Ferrell: Cruyff once told me that if you don t play well, you won t go all year round

Hupu October 4th: Alvete Ferrer reviewed his long football career in an interview with Daily Sports. The current Barcelona Legends coach admitted that Cruyff was a very special master, and also talked about his time in Barcelona youth training and his later loan to Tenerife.

Ferrer is the top five best right-backs in Barcelona history and is a key member of the Dream Team. His experience of being loaned to Tenerife is still a reference case to talk about how to manage youth players. Ferrer is still coaching today, although he is working on less competitive and more focused on branding and charity at the Barcelona Legends.

How did you enter Barcelona youth training camp?

"I was playing football at Marist School in Ruby, which was a school league, and I played in a tournament with many big clubs. I caught the attention of Oriol Tott, who wanted to talk to my parents, but they worked at the bakery run by Ruby, so he couldn't get in touch. He talked to my grandmother, who told my parents about it. Later I had a trial in a game against the junior team coached by Lexacci and trained for two weeks before joining the Barca Youth Camp. "

Which coach had the biggest influence on you during your youth?

"Kike Costas was my first coach on Junior B and I followed him for three or four seasons. I was a center forward, but once the center right back was injured in training, Costas decided to let me try that position. This moment changed my life because it was difficult for me to get into the Barcelona first team as a striker. Costas was a fair and ball-knowing coach, but I remember the code of conduct he asked us to follow. He cared about the human part very much. I remember one time my father had surgery and my mother had to accompany him in the hospital. Kike Costas took me to his house, just like my second father. "

You grew up in the Barcelona youth training camp in the 1980s, before Cruyff arrived, and what was the training you received at that time?

"The Barcelona methodology we know today was the same in that era. At that time, the Barcelona echelon also wanted to control the ball and attack. The team played a 4-3-3 formation. I did not experience the 3-4-3 formation change implemented by Cruyff at all levels. When Cruyff arrived, I had already been promoted to Athletic Barcelona. "

Was it difficult to be loaned to Tenerife?

"I was at Athletic Barcelona and had a meeting with Cruyff, and he told me very clearly. He told me to loan first, and I will become a member of the first team the next season. That's the case. After the loan expired, I received a letter informing me that I needed to participate in the first team training. "

Your loan is still cited as an example

"That loan helped me a lot. I was used to controlling the rhythm and winning in the youth training camp. You go outside and you realize the reality of football. In Tenerife, we are not that strong and we even have to fight for relegation. I adapted well to what the coach asked me for. I almost always was the main player, but I remember one day the coach put me on the bench and I was very angry, but the coach did this to test me and stimulate my competitive spirit. "

In the first team of Barcelona, ​​you were the main player from the beginning

"I clearly remember my debut at the Camp Nou against Valencia at the Camp Nou There were tens of thousands of spectators at the time. The locker room was nice to me and the veterans helped me. The players we came from the youth camp adapted faster than those who signed from outside. "

Cruyff trusted you very much

"My memory of Cruyff as a coach was that he didn't talk to us very much, except for a few core players. The era was not practicing tactics like it is now. At that time we had meetings every month and he would tell every player where they needed improvement. Me and him The relationship is harmonious. He enjoyed it in training, making a lot of jokes and looked very happy. But I remember a conversation he had with me when I started a bad start at the beginning of the season. He told me before the Athletic Bilbao, 'Play good balls, otherwise you won't think about playing again throughout the year '. I continued to play later. I admit that there was no such pressure when I was at Chelsea, sometimes I relaxed, and I needed to feel the pressure to get the best performance, and Cruyff knew how to manage that. "

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