Samaniego: “The scouts are going to be surprised by the talent of the players”.
David Samaniego will be the first coach of the V Tryouts Professional FutbolJobs from January 7 to 14 at Albir Garden Resort. Samaniego will develop an intense week of training in order for the participants to try to show their best qualities in front of the large number of scouts that will be following the event. The coach developed a large part of his career in the academy of Atlético de Madrid before making the leap to Israel, where he was sports and methodology director in the Hapoel Beer Sheva youth academy, as well as coach of the U-19 team. After a period back in Spain (Atlético Pinto, Zamora and Toledo), he returned to Hapoel Beer Sheva to act as assistant coach of the first team, which participated in the Conference League and reached the Cup final in Israel.
-What do you expect from the V Tryouts Professional FutbolJobs?
-As the coach of this fifth edition of the Tryouts FutbolJobs, one of the most prestigious events in soccer, I hope and I am sure that I will enjoy very much all the players who are going to participate. It is going to be an exciting week at Albir Garden Sports with matches, training sessions, talks and, above all, getting to know everyone involved in this great event, both players and technical staff, and I am completely sure that we are all going to learn a lot and, above all, I hope that the players can demonstrate their talent and, in the future, that they will be able to play in Spanish soccer.
-Have you had any similar experience in your career?
-Well, not like this great FutbolJobs event… sometimes in the clubs that I have been lucky enough to coach we have conducted entrance exams. In Atlético de Madrid, many years ago, I remember doing in Cotorruelo some access tests for players between 8 and 12 years old and in other clubs I have also done some player selection process. But like these FutbolJobs Tryouts that last a week and that we will be immersed in a professional environment from the first minute, I have never done anything like this and I’m really looking forward to it.
-What do you know about the boys who will arrive at El Albir?
-For now the selection is being made and we know that we will have players of many different nationalities and it will be very nice and a challenge for these players to be able to show all their talent to all the people who will see them. It’s going to be an incredible experience for all of them.
-Do you think the many scouts who will be at the Tryouts will find players to sign?
-Right now, to say yes or no would be wrong. I’m sure you’re going to see some very good players in the games we play. And then, in order for them to fit into a team, many things have to be evaluated, but what I am sure of is that the scouts will be surprised by the talent of the players who will participate and I am sure they will enjoy the games and the spectacle that will be offered.
-Who will be with you on the coaching staff?
We are finishing to outline the technical staff that will be with me, in the end we will all be equally important and we will all have a lot of work in this exciting week at Albir Garden Sports. Along with me there will be a physical trainer, a data analyst, a goalkeeper trainer, we will have sports psychology talks and the players will be able to recover with physiotherapy treatments. We will all work together so that the experience of these players is unforgettable and everyone can enjoy it to the fullest.
-The players know they have one week and two friendlies to prove their worth. How will you channel the anxiety that can come to the players because they know they can’t fail in those matches?
-First of all, this is soccer and they have to play what they like, so they have to be themselves and play as if it were a training session. As I always say, you have to train at 100% and then in the match enjoy doing the same as in training. We will conduct sports psychology sessions where we will explain different tools to manage emotions, as well as many other very interesting talks that will help them a lot in their day to day in soccer and in life, because let’s not forget that soccer has to help us to acquire important values for our lives.
-We have players coming from all over the world. How will you channel the training sessions in this sense?
-We will all have to adapt to different cultures and different languages. We will speak in English, which we will surely understand each other better, and from there the non-verbal language and gestures in soccer will make us all understand each other. Also through blackboards and individual explanations we will be able to understand each other. There will be no problem and everything will be great.
-What would you like to tell the players before they arrive at the training camp?
-That they are going to spend an incredible week, immersed in a 100% soccer environment and that they enjoy to the fullest what they are going to experience, because they will remember this for the rest of their lives. These learnings are unique and we hope that many of them can achieve their dream of becoming soccer players. We will be there to help and accompany them.
