“Ricardo Gareca can direct anywhere in the world, but he is happy in Peru” | INTERVIEW

“I’m happy for my friend, ‘Flaco'”. On the other side of the line is Estaban González, scorer of that Clausura 93 champion Vélez, ending a 25-year drought. The ‘Gallego’ does not hesitate to talk about Ricardo Gareca and the great friendship that was born in the Liniers neighbourhood, back in 1992 when they met at the ‘Fortín’ and remains intact to this day. Esteban, who today works as a commentator on Radio La Red in Buenos Aires, is perhaps one of the people who best knows the technician of the peruvian national team who turns 7 today since his blessed presentation as our coach.

—How was your friendship with Ricardo Gareca born?

We played together in Vélez in 1992 with Óscar Ruggeri as well. The three families are very close friends. In that 92 we lost the championship by one point, they left and I stayed. In 1993 I became champion with Vélez, cutting a bad streak for the 25-year-old club. But with Ricardo we had a lifelong friendship. He was one of my references. I had two forwards that I watched a lot: Leopoldo Jacinto Luque and ‘Flaco’ Gareca. They both played in my position and I took things from them. Over time we became very close friends with Ricardo and then I was lucky enough to work in Peru with the national team before the World Cup in Russia, going to see the French national team, one of the rivals, against Colombia and Russia, and helping him when he needed me. .

—During your time as a footballer, did you already show signs of being the coach you are?

He was always a very important player. Area man, referent and national team player. A guy with a lot of ability to handle groups. He always had the right word in every situation. All this transferred him from footballer to coach. He understands the player because he was a player too and he knows well what to say to him, what to implement. I always say that teaching a player is difficult, but you can correct some things. He has that: corrects. “Flaco” has been in Peru for seven years, he put them among the best in America. Also the results were given, but not by luck but because of what he gave, because of what he did in the national team and because of the players who knew how to understand him. I think the Peruvian player learned to understand Gareca and he them.

—How is the teacher as a person, outside the courts?

It’s a good friend. A great person who is attentive to being called because if you need something, he solves it for you in a minute or tries to help. A guy who is a great partner and a better father. Well what can I say! He is a person I love very much, who always helps me, I respect him and I am glad of all the good things that are happening to him.

And as a technician?

He is a technician with a very important capacity, besides, as I told you, he is a great person and that is reflected. When the footballer has a coach who is a good person, he talks to him directly, corrects things and gets the best out of him, what can you say? You have to listen and listen. He can make mistakes, but he almost always corrected quickly and brought the team forward.

—He is very paternalistic with his players, isn’t he?

He is a guy who watches you, sees you and, as he was a player, he realizes many things. He knows when the player is fine, when he looks him in the face or lowers his head, when he is strong and wants to train. All of this he sees. Also, he has a very good coaching staff as well. Professor Néstor Bonillo (physical trainer) is a phenomenon, he has the ability to know the moment in which football can be required or given a break. Another thing that he highlighted is that trust with the player, they know how to find moments for him. Sometimes the player doesn’t have a wave with the coach and they don’t find a way to get there, they want to say something and they don’t, they don’t say how they feel. That is why he is very fatherly. He is a guy who has had many battles and a well prepared coach. He watches the games three or four times, talks to his managers, makes them watch their games and asks how they saw themselves. All those things are from an advance.

—What is Ricardo Gareca’s secret to being such a successful coach?

He is doing very well because he prepares for it. He has the ability to direct anywhere in the world and has a great work group at his side. I remember that for a time it was said that he was leaving Peru and it was never like that. Peru always had priority and he respected that. Everything he does, everything he says, he does. That also makes it so great.

—How did you come to the Peruvian team to work watching and analyzing rivals in the 2018 Russia World Cup?

In San Lorenzo I had done something similar when I was working as a club supervisor with Óscar Ruggeri and we would go to all the fields here, Argentina, to watch games. So ‘Flaco’ wanted to test me, to see if he was ready. It was a major challenge. When I went to see France against Colombia and Russia, I told him that the French were one of the candidates and that Kylian Mbappé was going to be one of the best players in the World Cup. Well, France was world champion and Mbappé was one of the figures, so it didn’t go so badly for me, huh. But beyond that, he wanted to give me a hand as a friend and I did it seriously. I traveled alone, I did not know any language and I was in several countries without knowing how to speak. The truth was difficult. I really did it because he’s my friend, I don’t know if he would do it again.

—Traveling without knowing a language other than Spanish… how did you manage to communicate?

My wife has an employee who is from Russia. When she went to the restaurants, back at the World Cup, she called her on the phone and she ordered the food, ha ha ha. I had to search for it. I sincerely hope I have not failed you and have done a good job.

—That confidence in your circle, your environment, also reflects what Ricardo Gareca is like, right? He has done it when it comes to summoning players too…

So is. I’m going to tell you something that is fundamental for me and it talks about what Ricardo Gareca means. When a team scores a goal and they go to hug their coach, you realize what the coach is with the players. Do not give it more turns. As a player I lived it and I did it. That is the best reflection of trust, respect and shows what they are going to do for the coach, for his country. I have seen how he would get into practice and hug the players. They are important things that sometimes cannot be seen from the outside. For example, I have never seen a player make a bad face at Ricardo when he was traded, they were always respectful of whoever came on.

—Going back to your experience in Russia 2018, how was Gareca after the tough defeat against Denmark on the first date?

Sometimes the pain was noticeable. One looks at his face and realizes that he was sad. But when the game was over, he drew his conclusions, talked to his coaching staff, reflected it on his players and continued again because the next day he had to play. There was no time to fall. For him, defeat is not a fall, it is an example to improve and know why he lost. That is why in these Qualifiers he knew how to get ahead and put Peru back in the fight after having had some games in which the team did not play well.

—How close were you to leaving the Peruvian team to lead Argentina after Russia 2018?

I don’t know if they spoke or not. I’d be a liar if I told you that he doesn’t want to lead the Argentine team, but Peru had priority. That’s what he said. He likes Peru, they treat him the way they treat him. I was there with him and lived how they want it. Police cars stopped to greet him. We entered a restaurant where there were a hundred people and everyone applauded, took photos and he served everyone. It is not easy to achieve all that being a foreigner. He is happy in Peru and the people show him that they love him every day.

—Was the professor as cabulero as he was a soccer player?

As a player he was not a cabulero type. He was very professional, very respectful. I’m going to tell you a story. In 1992, the Vélez coach was Eduardo Luján Manera and ‘Flaco’ was the captain. In a match against Unión, the coach sent him to the bench and they gave me the tape. Gareca came on in the second half and we won 1-0 with his goal. The next game we played at home and Manera put him in the starting lineup again, but when they brought him the tape, he gave it to me and told me: you’re doing very well, you’re the captain now. That’s what great guys do, great leaders like him.

—Do you remember any anecdote that depicts the personality of Ricardo Gareca?

He was very into looking at everything and speaking at the right time. A person very prepared to be a coach, with a very great capacity. The good thing about this is that he listens, sees and takes things from other teams that he is capable of that he likes and tries to incorporate into his own.

—How do you see Ricardo Gareca’s Peruvian team?

Argentina and Brazil are outside, up the steps. But later, of all the teams that come after, Peru is not less than none. On the contrary, he is here to qualify for Qatar, to fight. The players are clearly eager to go to the World Cup, to win the games and that leaves me in no doubt that they will do everything to achieve it.