"Manolo Gonzalez wouldn't change a thing, proud to have been in Garcia's place. A symbol of some day, he reached the top flight via the long route, having coached at every age group and every level in Spain, from the regional league to tercera, with its 397 teams across 18 groups; from Segunda B, still theoretically amateur and made up of four regional divisions with 80 teams, to segunda; and on to primera, no guarantee he would get there."
"Just about the first thing the 46-year-old says over the shouts at Espanyol's training ground, universal soundtrack to every game, is that he's a normal bloke. Spend time with him and he is, a bit too normal for where he is now: funny, honest, direct and entirely unpretentious. Deserving as well: he calls reaching primera a lottery but if there's something in that, it's not entirely true."
Manolo Gonzalez progressed from coaching in Spain's lowest regional leagues to managing in Primera after years in every tier, including Tercera and Segunda B. He combined coaching with a day job driving the interurbano to Barcelona before dedicating himself full time. His journey involved coaching every age group and learning through long hours, perseverance, talent and personality. At 46 he remains unpretentious, funny, honest and self-described as a normal bloke. The contrast between his roots and opponents like Espanyol, recently in Champions League contention, underscores the breadth of Spanish football and the unpredictable, fast-changing nature of the sport.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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