Johan Fano on the signing of Raziel García by Tolima: “He is reaching one of the best teams in Colombian football”

Author of one of the most shouted goals in the history of the peruvian team, but remembered for some misinterpreted statements about the Bicolor fashion forward: Gianluca Lapadula. Today, Johan Fano (Huánuco, 1978) is taking his first steps in Colombian soccer, a league in which he will play Raziel Garcia the next season –signed by Deportes Tolima, current tournament runner-up-. The ‘Gavilán’ took over as interim technical director of Águilas Doradas on the last date of the Clausura and achieved a historic victory over Independiente Santa Fe and now talks with DT EL COMERCIO about the arrival of a new Peruvian in Colombia. “It will help you in your growth”, tells us.

– Did you expect to debut as fast as a coach and with a victory?

Sometimes opportunities present themselves and you have to seize them. I thank my players for the good debut as a coach because that is also part of them, since in such a short time, in a few weeks, interesting things that we wanted were applied against a great team such as Independiente Santa Fe. In addition, it was achieved the visiting triumph after eight years. I think it’s a good way to start this race.

“Are there chances that you will continue in office?”

Yes, but you have to wait. I still belong to the institution because I have a contract. It is important that one is always taken into account. The Sports Commission will make its decisions and you have to be prepared for when it appears and be able to assume in the best way.

—What is the idea of ​​the game that will characterize your teams?

My teams are going to be very vertical with a lot of offensive volume. I like to play well, but just as I like to have the ball, if there is a chance to reach the opponent’s goal in three or four touches, welcome. Regarding some scheme, I think they are simply numbers, in the end the players are the ones who use the system to adapt it to the form and style of play.

“When did you decide to be a technician?”

I had that reflected because my passion is soccer, a sport to which I owe everything. More than 15 years ago that idea crossed my mind and I was able to tell my father that he may rest in peace. He has been my trainer and an important part in making this decision.

—Did you have proposals to direct in Peruvian soccer?

I had a call, but at the moment I’m not interested. I want to keep growing. Today I was given the opportunity to be in an important team in Colombia as technical director and that is opening the doors for me to shape my career until the moment when I can give the real opportunity of a team that is interested, where I can feel comfortable and the possibilities of having tools to develop my work.

“What team was it that called you?”

I can’t tell you because then it starts to distort itself. It is better to keep everything calm. In the end it did not happen and today I am still in Colombia.

—You were in Colombia for a long time and, of course, in Peru. What are the most marked differences that you find between our soccer and the Colombian one?

So many. Starting with the infrastructure of all the clubs in the first division of Colombian football. They take us years. In Peru, of the 18 teams that are in League 1, half have a fairly comfortable infrastructure to do a good job. There are Alianza, Universitario, Sporting Cristal, Ayacucho, Cusco FC, Melgar, San Martín and then we finish counting. And by this I mean having two or three courts where to train, a good gym, nutrition area, etc. That is giving us an advantage to be able to compete at the club level. Work in minors is another difference.

—That is reflected in the ranking prepared by Conmebol. Atlético Nacional is in position nine, while Cristal – the best located in Peru – is in 35.

Yes. And in Peru they pay well. Sometimes many players from Colombia, who are in the second division and don’t win big, come to our league and win in dollars. Here with little sometimes they go a long way. And I repeat, here the player must be provided with a good infrastructure. But that does not happen. Here many managers believe that by paying a good salary they have already fulfilled and it is not only that. Here we continue to call 20 or 21-year-old formed players boys, and we continue to call them that until they are 30 years old and we already call them old. It is a problem that has been causing damage. The bag of minutes too. It’s silly to me.

-Why?

What has it served us for? So that the player feels comfortable and has the possibility of playing for an obligation and not for merits? The player has to play on merits. Whether you are 15, 15, 20 or 35 years old. Not out of obligation.

“So there shouldn’t be the bag of minutes?”

Yes it should happen, but in another way. Why don’t they hold regional or departmental tournaments? Why not go to look for players to the province? For that there are those of the Peruvian Football Federation, the technicians of the Sub15, Sub17 or Sub20. We have to get something out of those championships. And train them because they will be the future. But do not wait for them to reach a club with 20 years and just empower them. Boys have to be empowered from the age of 13 or 14 to think that at 17 or 18 they already have to be playing professionally. That is what we have to change.

—Agustín Lozano, recently reelected president of the FPF, pointed out that school tournaments could return next year

Yes, it is something that can help, but you have to diversify it. In Colombia it is played in all regions. These days a U17 and U20 national championship was ending. There the teams travel to different cities and see the players. From there they go to the U15 and U17 teams. In Peru I am very pleased that Ernesto Arakaki is in the FPF because he seems to me to be an ideal person for the position, but you have to give them tools. The Peruvian player is more technical than the Colombian, but unfortunately we don’t give him the opportunity.

—Raziel García signed for Deportes Tolima, a finalist in the Colombian league. How do you see its arrival?

It is important because it will help your growth. I like that it reaches a more competitive football than the Peruvian. Tolima won the Apertura 2021 and fell in the national final with Deportivo Cali, and will also participate in the Copa Libertadores. Let’s hope it goes super well for him, that he can stay for many years, continue to grow and that he may not be like many who go to Europe or abroad and after six months are returning. It is easy to get there, the difficult thing is to stay. As a Peruvian I want my compatriots to do well. As far as I can help you, I will.

– Is the Peruvian footballer respected in Colombia?

The player earns respect for what he does on the field and off. César Cueto and Guillermo La Rosa are loved very much at Nacional. Just as they remember Eduardo Malásquez and Franco Navarro in Medellín, Julio César in Junior. They have great affection for me in Manizales and Nacional. Sometimes I feel more loved in Colombia and Mexico than in my country.

—Raziel arrives at the age of 27, almost the same age that you came to Colombian soccer. Will he have a chance to make the leap to another more competitive league?

I believe that he is going to grow in every way because the Colombian league is dynamic, very well prepared. I know he will do well and hopefully, through his conditions, he can then go to a better league, with greater projection.

—In terms of infrastructure, what team in Peru does Deportes Tolima resemble?

To Sporting Cristal. It has like five courts to train and many tools for the player to feel comfortable.

—And in terms of fans and the pressure it exerts on foreign footballers?

In recent years, Tolima has been one of the best teams. very tidy. But there the pressure is on the oldest teams: Nacional, América de Cali, Millonarios. He is reaching one of the best teams in Colombian soccer. I really like the club because of the style of play they have.

– Speaking of your past in University, in an interview you indicated that you would have liked to retire at the club, why didn’t it happen?

Because they didn’t let me. The administrators who were there at that time did not want to. I wanted to come and play even for free, but they wouldn’t let me. They are situations that one understands because they already escape what one can wish for. That doesn’t take away from me the fact that I still love the ‘U’.

– In the distance, how do you see the present of the club and the problems it has?

With sadness, grief and discouragement. Everything that University is going through, if it did not win several years ago, it is because all those extra-sports things play against. Hopefully now, with a new administration, all that can improve and that the judgments that are felt can be already palpable. Know how much the debt is, have a real amount. That the Judiciary put on its pants and dictate how things are. Because the ‘U’ has the chance to get out of this situation and it will do so through its fans.

– In the midst of this context full of uncertainty, is the University in a position to put together a project to become champions in the year of its centenary?

Hopefully the centenary can be reached with a reduced debt, which is the most important thing. Much will have to do with the investment to hire players who can win the biggest team in Peru. Many believe that the extra sports issue does not affect and it does. And a lot. This (qualify for the Copa Libertadores) is not an award for the ‘U’. The only thing that interests the club is to be champion, nothing else works.

“Would you like to direct the ‘U’ in its centenary?

It is a dream and an illusion to be a champion with the club. I couldn’t do it as a player, I want to do it as a coach. I feel ready to take on that challenge. Hopefully that opportunity is provided and if not, as always I will continue to encourage the club as a fan.