In Off The Post likes to look at all sides of the beautiful game. We've managed to pick up this fascinating interview with Vicente Corral Collantes, a very experienced and talented Spanish scout who has dealt with the big Spanish clubs during his career.
What is a soccer scout? What do you like most about
your job?
Being a soccer scout is an exciting job. It is at
least for me because I love watching soccer and discovering new players. It
means entertainment, but it is also a more sacrificed kind of job than most
would imagine. Particularly on the weekends, which is when we I generally
travel to the fields to watch players. It is a lot of hours, and there are many
matches to choose from. Additionally, I have to combine that with televised
soccer. There are not enough hours for me to watch everything I would like to.
On weekdays, all the soccer I watch is mostly
international. I have an office set up to connect to virtually any channel that
broadcasts soccer in the world. To be a scout, you have to be soccer crazy.
Otherwise, it is impossible.
What do you like the most about your job?
What I like most, besides watching the soccer games,
is the satisfaction that you feel when one of the players that you have
recommended to the clubs actually makes it, or at least gets ahead and becomes
a professional player.
What characteristics does a scout take most into
account?
Well, that depends on each scout, and particularly on
the club that you are collaborating or working with. Real Madrid does not seek
the same profile of player as Osasuna, for instance. It varies depending on the
team, the country, the league, or many other factors.
I try to focus on many parameters. Evidently, you look
for talent most of all, which is what catches your eye at first. But not all
soccer players who become prominent are the most talented. My reports are
summarized in several headings: Personal data; Physical profile; Technical
profile; Tactics, both offensive and defensive; Psychological profile; etc.
Each heading has subheadings. For instance, in the
Physical Profile I focus on speed –both long and short, Resistance,
Coordination, Strength, Change of Rhythm, etc. And so on, with each heading. I
try to be very meticulous with this. There are nearly 100 parameters that I
study and include in my reports.
If you ask me about which parameter I focus on most,
it would be speed –both physical and mental speed. I look at physical speed
particularly for short distances, of 10 to 20 meters. Mental speed refers to
decision-making. However, all parameters are very important in becoming a
professional soccer player.
For anyone interested, I am writing a book dedicated
to the world of scouting, and I will approach all these issues in it.
Are there any statistics about young players who get
to be professionals?
I have references from a couple of seasons ago
-2012/2013. At the time, there were total 674,326 male soccer licenses in
Spain. Out of that, only 2,370 licenses belonged to professional soccer
players, so you can imagine how hard it is.
Why do you think that players who show great skills at
a young age frequently do not confirm these skills later on?
There are many possible reasons. Children are not
fully developed, physically or mentally. And it is not the same playing junior
categories –where soccer does not cease to be entertaining- than moving up to
categories until you become a professional player.
Many lose skill, or the spark that they had as
children, for purely physical motives. Many times genes rule, and a child who
developed too soon, is left behind in many aspects. Forces balance out, and it
is no longer about being a quality player, or just a strong one. You have to
have the rest of the qualities and skills, and that can only be perfected with
hard training.
Others lose interest and motivation because they
continue to play soccer. And the effort that they have to put into their
training and the matches get more and more demanding –particularly in their
teenage years, when other interests surface in their lives. They change
emotionally, and they are not willing to sacrifice certain things in order to
try and be professional soccer players.
Others leave it because they are not comfortable with
their trainers; because of bad company; their education; the weather… And we
cannot forget the injuries and the consequences those leave…
In order to reach the elite, they have to love the
game, and enjoy it. It must be a calling. And they need to have an innate
ability to work hard. They also need to be brave. And lastly, they need to have
luck… lots of luck.
And in the opposite scenario?
I would pretty
much have to repeat the same thing I just talked about. Children who did
not stand out many times develop their abilities, and later on thanks to their
hard work and training, they manage to stand out just when they need to. And
again, they need to be very lucky, to be seen, to be given a chance, and to
take advantage of it.
When they are cracks, like Messi or Maradona, I think
that anyone can see that they are special, and that they have a good chance of
making it. But other times it is not so clear, even at 18 years old. As an
example, I will tell you that when I played in the 3rd Division at
the Marina de Cudeyo, this player showed up one day –the Santander Racing had
let him go after his time at Juveniles- and I thought he was a high level
player, but he ended up playing with the Cantabria for a season. Do you know
who that was? Ivan Helguera, an ex-player for Roma, Español, Real Madrid, and
the Spanish national team. He was not worth it for the Racing, but was worth it
for Real Madrid and the national team? If you talk to scouts and trainers, they
will tell you lots of stories like this one.
I could tell you many more. Very few people know that
James Rodriguez was brought to many first rate teams in the Spanish league when
he was 17 years old. He played for the Envigado in Colombia, and 50% of his
rights cost 160,000 euro. Those clubs missed out on a potential 80 million
euro, and so on, and so forth.
Right now, I am introducing a player from the Nigerian
sub-20 national team. His name is Zaharadeen Bello. He is just 17 years old,
and he has been world champion with the Sub-17, and African champion with the
sub-20. He is a player with a future. Do not discard the idea that he might be
referred to as a player worth signing by one of the European leagues in the
near future.
You have also combined your Scout duties with that of
Sports Manager of the Santander International FC. How did you do this 2014-15
season?
The truth is we
did much better than expected. It is a different club, where we try to
integrate people from different countries with the people of Santander and
Cantabria. Besides, on the sports level, we have always been able to build good
teams. It is a reason to be happy, because in my three years as Sports Manager
we have achieved two promotions, and two champion cups. We began in the Second
Regional, and this year we are already at Preferential, with two cups on our
shelves. It is a good reason to be happy.
And what can we
expect for this season 2015-16? A new promotion?
Well, this year I
am no longer Sports Manager of the Club. The task of building the roster is no
longer mine. There was a change in management. I no longer decide who to sign,
or when. But I hope they can follow the same line, and aspire to a new
promotion. This time to 3rd. That would be major.
You can catch up with Vicente in all sorts of media clips-
IN THE MEDIA/INTERVIEWS/REPORTS
