Míchel Sánchez's assistants introduce themselves: 'The circle is complete'

They are constantly busy with the Ajacieden during every training session. Whether it is giving individual tips during an exercise that only the nearest player can hear or shouting an encouraging message to keep everyone sharp, the duo certainly makes their presence felt in Garderen. We sat down with them as they introduced themselves.

Alberto Garrido (49), assistant coach
"I'll be turning 50 in August."

What is your football background?
"As a player, I reached the third tier of Spanish football. After that, I started earning my coaching badges and also qualified as a physical education teacher. While I was working towards those qualifications, I joined Real Madrid. I worked there for fifteen years in various roles. Over the past two seasons, I was an assistant coach at Watford, in the Premier League and the Championship."

How would you describe yourself?
"That's very simple. I'm someone who likes having friends close to me, and I'm not someone who changes jobs quickly. Just look at my time at Real Madrid. I don't change cars very often either; only when one breaks down do I buy a new one. I've also been married to the same woman for 25 years. I haven't moved house very often either, except when it was necessary for my work. In short, I'm a calm person, I like having my loved ones around me, and I have an enormous passion for my profession."

And what are you like on the pitch?
"That's different. On the pitch, that passion brings out another side of me. I'm more emotional there. I experience everything much more intensely, sometimes even more impulsively than in the rest of my life."

What is your role within the team?
"Over the past two years at Watford, I mainly focused on the individual development of players. After those two years of experience, I'm convinced that in professional football, it is extremely valuable to pay attention to the individual development of each player. By improving players individually, you ultimately improve the team as a whole."

"I discussed this with Míchel Sánchez. He wanted to put together a coaching staff in which there wouldn't really be fixed roles for the assistant coaches. We felt that, given the profile of the players, this would also be very useful at Ajax. That's why we agreed that, alongside my role as assistant coach, I would also focus on individual development. I look at what Míchel Sánchez needs within his style of play and how we can improve every player at a micro level so that both the player and the team benefit. Individual development is therefore central."

What is your relationship with Míchel?
"That's a great story. I played alongside him at Rayo Vallecano. We played together in our younger years, went to the same school and even spent a year in the same class. We travelled together to Rayo Vallecano's training sessions. He had enormous talent and quickly made the step up to the first team."

"Later, we came up against each other when I was working at Real Madrid, and he was at Rayo Vallecano. And after around fifteen or twenty years, our paths crossed again here at Ajax. It feels as though the circle is complete. I've always admired him. I grew up alongside him and have always felt an emotional connection with him, both during his playing days and later when he became a coach."

How would you like the players to see you?
"The way I've always experienced football myself: with responsibility. Of course, I love special players with courage who can make the difference and take control of a match. But I have a soft spot for responsible team players. Players who contribute to a close-knit and compact team. They might not be a ten every week, but they consistently deliver an eight."

Juanvi Peinado (53), assistant coach
"My full name is Juan Vicente, but in Spain they call me Juanvi. I just turned 53. My first day of training here at Ajax was on my birthday, so it was a very special birthday."

What is your football background?
"I played professional football in the third tier of Spain until I was around thirty. When I stopped playing, I became a coach. This is my 25th season as a coach."

"I've been fortunate enough to work at major clubs in Spain such as Real Madrid, Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano. Over the past six years, I worked as an assistant coach to Julen Lopetegui. First at Sevilla and then in the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United. After that, I resumed my career as a head coach in the third tier of Spain. Then Míchel Sánchez approached me with the opportunity to help him in this wonderful project."

How would you describe yourself?
"Wherever I work, I try to help everyone by giving them new insights and providing them with tools. Not necessarily to improve them, because that might sound too ambitious, but to give them more resources and different perspectives so they can develop as well as possible."

"That is my greatest wish: that many years from now, when we may no longer be at this club, people will be able to say that we helped the players as much as possible to get the very best out of themselves."

And what are you like on the pitch?
"I believe you coach the way you live. I try to be the same person during training as I am away from the pitch. And away from the pitch, I'm the same coach as I am on it. First, you're a person, then you're a footballer. One cannot exist without the other."

What is your role within the team?
"My main specific responsibility will be set-pieces, but in addition I support the head coach with match preparation and opponent analysis. We are a coaching staff in which everyone tries to help one another. Everyone has their own responsibilities, but in the end, we work together on everything."

"For example, the individual development of players, which Alberto mainly focuses on, only makes sense if it remains connected to the collective aspect of the team. That's why we work together constantly. Our main mission is to support Míchel Sánchez as much as possible so that he can get the best possible performances out of the team."

What is your relationship with Míchel Sánchez?
"I first met him when he was at the beginning of his playing career. There are three years between us in age, and at that time, he was playing for the reserve team. I was playing for another club from Madrid that competed at the same level. We played against each other several times."

"Later, we met again as coaches. That was twelve years ago when I joined Rayo Vallecano. For four years, I was head coach of the reserve team and the U19S. Míchel Sánchez was the academy director at the time. He was responsible for the methodology and the youth academy. That's where we really got to know each other. Since then, we've built an excellent relationship, both professionally and personally, and I feel very comfortable with that."

How would you like the players to see you?
"As someone who wants to help them. For me, this profession is entirely about helping. A coach should help players reach their highest level. That's how I see my role. I'm someone who walks alongside the player, constantly trying to share my vision, helping him improve and supporting him when things aren't going well."

"When a player goes through difficult moments, I want to be there beside him and help him get back on his feet. As a coach, I want to guide players towards matchday with the confidence that they can solve any problem that comes their way. That is the most important thing to me: that players see me as someone who genuinely wants to help them."