Julio Velázquez was presented as the new coach of Deportivo Alavés Wednesday noon, where he was “happy, excited and privileged” to have the opportunity to lead the club from Vitoria. In a speech full of optimism and positivity, Velázquez assured that the objective of permanence “is going to be achieved”, displaying union and commitment on the part of all the agents that make up the club. “It is going to suffer, it is going to be hard, it is going to be necessary to row until the last day, but I am convinced that we will achieve permanence. If we all contribute our grain of sand, I have no doubt that the objective will be achieved” .
The new coach explained that when he received the call from the club, he did not think about Alavés’ qualifying situationand assured that the differentiating factor is “that you are called by a club that has been doing things very well for many years. A club that within the current situation can grow and evolve”.
optimistic message
The man from Salamanca commented that upon his arrival he found a dressing room “predisposed, with an important level of commitment and with the desire to reverse the situation”, and He confessed that, in the process of coming out of relegation, mental work will be as important as football, with both concepts hand in hand. “The psychological aspect is important, but the football aspect is also important. Of course we are human beings, and if the team is where it is, it is an issue that must be emphasized, in the emotional aspect. It is clear that the objective is to win”.
In that sense, the new Albiazul coach launched a message of optimism towards the goal. “Today the mountain seems very high, but at any moment it can seem smaller, it all depends on what perspective it is seen from and the results that are obtained. We are going to be positive and add, zero negativism. It is possible, it is not that can be achieved, it is going to be achieved”.
Focused on the calendar
Velázquez also confessed to having seen all the Deportivo Alavés games during the year, but he did not want to reveal the diagnosis made by him and his team out of respect for previous teammates. “I have my opinion, and once we receive the proposal you focus more. We have our diagnosis, but right now it has to be an internal question how to work through that diagnosis. Since yesterday I have this team and these players, let’s see what We decided it’s the right thing for this moment.”
To end the presentation, the young coach admitted that one of the things he had noticed since the agreement with the club was the calendar, both his own and that of other teams, although he stated that his little is put “in the game against Osasuna”. What’s more, He stressed the importance of winning the first game, even if it was not Alavés’ best game. “Now the most important thing is the results. If there is a game with good feelings but we end up losing, give me a game with not so good feelings but let’s win”.
Sergio Fernández: “The sadness of Mendilibar’s departure is proportional to the joy of Velázquez’s arrival”
Julio Velázquez’s presentation was also attended by both the President of Deportivo Alavés, Alfonso Fernández de Trocóniz, and the Sports Director, Sergio Fernández, who had some first words for the new coach. They also wanted to thank José Luis Mendilibar for his work at the club, and regretted “having to make these kinds of decisions.” Fernández de Trocóniz thanked Velázquez for having accepted the challenge that had been posed to him, and commented that it is an objective “that can be met”. Sergio Fernández, for his part, assured that “the sadness of the departure of José Luis Mendilibar is proportional to the joy for the arrival of Julio”. The Sports Director commented that the signing of the new coach brings knowledge, skills, and great joyand said he was convinced that “together the proposed objectives will be achieved”.
Both directors also answered the three questions that the journalists could ask them. The President, asked if the club had made self-criticism for the constant changes of coachlaunched the message that “competing in the First Division is not easy for any team”, and asked “to wait until the end of the season to take stock”.
Sergio Fernández, on the other hand, was questioned about why the decision was made to dismiss Mendilibar after the defeat against Atlético de Madrid, and not after losing against Granada where there was a fifteen-day break afterwards. The Sports Director explained that “decisions are made when it is considered the right time. We have understood that this was the right time to make this decision of this magnitude, and it has been so. It is not a question of whether it has been before or after, but when it is considered appropriate. We understood that this was the moment”. In addition, Fernández assured that there was no clause for Mendilibar to leave in the event that Deportivo Alavés were bottom of the table.
