Liverpool FC Forum

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:55 am

In the first of a series of interviews with Rafa's backroom staff, Liverpoolfc.tv talks to Angel Vales, whose role as head of technical analysis puts him at the forefront of bringing new and innovative ideas to Melwood.
Tell us a bit about your career before Liverpool?

You could say there are two spheres my career has taken. Firstly, I have an academic background in that I was a lecturer in sporting excellence at the University of La Coruna. Then I have worked at various clubs in Spain and Portugal. I was at Tenerife.

How are you finding life in England?

Overall I'm very happy both at work and in my personal life. I'm in a nice, quiet area on the outskirts of Liverpool. It's nice and calm here, and everyone I've met has been friendly. The weather is like La Coruna, so I am used to that. In terms of the work, well if you were to ask anyone back in Spain about English football, the first club that would come to their mind would be Liverpool. It has prestige and there's certain sporting values regarding success and the will to do well which are associated with Liverpool. I am surrounded here by a team of people, a group of players and staff, who are working to maintain that prestige.

How did you come to join Liverpool?

The fundamental person in me coming here last summer was Rafa Benitez. It wasn't the first time he'd shown an interest in me coming here. We go back 20 years both in sport and education – we studied together at university and we've been managers on opposite dugouts throughout our careers. Throughout that we've maintained a personal and professional relationship. I hadn't been able to come here before because of personal circumstances but now the university has legally allowed me to come here for a length of time without prejudicing my opportunity to go back to being a full-time lecturer.

One part of your job title is technical analyst – what's that?

My role is to evaluate how the team plays and how individuals perform. I take a look at videos and really detailed stats after games and see how individuals or the team can improve.

So is most of your work done from behind a desk?

It's a bit of everything. If you want to get the most out of the excellent new technology there is out there you have to spend time at a computer, and that's the less enjoyable part of the job. You want to be out there working with the players, and that's where you have the most impact.

Vales on journalists
Football wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for journalists. I would go as far as to say that journalists project an image of a club and can help a club grow. Having said that, certainly the way coaches and journalists look at the game is different. Journalists might meet up with a player once every few months, so they don't know players in the detailed manner we do. So, when they make comments on a game, it might be in a vastly different way to the way we see things.
What kind of new technology are you using at Liverpool?

This is probably not the place to go into great detail about everything we're using. What the Liverpool fans are interested in is the end products. But to give you a brush stroke: like a lot of clubs in Spain and Italy we use Amisco and Prozone, who provide a lot of stats for us. But, what we are doing is working with a couple of IT companies to come up with programs, partly designed by ourselves, to get the best analysis of our players. That's something particular to Liverpool that other clubs aren't necessarily doing.

How important is what you do to our pursuit of our first Premier League title?

It's an impossible question to answer! But, if we did win the league, the main people responsible for that would be Rafa Benitez and the players.

How closely do you work with Rafa?

I think, like everyone here, we have a warm relationship and we're in contact every day. One advantage I might have is that I know him from the past and know how he works. I knew how professional he was. One thing about Rafa is that he is very demanding of those he works with. Of all the managers I've worked with I have good memories and I've learnt from them. Everybody knows Rafa is one of the top managers in the world - his achievements speak for themselves.

You're a fitness coach for the reserves too – who's the fittest in the squad?

We shouldn't comment on that. The fans can decide – that's who we all work for. It's all about the finished product and a rounded balance, and that's what the fans will decide on. Some players might be fitter than others, but some might be more skilful. We try to create rounded players.

Is it right you sit in the press box during games – what are you doing up there?

Anywhere in Anfield is a great place to work but the press box has the best view, plus there's TVs so you get immediate replays. I am doing medium and long-term work, but there are occasions when I spot something during a game and go down to the dressing room at half time to talk to Rafa. To be honest though, he usually has all the small details covered – we all know that.

I bet you hear some rubbish talked up there, don't you?

[Laughs] Fortunately, I can't understand what they're saying! But I have to say I have a huge respect for journalists.

Really?

Football wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for journalists. I would go as far as to say that journalists project an image of a club and can help a club grow. Having said that, certainly the way coaches and journalists look at the game is different. Journalists might meet up with a player once every few months, so they don't know players in the detailed manner we do. So, when they make comments on a game, it might be in a vastly different way to the way we see things. That's not a lack of understanding, it's just we are looking at players from a different stance because we see them every day.

Okay, what's the ultimate ambition for Angel Vales? Do you want to be a manager?

I have no ambitions to be a manager. My immediate ambition is to give my best and improve in every way to help the best club in the world. I see myself here for the long term because I am so happy here. I will keep working and striving to get better at what I do

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