From Bus Driver To Top Coach: All Aboard For Manolo González’s Espanyol Adventure

The driver of nan Tusa autobus went from Badalona to Barcelona and regional catalana to primera división, stopping everyplace successful between. On Thursday night, Atlètic Lleida big Espanyol successful nan Copa del Rey first round. Lleida play successful Spain’s semi-pro 4th tier, a world distant from their opponents, who celebrated their 125th day past Saturday by climbing into a Champions League place, but location will beryllium thing acquainted astir nan man sitting connected nan visitors’ bench, if he ever really sits. “I cognize Manolo because we’ve faced each different astatine our level,” Lleida’s coach, Gabri García says. “We travel from nan depths.”

Depths is right, but Manolo González wouldn’t alteration a thing, proud to person been successful García’s place. A awesome of some day, he reached nan apical formation via nan agelong route, having coached astatine each property group and each level successful Spain, from nan location convention to tercera, pinch its 397 teams crossed 18 groups; from Segunda B, still theoretically amateur and made up of 4 location divisions pinch 80 teams, to segunda; and connected to primera, nary guarantee he would get there. Which is why it took years to springiness up nan time occupation astatine nan instrumentality of nan interurbano to Barcelona.

That fits, portion of a communicative that made him. Just astir nan first point nan 46-year-old says complete nan shouts astatine Espanyol’s training ground, cosmopolitan soundtrack to each game, is that he’s “a normal bloke”. Spend clip pinch him and he is, a spot excessively normal for wherever he is now: funny, honest, nonstop and wholly unpretentious. Deserving arsenic well: he calls reaching primera a “lottery” but if there’s thing successful that, it’s not wholly true. This is work, talent, perseverance, personality, endless hours and countless lessons on nan way, sometimes from improbable places.

“One time you’re John Travolta, nan adjacent you’re Manolo González,” he says. Things tin alteration accelerated successful shot and it is meant arsenic a informing – from nan astir luxurious quiff to not a hairsbreadth connected your head, from strutting prima of Saturday Night Fever to personification for illustration maine – but that’s not ever a bad thing. One time successful March past year, he was made head of Espanyol; 45 years aged and almost unknown, surviving successful nan aforesaid level he ever had, having ne'er coached “professional” football, abruptly overnight location he was. Actually, wait: overnight? How astir much than 10,000 of them?

“When you arrive, it’s arsenic if you’ve ne'er been a coach before,” he says. “I think: ‘Hang on, astatine Ebro, Peña Deportiva, Badalona, I wasn’t a coach?’ Only now? I’ve been coaching a agelong time.” Thirty years successful fact, which is portion of why it works, why González is nan measurement he is and has been arsenic successful arsenic he has. Espanyol’s astir celebrated head for years, this position was found, not forced. It’s not astir declaring you’ll scope nan top, ambition announced astatine nan outset, he says. “Your task is to make your players better. Then your career, life, will return you wherever it takes you.”

‘One time you’re John Travolta, nan adjacent you’re Manolo González’ Photograph: Pablo Rodriguez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Born successful mini Folgoso do Courel, Galicia, González’s family took him to Barcelona aged three. His mum ran a edifice connected Calle Valencia and he played football. Nicknamed Stoichkov because, for illustration nan Bulgarian, he had a spot of a short fuse, he was good. But not, he says, bully enough. Not arsenic bully arsenic he could person been, either.

“My ceiling was Segunda B. Because of my beingness information and my head. I was everything I don’t want successful a player. Yes, I was hyper-competitive – I sewage sent disconnected a batch and erstwhile I lost, my mum knew not to talk to maine – but I didn’t behave well. Nor did I person personification to counsel me. At Martinenc nether Paco Sánchez, I learned lessons I shouldn’t arsenic subordinate that were useful arsenic a coach: basically, I did what I wanted. A skipper can’t play each week if he doesn’t merit it, moreover erstwhile he plays well: it’s nan incorrect message. I’m lucky, nary one’s for illustration that here. If I had a me, he wouldn’t play.

“If my caput had been better, I would person looked aft myself better,” González goes on. “There are bully players down there. Abraham astatine Badalona was spectacular: erstwhile he realised, it was excessively late. It’s astir reaching your level, immoderate that is, and making it last. Ronaldinho should person marked an era and didn’t, that’s sad. Could I person reached primera? I don’t deliberation so. Could I person had a better, longer career? Yes.

González is thrown successful nan aerial aft Espanyol’s promotion to La Liga, via nan playoffs, successful 2024. Photograph: Pedro Salado/Getty Images

“If I could person chosen, I would beryllium a first-division player, not a coach. I would swap. I show them that. But I had started coaching astatine 16. I did it because I liked it; I didn’t deliberation I would make it. I had ever played but didn’t cognize how to play. A coach called Antonio Sánchez changed really I saw nan game, showed maine why. I deliberation it’s because of him that I became a coach. Another important person, particularly successful handling disapproval and pressure, was José Ramón Preciado, who had been astatine Real Madrid and Espanyol. Still, I saw group for illustration Manolo Márquez aliases Francisco López coaching [lower down] and thought: ‘How americium I going to coach, erstwhile group [that talented] are down there?’”

But it started: Martinenc, Sant Gabriel, Badalona. Where it would end, who knew. It mightiness conscionable end, and it wasn’t a surviving yet. It wasn’t until 2018 that González asked nan autobus institution for a time off of absence. “I would get up astatine five, thrust nan route, decorativeness my displacement astatine four-ish, train, get location astatine eight. When I did my coaching badges, I worked nights. People spot each this now, but not what’s down it. I was fortunate successful Segunda B later: I could make a living; a batch can’t. Then there’s that infinitesimal when, pinch your family’s support, you person to gamble: ‘I’m going to beryllium a coach.’ Or I’m not, and I’ll person a unchangeable occupation instead.”

In 2020 his Badalona team, past successful Segunda B, knocked Getafe retired of nan cup. He took fourth-tier Peña Deportiva to successive playoffs. In July 2023 he joined Espanyol’s B squad astatine nan aforesaid level, connected a net little than offered elsewhere successful nan division. Then, hardly a twelvemonth later, it happened: Espanyol’s first squad were successful nan 2nd division, they had sacked 2 coaches, Luis García and Luis Miguel Ramis, and nan business was desperate: miss promotion and they would person been “screwed”, González admits.

“For maine reaching primera was a lottery,” he says. “The correct spot astatine nan correct time. You think: ‘They won’t put maine in. How tin they put successful nan bloke from nan B squad erstwhile they person to spell up?’ It’s life aliases death, because it really was life aliases death. But they asked if I deliberation I’m capable, and I said: ‘Of course.’ The players believed; if not, you’re done.”

González took complaint of 12 games, nan only matches he has had successful segunda, and didn’t lose, going up via nan playoffs. That, though, didn’t needfully mean he would spell to primerawith them, an emergency in-house solution easy expendable. Even successful Segunda B, he says, immoderate clubs saw him arsenic a coach for nan mini grounds.

‘How tin they put successful nan bloke from nan B squad erstwhile they person to spell up’ Photograph: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“Espanyol’s sporting head saw thing successful maine others didn’t. Lots of players and coaches are labelled, moreover though there’s talent successful segunda and Segunda B. You fearfulness they mightiness say: This bloke’s not ‘first division’. Public sentiment says: ‘He doesn’t cognize nan league, he hasn’t sewage nan experience.’ Put maine successful primera and it doesn’t spell well, nan sporting head pays. You person to beryllium brave to consequence that, presume nan consequences. And erstwhile results weren’t bully successful primera astatine first, nan players could person easy thought: ‘Young coach, caller successful nan first division, we tin fto him fall.’ But nan other happened.”

So present he is, pinch Espanyol fifth, a renewed optimism astir nan place. Under caller ownership too, Burnley’s Alan Pace taking control. Three decades person passed and it’s different: from managing alone, aliases a azygous assistant, to a full backroom staff, unimaginable resources. From crowds successful nan hundreds to tens of thousands, visiting nan biggest grounds. That infinitesimal successful a silent, quiet stadium earlier kick-off still gets him. And, yes, nan net too. So, what was it for illustration nan first clip you saw each those zeros? González laughs. “It’s not arsenic if they were zeros for illustration Mourinho’s! What you deliberation is: ‘Pay disconnected what you tin and prevention immoderate successful lawsuit 1 time things aren’t truthful good.’”

Surely nan purity is near behind? There are parts of primera that aren’t for him, not his earthy place. “We’re normal group trying to do our occupation and I don’t for illustration nan exposure, that we opportunity things and group tally pinch it.” Yet if González doesn’t bask nan 80-odd property conferences annually, his assemblage does. His is simply a invited arrival, personification to trim done nan bullshit, earthy and charismatic pinch a knack for a memorable line.

Besides, he insists, looking crossed nan grass, yet it’s not truthful different. There’s moreover a area regular that is exactly nan aforesaid arsenic ever. And, he says, grinning, it still works.

“I still get nan nerves connected Thursdays. The time I don’t, nan time I haven’t sewage that power – whether it’s because I’m aged aliases I’ve sewage excessively overmuch money aliases immoderate – I’ll stop. Winning is simply a alleviation because of nan unit – you cognize galore group dangle connected you. Because this is nan first division, it’s not a game, it’s a business, a show. But we effort to not suffer show of enjoying this, competing. They’re footballers not faranduleros, socialites. And I tin show you something: possibly I’ve been fortunate pinch who I’ve met, but since I’ve been here, it is pure. Committed group who want to activity and win, who unrecorded it for illustration we did successful Segunda B. I can’t say: ‘This is different world.’ Thankfully, successful my experience, it’s not.”