Guillem Balague’s exciting Johan Cruyff claim will have West Ham fans in dreamland ahead of the appointment of Julen Lopetegui.
It is reasonable to say the imminent arrival of Julen Lopetegui at West Ham has hardly set pulses racing.
Other candidates such as Ruben Amorim, Paulo Fonseca and Thomas Tuchel were seen as ‘sexier’ choices for West Ham.
Hammers fans have been craving a modern, innovative coach who can implement a drastic change in approach and style.
There is no hiding that David Moyes’ tried and trusted tactics are very much of a bygone era.
And West Ham had become a something of a busted flush under the Scot. Five wins in 25 games since the turn of the year point to that.
Lopetegui has been out of a job, by choice we’re told, since walking out on Wolverhampton Wanderers on the even of this season last August.
Wrong to doubt Lopetegui says journalist
A growing throng pundits, journalists and former West Ham players and managers have been warning the club’s supporters to ‘be careful what they wish for’.
Serious doubts have been cast over Lopetegui by many.
The latest examples of that coming from Paul Merson who has stated the Spaniard could be at West Ham for 25 years and not achieve what Moyes did in four-and-a-half.
Hammers legend Julian Dicks has also rather surprisingly voiced grave concern over the Lopetegui call.
While some are not overly excited or convinced the 57-year-old’s appointment is the right choice, one man who knows him well is exasperated at what he claims is ill-informed pre-judgement.
Spanish journalist Guillem Balague knows more than most about Lopetegui’s career, methods and philosophy.
And Balague’s Johan Cruyff claim will have West Ham fans in dreamland.
Balague’s Cruyff claim will have West Ham fans in dreamland
Lopetegui has been labelled a ‘Spanish Moyes’ by some who claim his approach is no more attacking or advanced than the man he’s replacing in the Hammers hotseat.
Balague says that could not be more wrong about a man who is very much a disciple of football great Cruyff.
The journalist says the biggest thing Lopetegui took from his time with Cruyff at Barcelona was that football should be about entertainment and spectacle not just results. And, better still, cultivating young talent.
“I understand that people don’t have knowledge of him, haven’t read enough about him, haven’t watched him and his teams,” Balague told West Ham Network in an interview which you can watch below.
“Not just that but in England it seems to be the case that you start your career as a footballer or manager when you arrive to England as if nothing that has happened before matters.
“Well it does matter because that’s what made his career. And of course it matters because he’s won a European title as well…
“With Lopetegui what you’re going to have is… a team that will be energetic, physical, direct – not direct as in long ball, not at all – but everybody attacking, everybody defending, with high tempo, quick transitions – both offensive and defensive – a team that will be modern to look at with different layers, different ways to attack, building from the back, choosing what to do at the right time.
‘He took a lot from Cruyff with his football’
“That requires time, but he’s going to have the pre-season and, I believe three years, so he has time…
“He took from Johan Cruyff a bunch of things with his football. That’s why he was such a surprising choice by Real Madrid because he’s more like a Johan Cruyff pupil than a Real Madrid manager.
“What he took from Cruyff is that you have to give spectacle. Football shouldn’t just be about results.
“But also that as long as you are good, you go into the team, it doesn’t matter what age you are. Johan was never scared of putting youngsters in. Like Pep Guardiola at 19 was a regular in the first team at a time when that wasn’t happening in the early ’90s’.
“And it doesn’t matter who you are, if you’re not good enough you have to go. That kind of ruthlessness you will get from him…
“He’s the man with the right values. He’s very Basque in that his priority is whatever the target of the club is, not his ego, not his profile, that’s not important (to him)…
“If you open the doors to him and open your arms, he will give you a lot back.”
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