that sometimes you relax, and you pay the price in the league, for example. But it gives you the intensity you need in the Champions League. We had the opportunity to break their momentum and undo their construction, but we did not succeed. Coaching Real, Barca or another big club is very complicated, it's an art of balance. The balance between making players happy and at the same time demanding the maximum from them. That's why the work a Zidane does is so difficult. And that's why the work of Guardiola and Simeone is so admirable. For me, these are the two best in the field. What Pep did in Germany, adapting to his players, was immense, admirable. Can I reach this level? I'm not there yet. I still lack things. I think I can try to reach it, but I still lack a lot. The first thing I did this season was to define what was the priority. And it was this: I must make Neymar happy. This is the first thing. To have him happy. No matter how. I had many discussions with Neymar about this. Some did not work, but others were very successful. At one of them, we spoke for 45 minutes, open-heart. It was a beautiful moment. He listened to me and I was able to convince him of certain things. But it's a process, the one that has to make him the best.
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A year ago, during a discussion with Xabi Alonso, we had evoked this famous video of the meal between Draxler, Matuidi, Meunier and Verratti before the match at Camp Nou. In this video, we could feel all the fear of the PSG players. It is this emotional deficiency that must overcome PSG? We also think to Thiago Silva's statements, saying that there are only prayers to stop Messi. In important games, the team still has to take this extra step. As I said, PSG misses this goal of Bakero, this goal of Iniesta. To have a large team of experienced players, and break this barrier. When will this happen? I think it's a solid project, both in terms of the economy and the quality of the players, and it can enjoy a large region of sport. What is needed? Patience and experience. My goal was to speed up this process. I wanted to see if I was able, after 3 wins in the Europa League, to speed up this process and to take that extra step. We did not succeed. We still miss things. You have to know how to be great in big games. As a player, I felt the fear on the ground, the fear of playing. And sometimes, in L1, one can fail having the feeling of being in a too great comfort. Which is bad for every player, because it makes you stagnate. I tried to fight against this comfort by risking a lot, by multiplying the discussions, waving the locker room. But this agitation, as I have never won the Champions League, has sometimes been detrimental to me. I try to make happen as much as possible things in the matches, that the team is not placid and indolent while waiting for a stroke of genius of Neymar, Cavani or MbappÊ. I do not like the idea that there must be as little as possible in a match, that there is no risk and that it is simply the big players who solve it. It's the opposite of my game idea. I do not want to win this way. Of course it also serves to win, but that's not what I'm looking for. That's why I admire Guardiola, because he tries things, he creates things. That's what I like: trying to generate action. Playing style There are two ways to see football: aggressively or passively. You try to retrieve the ball or you wait. I have always considered that the 4-4-2 systems, which are once again in fashion in Spain, are the best to prevent the opponent from breaking your lines. Because he has to pass three. Marcelino's teams are good because they do it very well, it's very difficult to go beyond each of their three lines. His teams seek to recover to counterattack, with the support of the two points and the two outside wingers. Defensive positioning and counterattacks. With Guardiola and the Spanish selection, a new style has developed, that of over-possession, but this style is now declining in Spain, because when the quality of the players decreases, it is more easily contrable, and 4-4-2 is made for that. By taste, I prefer the Barça of before, that of Guardiola, but the current one is very good too, with the concept of Luis Enrique that took again and amplified Valverde with his 4-4-2. This is one of the reasons why Neymar left Barça, because the game is turned entirely towards Messi and Neymar finds himself having to work in his corridor/wing.
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What I like is to catch (pressing) the opponent. It is a more aggressive idea that at the same time exposes you more. Bielsa style, Guardiola style. When I lose the ball, I want to get it back as soon as possible. Wherever the ball is, my team must be positioned to press and recover. If the game is stopped, everyone at his position. If the ball is moving, we will press, of course as part of a tactical structure. These are my two readings on the defensive side. The ball is in play, pressure. The ball is stopped, position. For me, the 4-1-4-1 is the system that facilitates the most this type of pressing. The 4-4-2 is more for positioning in the zone, less aggressive but perhaps more difficult to overflow. This is the case of the teams of Marcelino, Quique Sanchez Flores, Saint-Etienne the other day ... I do not dismiss the 4-4-2. This is not the idea I favor, but if it allows me to be more competitive, I use it without hesitation. It has sometimes been used in Seville. I placed Banega in this position of advancing attacking midfield and 2nd striker without balloon. With two strong players physically behind her back, it gave me the necessary cohesion to press. In my case, the idea is not to recover it to go at full speed against, but to re-arm myself from possession of the ball. What Barรงa of Guardiola did wonderfully. We were trying to take the ball away from them, but those bast**** would retrieve it every time. And Pep does it again in City: push forward and recover to start a new possession. PSG have a playing idea/style that people do not always appreciate at its fair value. The other day, against Metz we scored a fantastic goal. We were in our 16m, pressed by the opponent, Verratti plays with the goalkeeper and we manage to get out of this pressing, combining, progressing through the pass, pam, pam, pam and goal. When it's Guardiola City doing it, it's around the world. At PSG people do not give the same value to this type of action, perhaps because we are in France and the repercussions are not the same. And I think that also affects the players, who come to believe less in themselves, which does not help to compete. They know they are good players because they feel comfortable, but when comfort disappears and the hour of truth arrives, they are not prepared enough to suffer. PSG must break this dynamic. And now, what are your plans for the future, beyond the final of the Coupe de France coming. Well, it's been three days since we made the decision with the club not to continue and I start receiving phone calls. I like the competition and beyond that, I feel responsible to my staff: it seems difficult to stop a season either to recover strength or wait for a prestigious bench. I can not dismiss it but it seems difficult to take a sabbatical year. To stop for one year? Bluff, I can not see myself. What I like is coaching. Luis Aragones never stopped. He came and went, but never stopped. On the contrary, some coaches consider that they have acquired a certain status and do not wish to change it, even if it means not training for one or two years. I would have a lot of trouble doing that, I want to train. I am told that I have an important status, that I better pause and wait for a bench that corresponds to my supposed status. I understand it, it's a logical reasoning, but in my heart of hearts, I feel the need to have a bench.
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When you say that you do not deviate, you do not discard either the proposals that would make you a step down from PSG or, when leaving this club, you want to continue at the highest level? I want to listen to all the proposals, and I will evaluate them according to three criteria. The first is the sporting: as far as possible, I want to continue to play in the Champions League or the Europa League, while having the opportunity to do something in the league. Clearly, have a competitive sports project. The second is the quality of life, and the third is the economic factor. With two criteria out of three, I can accept a project. With all three, it's obviously easier, and with only one of the three, more difficult. What is missing for you as a coach? I am 46 years old, I have to continue my progress and my path. I am also in the process of formation and maturation. I am very focused on self-criticism. I still have to go on. To better manage bad times, defeats. I gesticulate less at PSG, it's true, but tomorrow I want to gesticulate again, be more myself, transmit more. When I see Pep and Cholo, they gesticulate and I like it. At the time, Jorge Valdano and Del Bosque criticized me for that. They told me about it. I was more measured at PSG because I understood that it was more suitable. And of course, because at PSG, winning is the norm, which makes you relax more. I must continue to deepen my game ideas. I like studying tactics. Look for ways for the team to play better. That my staff and I manage to play with fewer brakes, less fear. I think that at PSG some players have progressed with me, I think Kimpembe and Rabiot ((even Silva Lo Celso Verratti Areola imho)). Although people may not value it, I think I have done a good job at PSG, although it is obvious that Barça has killed us. Our trajectory at all is a process, made of positive moments, titles accumulated in the league and cups and the playing style of the team, and others, negative, as the European setbacks against Barça and Real. I feel like a coach still under construction. Because I am also experiencing this process of maturation, errors, corrections. What I have learned is that you have to be ready to use every means so that nothing can slow down your project. Nobody is perfect, and it is not always necessary to advance by turning forward. One must also advance by turning around, learning and correcting. Sometimes you have to know how to do like Guardiola when he got rid of Deco, Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic. Yes but after, Zlatan and his agent are in conflict with Pep? Okay, but he got rid of it and at the same time got rid of the brakes to build his great work. Pep is a coach who builds works. What am I missing? May my works be more works. And be more my works. " END. If u want to use/share it, please don’t forget to credit me (MagicParis Arsenal Mania) and above all the ones who did a great work: Tactical Room Magazine: https://www.martiperarnau.com/producto/suscripcion-mensual-thetactical-room/ (you can purchase an electronic access to the the full interview in Spanish) Matthieu Martinelli Twitter : https://twitter.com/matmartinelli Culture PSG : http://www.culturepsg.com/ Page 10 sur 10