Gerardo Seoane Castro (Lucerna, Switzerland, 1978) He is a son of Galician emigrants (Carballo, La Coruña) who directs this new Bayer Leverkusen. From 98 to 2002 Dépor de Lendoiro signed him for their subsidiary, although he played with the first team as a midfielder. He speaks six languages well, Spanish among them, of course.
Question. He comes from receiving a 1-5 against Bayern … Thank you for attending us the same.
Answer. It is part of soccer. If Bayern have a good day and you don’t, the difference is noticeable. And that happened.
P. But your Bayer is still up. Do you think it is possible to avoid Bayern’s La Décima?
R. If Bayern does not have strong punctures or many injuries … it is very difficult for them to lose it. They have the best.
Q. What remains of the Seoane who signed for Dépor?
R. I came from playing in the First Division, and I was able to go to La Coruña, which was not the SuperDépor yet. My parents are Galician and I went with a special motivation. I still go there a little week a year.
P. Do you feel sorry for the Dépor now?
A. Well, yes, because I lived with the team in the Champions League and also being the host of LaLiga. Seeing it like this hurts all Galicians.
P. Descended twice with Fabril, a subsidiary of Deportivo. Did that help you to ‘prepare’ your career?
R. No, the truth. We had Irureta in the first team and I did learn a lot from him, from his training sessions and the Spanish work methodology. It is different from the Swiss one.
Q. Your style could be more Spanish than Swiss-German. Which one do you keep?
R. My training was Swiss. I’ve had a lot of that: punctuality, discipline … but the four years in La Coruña helped me to think about football differently.
Q. How did this new German school for technicians come about? Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Klopp, Flick …
A. German football is very complete, a perfect mix of technique, physics and strategy. And don’t just look at the big guys. There are many coaches in the Bundesliga with a new way of working, partly copied from what was done in Spain.
Q. Do you think that today’s football is more towards those rapid transitions that are seen in Germany than towards the Spanish ‘tiki-taka’?
A. Soccer must adapt to its environment. In Germany, as always, he was more direct and dynamic, and the Spanish, more of control with the ball. And that will continue to be the case. But it is true that football has evolved a lot physically, and that is common to all game ideas. Players are already athletes.
Q. How does your Bayer play?
A. We have an idea of a purposeful game; we want technical and speed players; that the public have fun watching attack … But also that they know how to suffer as a block. It is a mixture of Spanish and German. I like long possessions, but surprising with quick transitions, which, beware, are also done well in Spain.
P. Is it true that they call him the ‘Guardiola de Carballo’?
R. That was invented by a journalist … and nothing more to say. I played in the same position as Pep, and I liked him a lot, but comparing myself to him is out of place. He was one of the best in our position, and I didn’t even play Primera in Spain regularly.
P. Did it influence you as a technician?
R. His Barça always influenced the young coaches who left, but I stay with Del Bosque or Luis Aragonés. They are my favorites in Spain.
Q. How are your workouts?
R. I try to do them with the ball, but in Switzerland and Germany there is a mentality of working a lot without the ball. You have to find a mix.
P. Before the Bayern ‘hurricane’, they conceded few goals and scored many. What does that tell you?
R. That we are on the right track; that we are offensive, but with defensive balance. That tells me.
Q. How do you think the Bundesliga surpasses LaLiga?
A. Before the games, there is a very good atmosphere here. The stadiums are filled even in the Second Division and the fans are dressed in the colors of their teams in a massive way. Here a lot of work was done on the infrastructures.
P. Play Betis. What do you expect from the game?
R. I have seen a couple of his games, and it shows that Pellegrini, wherever he goes, his teams play well. It will be a ‘cool’ match to watch, but, considering our attacks and our vocation, both teams are going to worry about defending also ‘very’ a lot.
Q. Your player Wirtz (18 years old) has scored or assisted in all your games. Impress. How much will it be worth soon?
R. I do not know, but I do know, for sure, that sooner or later he will play in a big game in Europe. Mind you, we think you still need two or three in Leverkusen to grow. This will improve your personality and regularity. But yeah, in a year or two he will surely be paid a price similar to Havertz or these kinds of German talents.
