Real Betis sporting director Miguel Torrecilla reveals his long-term admiration for new Coach Gus Poyet and thought of him for Celta Vigo.
Poyet was on Monday confirmed as taking over from Juan Merino for next season at Benito Villamarin and Torrecilla, recently hired from Celta, confirmed a long interest in the Uruguayan.
“For me, the decision was simple. Since Paco Herrera left Celta, the arrival of Luis Enrique and then Eduaro Berizzo, Poyet was always an alternative in my mind,” he explained, AS reports.
“When I arrived [at Betis] I had to make a decision on the bench and when I decided Merino wouldn’t continue, I always thought Poyet was what this project needed.
“He knows how to win games and adapts to the circumstances. He combines risk with results, gives importance to the ball, from the goalkeeper. That’s where the attack begins. He gives importance to the wings in attack and wants the centre-backs to be involved in the attack. He wants to dominate the ball. He’s aggressive, who tries to win the ball back quickly.
“Enrique came [to Celta] from Roma after a lot of hesitation. Berizzo didn’t have a lot of experience. There was a lot of thinking for the future. Both continued to evolve and Poyet also comes to continue to grow, he has a hunger to leave his mark on Betis.”
Poyet played in France, Argentina and Spain – with Real Zaragoza – and coached AEK Athens in his last post, but the bulk of his career was spent in England, with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as a player, and Swindon, Leeds and Spurs as a coach, before taking jobs at Brighton and Hove Albion and Sunderland.
“English football is where there is most investment in the world. There are universal models there. A lot of clubs have changed their historical ideals, like Spurs and Everton,” Torrecilla noted as he discussed Poyet’s time in England.
“The first time we spoke he asked ‘when can I come to Seville?’ There were no economic pretensions, he told me he was available.”
