This week I have been talking to the former Spain, Real Madrid and Benfica coach Jose Antonio Camacho for an interview broadcast on Revista de la Liga. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss with the current coach of Osasuna how he intends to use his vast experience of managing in both Spain and Portugal to help the Pamplona based side win their battle against relegation from the Spanish top flight.
We also spent time talking about the current situation at his former club Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player, and looked ahead to their forthcoming Champions League clash with Liverpool…
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Guillem Balague: As a former Real Madrid manager and player how do you see the situation of the club on and off the pitch?
Jose Antonio Camacho: I spent my whole playing career with Real Madrid. In my time there was a different philosophy at the club than there has been over recent seasons. I think in recent seasons people may have lost touch with exactly what a football club is: what I mean to say is that, as well as having great players, there has to be a desire to be the best, the top club in the world. I think that it is that kind of mentality that they are trying to bring back.
The players that are part of the side have to be great footballers. All of the turmoil involved with the changes in Presidents and the elections has had a negative effect on the club. But I am absolutely certain that Real Madrid will recover from this because as a club it is a true force in world football.
Guillem: Raul is breaking goalscoring records but I think the thing that people mention more about him is that he represents those values that you are talking about.
Camacho: Yes, I think that Raul is going to go down in Real Madrid history alongside Alfredo Di Stefano. He deserves to because he has had a long a successful career - and he will finish it at Real Madrid. He has shown time and again that when people write him off he is able to bounce back. He started his career at a young age and has gone on to symbolize the key values that Real Madrid has always stood for. I think it is a great shame that Raul has never won the Balon D’Or here in Europe; I don’t understand the voting to be honest.
Guillem: How do you see the game between Liverpool and Real Madrid? Will you be watching?
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Camacho: Yes I will certainly be watching. I remember the final - when we lost against Liverpool - that we lost one nil. I think that game lives long in the memory of those associated with Madrid and that this game will be just as tight. I think that it will be a very even game because the two teams know each other very well. I don’t think that there is a favorite at the moment.
Guillem: I think you played two finals against two British clubs and you lost both is that right?
Camacho: Yes that’s right. One was the Cup Winners Cup against Aberdeen and the other was the European Cup Final against Liverpool.
Guillem: What do you remember of those games?
Camacho: Going into the European Cup final there was no clear favorite. Both teams had their chances in the game, I remember two of them fell to me and I did not take them. I was playing in the centre of midfield and was marking Souness. A defensive error let them in for a goal and that was what decided it. I think that extra time would have been a better reflection of the game as a whole: even penalties would have been a fair reflection of how even it was. As for the game against Aberdeen, I remember it perfectly, infact I still have a bang in my head from an elbow I got in that game. I don’t think that is was fair that we lost that game, but in the end finals are not about fair or unfair - they are about winning and losing.
Guillem: Who do you think will go through to the next round: Liverpool or Madrid?
Camacho: Madrid
Guillem: Why?
Camacho: First and foremost because I am a Real Madrid fan. I am friends with Benitez and some of his Spanish players and of course I would love to see them playing in the final against Real Madrid, but that can’t happen, so I hope that Real Madrid go through.
Guillem: What Osasuna did you find when you first arrived?
Camacho: Well, an Osasuna team that, on the face of things, was suffering from a lack of goals more than anything. We were six games into the season and the team had had a bad run of form. This team was always going to have to battle to survive.
Guillem: What is the first thing that one has to do when you arrive at a club that is lacking in confidence and lacking in points?
Camacho: I think that a change in coach always results in a burst of motivation for the players. The change always serves as a wakeup call to the players; they have to accept that along with the coach they are responsible. This is why the decision to change coach is often taken, then depending on the economic situation of the club you can look to bring in new players in the January window, but the key is that it often serves to shake the players into action.
Guillem: So the first thing to work on is the psychological element?
Camacho: Yes, you could say that, but it is other things as well. We couldn’t even score goals from the penalty spot before I arrived: we had only scored three. From that starting point I had to try and make the players believe in what they were doing. Right now we are in a situation where we are looking upwards and the team believes in what we are doing. I often speak to the players and tell them that we have absolutely nothing to lose. All we can do now is focus on winning games.
Guillem: What are the keys for Osasuna this season; if you are to avoid relegation?
Camacho: I think that the key is that we are able to put the finishing touch to the football that we are trying to play. We have to ensure that our football has an end product. I think that we have been lacking a certain amount of defensive intensity and we need to get that back. We have lost points in games where we have had the lead and let it slip away. As a team we can play good football but beyond that we need to maintain a certain level of intensity in order to survive.
Guillem: There are a few examples of interesting situations in your team; like that of Pandiani, who was out of the squad altogether but now finds himself back in the team and scoring goals.
Camacho: Yes, Pandiani has been important to us because he has a great amount of experience in the Spanish league, and has played in different situations with different teams. He has adapted perfectly to the system we have here, he is a great target man who brings a great level of energy to the pitch and transmits it to his teammates. He is a player that gets the most out of his ability and no one can take that away from him.
Guillem: In England it is difficult to understand that Osasuna can beat Sevilla who are up there at the top of the table. Does that tell you a little about the kind of league that we have in Spain?
Camacho: Yes, if you remember the game we played against Barcelona, who are the runaway leaders of La Liga at the moment, we were in the lead until the 80th minute. But then, in ten minutes, we lost the game due to that lack of defensive intensity that I was talking about earlier. We should have got three points out of that game and in the Bernabeu we were one nil up, and I think that to someone watching that game it would have been difficult to tell who was second in the league and who were last. I think that on any given day any team can beat another in this league, and that all of the games are highly competitive.
Guillem: This has to be the league of Barcelona and Lionel Messi; What they are doing is absolutely extraordinary isn’t it?
Camacho: Yes, and I have experienced what they are capable of at first hand here at Osasuna. I think that as a team they are having a fantastic season but it is Messi that is getting them out of tough situations: saving the day at the last moment. I think that we have just seen a few games where Messi has shown that Barcelona are one team with him on the pitch and another without him.
Guillem: Do you think that Barcelona can sustain this level until the end of the season?
Camacho: Well they have built up an extensive lead and if they keep this level up they will stretch it out for sure. If they can maintain their current level of confidence and keep winning points, there will be no stopping them. Add to that the fact that they have a player that can totally change the balance of games and there you have it. They are still in the Champions League and the Cup, so maybe they will rest players at certain points and that will have an effect.
Guillem: Almost all of your main rivals in the relegation fight have to come here to play in Pamplona. How do you rate your chances of staying up?
