West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan with his 80-inch TV in his office. Photo: Andrew Fox
Carlos Corberan will be hated this weekend. As head coach of West Bromwich Albion he is very close to losing and his 40th birthday on Friday will not be remembered for long after a poor game against Rotherham.
This 3-1 defeat was crushing blow for West Brom hopes to qualify for the league play-offs, but with a positive and meticulous character like Corberan, anything is possible.
He has proven himself well since taking over from Steve Bruce in October, winning 13 out of 23 league matches and taking Albion out of the swamp of relegation to the top six.
However, the club face an uncertain future Absent owner Guochuan Lai and millions of pounds in loans owed are planning further protests ahead of Monday's home match against QPR with growing fears about what will happen next.
K Fortunately, Corberán's presence has given hope to disillusioned fans, and after five months in power, he is known to his supporters as «King Carlos».
«I want to spend a lot of time here and put West Brom where they deserve to be,» he says.
negative.
“So far I can only tell you that I have found a club that can give me everything I want and the opportunity to develop every idea that I have.
«I can't tell you about any negative things we have right now that would make me worry about the future of a big club like West Brom.»
Carlos Corberan is greeted by West Bromwich Albion fans who call him 'King Carlos' Photo: PA/Isaac Parkin.
Albion's defeat at Rotherham moved the club five points out of play-off places, leaving seven 'cup finals'.
Corberan, who was linked with a job at Leeds in February, remains optimistic, which has been a recurring theme since his first match against Sheffield United, when a defeat left the club in the bottom of the league.
«I always I tell the players that they will never forget where we came from,” he says.
“When we looked at the table, it was possible to worry, but it was important to be patient. The situation was difficult and no one expected it at West Brom.
Corberan is a charming, assertive man, and for an hour he talks persuasively about his methods in his first interview, conducted in the holy of holies of his office .
His attention to detail is extremely great, and he spends long days in this room watching clips and matches on a huge 80-inch TV screen connected to his laptop.
Before each match, Corberan spends 15 minutes on each match . player in personal meetings. In preparation for opposing teams, he forensically examines their last six games (ideally three home and three away) to develop consistent play and performance patterns.
“Small details matter in football,” he explains. “A goal scored or not depends on one centimeter. It's like a butterfly effect.
“I believe in communication and exchange of thoughts. It is important to show the players the possibilities. The more you expand players' knowledge, the more you help them play better.
“Each of them should be an expert in their specific position.”
Corberan made significant changes at the club’s training base in Walsall: the dining room menu was radically changed, white pasta, tomato ketchup and sugar.
Players are weighed in every morning because, according to Korberan, the 18 hours a day they spend outside the club are the most important.
Shortly after his appointment, he made it clear to the team that he had little interest in their life outside football and he only cares about their performance in training and matches. Although this approach may seem harsh, it emphasizes his purposefulness.
“No one can be more demanding at the club than me,” he says. «I want to be the best coach I can be and I want the players to be the same.
«I get job satisfaction from watching them improve every day and making people feel better, who are watching us.”
Corberan's journey to West Brom has been an unpredictable but varied experience. He was born in Chesta, a small town 26 km from Valencia, famous for its Ricardo Tormo race track, which hosts the MotoGP final every year.
The Valencia reserves goalkeeper, in his late teens, took an important step in his career after talking to his grandfather.
“One of the best decisions of my life was to stop playing,” he says, smiling. .
He retired at the age of 23 and first started working with Villarreal's reserves, first as a fitness coach and then playing in the main football teams of Saudi Arabia and Cyprus. During this time, the desire to become a head coach grew.
He was working at the Leeds academy when his life-changing moment came in June 2018. Marcelo Bielsa rode into the city, promoted him to the first team, and Corberán's mind was wide open.
Bielsa's methods, knowledge and views of the game were a lesson for Corberan, who still maintains a close relationship with the Argentine.
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Corberan also points to the influence of rival coaches in the division. He speaks regularly to Vincent Kompany, the former Manchester City captain who returned to the Premier League in his first season at Burnley.
A special bond with Kompany
Company and Corberan spent valuable time together in December after a World Cup halftime friendly between the two clubs at West Brom's training ground.
«You have that bond with some people.» , and we have common views on football,” Corberan says.
“What he has done this year is just incredible. He arrived at the perfect moment and in one summer changed the club with a philosophy. He is very clear about how he wants to play and what kind of players he needs to do it.”
Corberan admits his dedication to work means that there are inevitable sacrifices to be made away from football. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, Vanessa, and young son, and had to reschedule his 40th birthday celebration for his latest international break as the event coincided with Albion's trip to Rotherham on Friday.
«As a coach, it's impossible to have balanced life. We spend little time with family or friends,” he says.
“There are times when I was talking to my wife and completely forgot [what I was talking about]. Your mind can be very focused on games. I look at my boy's face and say, “Wow, I'm a father too.”
“Sometimes this job can be very demanding and requires all your concentration. You have a lot of problems to solve.»
Not that Corberan is complaining, admitting that working 20 hours a day is a dream. He says that the worst moments in his career were when he was out of work, when he was not sure if and when he would return.
When I ask what football means to him, he puffs out his cheeks and pauses. . «Football is my life. It's my energy, my motivation and my responsibility.
«We know how much we influence people's emotions. I work to make our fans proud of the team — sometimes we succeed sometimes not.»
West Brom will face QPR on Easter Monday with the play-offs yet to come. Corberan already has experience in this relentless promotion path after reaching last season's final
The Yorkshire club lost to Nottingham Forest and he left before the start of the season, saying he and the club were no longer connected.
“It was an amazing experience and I use the finale as motivation for my future,” he says.
“We didn’t get where we wanted to go, but I analyzed it and figured out what I would do This is what I want to repeat, but with a happier ending.»
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