In life, there are few aspects in which it does not matter if you are a millionare, part of the middle-class or a humble worker. One of them is the passage of time. There is no way around it, as it allows us to advance without noticing that whatever was the present in our heads is now in the past.
My case is that of a generation who grew up in the 2010s and witnessed the success of the Spanish national team befor seeing each of the players that were part of the squad retire. But those people do not disappear from the life of a football fan, at least, not all of them.
Spain is a country of great managers, and the best representation of it is the international success of our coaches. A great example of it are the nominees for the best manager in the Premier League: four Spaniards (Guardiola, Arteta, Emery and Iraola) and a German (Klopp) dominate the best and wealthiest league in the world.
We think of Guardiola more as a manager due to his countless achievements and because his playing days are too far back in time. As a result, my generation could not enjoy his performances as a symbol of the ‘culé’ midfield. Something similar to what happens with another coach like Luis Enrique.
Arteta is half way there, as his retirement happened later on. In spite of playing most of his career away from Spain, we did get to see him as a player.
As for Iraola, he is among the players that we grew up watching throughout his long career at Athletic Club before making a move to the USA (which were not so common back in the day). Andoni had already become a successful manager before leaving the country, and now he is achieving such status away from home as the manager of Bournemouth, who could not win any of their first nine matches in the Premier League but will end the season with the highest point total in club history.
There is also Xabi Alonso, who has been the protagonist of the best come up story of this season. Under him, Bayer Leverkusen have made history: not only did they win the club’s first Bundesliga title since its foundation, but they have also racked up the longest win streak ever by a team from one of the top five leagues. The Basque manager could end the season having won a treble, an accomplishment that would place him among the worldwide elite of coaches.
Xavi Hernández is a controversial case. Under him, Barcelona have not been as recognizable for their positional play as most people would expect from who is, possibly, the best Spanish player ever.
Nevertheless, he was a critical factor in Barça’s LaLiga winning run last season and, in the current campaign, his biggest success is the opportunities he has given to talents raised in the academy, thus creating a core with Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Fermín López or Héctor Fort for the future of the club and the Spanish national team.
Cesc Fàbregas has been the last of these great players to succeed as a manager. Cesc is the youngest among all of the previously mentioned coaches, but his first job at Italian side Como has turned out great. The Catalan is, theoretically, the assistant coach of the team, but in reality that is just a formality, as he has yet to get the official license.
In spite of just scraping by (the team managed by Cesc drew, but Venezia, their competitor, lost after suffering a comeback), Como are back on the first division thanks to Cesc. They will be a part of Serie A 21 years later.
These people, who we grew up with are not players anymore, but are still in our lifes and will be for years to come.
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
Main image: @Como_1907.
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