An elderly man walks into a sports centre in Harrow, London, and slowly makes his way to the front of a room packed with children and their parents. Wearing a long jacket with a gilet underneath and with his glasses tucked into his shirt, he could be someone’s grandfather — but Vicente del Bosque’s distinctive moustache gives him away.
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Why is the man who led Spain to their first-ever World Cup win making an appearance at the Tithe Farm Sports & Social Club, home to 10th-tier Rayners Lane FC?
It is a fair question.
This is the latest destination for the Vicente del Bosque Football Academy, an initiative overseen by the former Spain and Real Madrid manager since 2011 which aims to teach children common values through football. London was chosen this time because of the cultural connections between Spain and the UK, as well as the high number of Spaniards who have settled there.
That is why the top floor of the sports centre was full of parents and children speaking a mixture of Spanish and English as they waited for Del Bosque’s arrival on Sunday morning. When ‘Don Vicente’ finally entered the room, it was hard to tell which of the two groups was more excited to see the 72-year-old. Listening to Del Bosque’s opening address before the three-day football camp, however, you would have thought he was the one indebted to those who had come to see him.
“I’m almost certainly here because we’re world champions — if not, we wouldn’t be here,” Del Bosque said in Spanish, to a ripple of laughter from the audience. “If we hadn’t won, it’s almost certain that I wouldn’t be here, almost certain.”
Del Bosque was in London to open his latest football academy (Photo: Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero).It is that kind of humility that endeared Del Bosque to so many Spain fans during his eight-year spell in charge of the national team from 2008-2016, when he guided the country’s most talented generation to World Cup glory in 2010 and a European Championship two years later. Before that he showed an expert ability to manage Real Madrid’s stars, helping them win two La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies before his sacking in 2003.
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But Del Bosque was not in London to reminisce about those achievements. Run by a trusted team of coaches, his academy focuses on children’s development rather than the discovery of the next world champion or galactico. Del Bosque was honest in telling the 62 kids present how difficult it is to make it in professional football while still encouraging them to pursue their dreams.
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Even so, he could have been giving a team talk to Xavi or Andres Iniesta when he talked to the children about the importance of “controlling their emotions” on the pitch. He drew another laugh from his audience when he discussed Iniesta’s extra-time winner against the Netherlands in 2010, admitting he might have gone overboard when he clenched his fists in celebration.
Del Bosque carries the trophy after Spain’s 2010 World Cup win (Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)The launch of the London academy had been set for 2020 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Families paid an enrolment fee for their children to attend and the initiative was set up in collaboration with the Spanish-speaking Canada Blanch football school in London. According to Tomas Ruiz, the director of that football school, the initiative came at the right time after the UK’s exit from the European Union and COVID-19.
There is significant Spanish influence in the UK, with the 2021 census estimating 206,000 Spanish nationals live there — making them the seventh-most represented non-British nationality. There are also deep football ties between the countries: the game was first introduced to Spain by British miners working in the Basque country, something referenced by Del Bosque in his speech on Sunday.
He also pointed to the fact there are four Spanish managers working in the Premier League. A day before his appearance at the academy, Del Bosque and his team of coaches watched Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brentford at the Emirates and spent time on the pitch with Mikel Arteta.
Del Bosque was at the Emirates on Saturday night to meet Mikel Arteta and see his Arsenal side draw with Brentford (Photo: Pau Alberti).“Football is universal, there aren’t borders,” Del Bosque said when asked afterwards about his relationship with English football. “People are becoming more and more learned when it comes to Premier League football, anyone who doesn’t talk about the Premier League seems as if they’re out of the game. But they’ve earned it — it’s always been a well-loved kind of football, admired in Spain.”
When Del Bosque finished his opening speech on Sunday, he received a huge round of applause, which soon turned into a standing ovation. Adults and children started queuing up for photographs and Del Bosque duly obliged — even as the academy’s technical director, Pau Alberti, urged them to wait until lunchtime.
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Then it was time for the football, as the children rushed down to the 5G pitch wearing black jackets from the academy. The coaches spread out and set out drills for the kids while their parents watched on. After answering questions from various media outlets, Del Bosque took a seat in the dugout with grey skies overhead – a slightly less glamorous location than the Santiago Bernabeu.
Del Bosque made reference to the football links between the UK and Spain (Photo: Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero).So are there any lessons he can transfer from the legendary players he previously managed to the children at his academy?
“We managed the Spanish national team for 114 matches,” Del Bosque said. “Of the 114 matches, I think we had one player sent off (Gerard Pique in the 2013 Confederations Cup final against Brazil).
“I think they (the children) also have to be careful about that and with their behaviour. Behaviours are passed on very easily. Remember the Japanese in the last World Cup in 2018 in Russia, when they were winning 2-0 against Belgium and they lost 3-2 with very little time left. The Japanese didn’t cry or say anything, they went back to the dressing room, they cleaned it, they left it impeccable and they went back to Tokyo – which is how football should be.
“We should try and convince these kids that accepting defeat is part of the game.”
(Top photo: Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)
The Athletic’s Spanish football coverage has expanded…
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