Jonatan Giráldez (Vigo, 32 years old) appears in the Johan Cruyff stands after the first training session of the week before the Champions League final against Olympique Lyon. He is meticulous when talking about football, but emotional when it comes to his family. Willing to chat about everything and without sparing words, he gets homesick when he remembers Vigo. He talks about his son, Cíes—in honor of the Galician islands—his amulet. Since he was born, he has won every possible title with Barça. At the end of the season he leaves for the Washington Spirit, in the United States, after three successful seasons as head coach. He knows the culture of effort. He arrived at 19 years old in Barcelona with his partner Olaia.
Ask. How will you explain to your son what you have experienced with Barcelona?
Answer. It sounds cliché, but it is difficult to express in words everything that I have felt at Barça. What I have experienced in Barcelona would occupy three books. I will do it with a smile on my face, and let the emotions speak for themselves. I will explain your life project: what your parents have done to dedicate themselves to what they like, how to educate yourself being from Vigo and why leave.
Q. His end at Barça is very close. Think about it?
R. Sometimes. But now my attention is exclusively on the Sabbath. That gives me peace of mind because it allows me to optimize my mental resources for the game. But I see the affection of the fans, or people on the street who thank me for these years and wish me luck. At home, with my partner, I wear morriñonos. We know that we are going to leave behind 12 wonderful years in which my life has changed a lot. Now I have a son, who is Catalan, and that is the summary of how well things have gone for us here. He slept better before, but there are feelings that he didn’t have, like when I leave work and walk through the door and see Cíes. Every day is like a first date.
Q. As a Galician, he is used to emigrating.
R. It has been a journey of professional growth, I am in the best team in the world, but on a personal level I am someone totally different from the one who arrived in Barcelona. He had a reductionist vision of the place and culture where he lived. When I return to Galicia I feel that the people have changed, but it is I who is different. I am very restless, and when I notice that I am comfortable in my daily life, I get uncomfortable and need challenges. Olaia and I came to Barcelona with a five-year project to train, gain experience and then go abroad. But those five became 12. And now it’s like going back to that initial idea. I am leaving with the dream of having the same capacity for improvement and learning in another country. And on a sporting level, being a champion team. I can’t imagine going to a place with the consent to appear.
Q. Why the United States?
R. How things are being done there speaks for itself. It is a League with an audiovisual project in which a lot of money has been invested for the next five years. You can watch games from all over the world. And it is a very even league, with stadiums with significant attendance. There is a lot of competitiveness, and as a coach it trains you and nourishes you.
Q. Is the League stagnant?
R. Yes. I have been here since 2019 and have seen little evolution. They continue to play on fields that are not stadiums, have artificial grass or have poor lighting. This year it has been planned a little more in advance, but it is insufficient. Some things, like the Queen’s Cup, and regardless of the result on the pitch, have been done well. But at the League level there is a lot of room for improvement in every sense.
Q. For example?
R. Invest more in television. Being as humble as possible, what Barça produces and receives from the League is very little. By winning the Super Cup and the Cup, Barça loses money. Arbitrations are becoming more professional, but there is still room for improvement. We see things every week that are blatant. Everything can be improved with investment and long-term thinking. Next year will we play on the same fields? And in two? In ten? I think next year will be like this one.
Q. There is talk of talent drain. Do you feel part of it?
R. It has been a part, but not the main reason. I have always looked for challenges at Barça to improve as a team and I cannot attribute my departure exclusively to a lack of competitiveness. But it is evident that there are many players who have left because they consider that there are other emerging markets that can nourish them at a competitive level.
Q. Have you considered staying?
R. It hasn’t crossed my mind. I did it in advance to explain that I was leaving to lend a hand to the club and organize myself with enough time. And it has been shown that this decision has not harmed the team, because there are many taboos regarding communicating the future. Why is there a problem with being honest? In other countries it is done, but in Spain it is frowned upon. In all my jobs I have given everything until the end. It’s the most professional thing to do, and if when you leave, people think you’ve faltered at some point, it’s shit that they remember you like that. It would be disappointing my family, who I have seen work on a thousand things. I was born with that DNA, knowing that work is a necessity.
Q. This season has left figures like Sandra Paños or Alexia Putellas on the bench.
R. There is a conversation with the goalkeepers at the beginning of the season so that they know the situation they are starting from. I don’t tell you who will start. If you establish roles, one declines, the other becomes confident and the third thinks she has no options. Then you make the tactical decision. You can’t get carried away by the name on the shirt. The decision has to be justified from a sporting point of view, and I have the data and I know their form. You can make mistakes, but I don’t know any coach who makes a decision to lose.
Q. Has the defeat against Lyon haunted you in 2022?
R. Not at present, but then yes. It took me weeks to digest it. It was my first Champions League final as a coach. This will be a different final than two years ago, because of how we arrived, because of the players available and because of the enthusiasm. In addition, we have changed things, such as being more patient in the initial stretch of the season. You have to win, but it is not necessary to shine for 90 minutes. In my first year, if the first part wasn’t perfect, I would get frustrated. But patience has been my great personal growth.
Q. Would beating Lyon mean a change of cycle in Europe?
R. Depends. The hegemony that Lyon has in Europe with its Champions League is undeniable. We are the two best teams in Europe. We both have a great individual level, and a very high capacity for adaptation and mentality. There will be a great final, that’s for sure. I want to win all four titles.
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