GARCÍA PIMIENTA: "WE WANT THE FANS TO IDENTIFY WITH THE TEAM"

After a busy morning with numerous meetings, Xavi García Pimienta sat down with Sevilla FC Official Media to discuss his appointment as Head Coach.

Speaking for the first time since signing a two-year deal with the club, the coach discussed the events of the last few days: "They were intense days. We had been negotiating for a few weeks, and we were really looking forward to it being resolved. When it became official, I was really keen to come here, get to know the club, start working and see these magnificent facilities. We want to start the season at the top of our game."

As for the negotiation, he stated that everything started with "a meeting with Víctor Orta and the President a few days ago and I saw the club's interest in signing me. I presented them with my philosophy and the club showed me theirs. I don't want to say that I was under any illusions because I'm sure there were more candidates, but I saw it as a real option that caught my attention. When everything comes to fruition and we reach an agreement, that's when I put on my overalls and I'm already thinking about what I'd like to do, to work on planning the squad for the season as has happened today. I'm already fully involved in this project. They have chosen me, they have seen my track record and they have seen that I could be the ideal person for the project, just as I have. It's exciting and I see myself capable of taking the club forward. I see that the club trusts me to be the ideal person and I have to repay that with a lot of hard work and making the right decisions."

García Pimienta is aware of the task at hand: "We arrived yesterday evening and I haven't seen much. It was a bit of a shock to arrive with so much press at the airport, but it says a lot about the club I'm coming to. I knew I was coming to one of the best clubs in Spain and Europe, that's not news, but I'm looking forward to it. We finished dinner and went for a walk around the Sánchez-Pizjuán. The facilities here are something to be proud of and a great place to work."

"The facilities here are something to be proud of and a great place to work"

The coach then discussed his backroom team and their initial plans: "We're coming with the coaching staff we've been working with at Las Palmas, some of them even from my time at Barcelona B. They're people I completely trust, they're at the highest level and they are going to be up to the task. I'm coming here with enthusiasm but I'm also aware of the responsibility that comes with such a big club showing its confidence in me and in my coaching staff. That means that we have done things right to be able to come here. I really believe in my way of understanding the game and my conviction towards the player and I am convinced that things are going to work out well. It's not going to be a short process, there will be a small margin of getting to know the player on a day-to-day basis and instilling our ideas. From there, I'm convinced that things will go very well."

His time at Barcelona's academy as a youngster has certainly influenced his outlook on the game: "Cruyff joined when I was in the U14 team and he conveyed to the whole club a different way of understanding the game. It's true that both as a player and later as a coach, I identified with that way of playing because we had the raw material to play like that. Barcelona have players with a very clear profile and then at Las Palmas it was a bit similar. Now I'm coming to a new place with new players and I'm sure there will be many changes. I have to adapt a lot to the profile of the players here and, from there, have a clear idea of how to play. The most important thing is to win and sometimes you need a way of playing to win. When we know the squad well, we will see what is the best way to play to win matches."

"I have an idea, I would like to play a certain way, but I want to get to know the player and work with them daily. I see you play in matches, but when I really get to know you is in training, seeing what you can do with my idea of the game. Until that happens, I don't see myself as being able to say that Sevilla will play this way. I'd like to have the ball a lot because that means the opposition doesn't have it, but with the clear intention of attacking and scoring", he continued. 

"When we know the squad well, we will see what is the best way to play to win matches"

As an outsider, Xavi always believed that Sevilla would avoid danger last season: "I don't want to analyse Sevilla this season, but you see that this is a historic club that had just won a European competition and then they slipped down the table. You knew that they were going to get out of danger for sure because of the strength they have. I don't know what happened internally and it's true that as soon as they mathematically secured safety they dropped off a bit, but looking at the squad you knew they were going to climb the table for sure."

The Head Coach also spoke about the academy: "Firstly I'd like to congratulate Sevilla Atlético for achieving promotion to the Primera RFEF (the third tier), because it's very important to be in that division. I'd like to have a small squad so I can get to know them first-hand and have players from the reserve team. Here we always get players from the reserve team and they have to deservedly make it to the top. We can't take players to have the club's name on their CV, we need them to earn it and be worthy of it. We have to be open to players who can prove themselves and I'm not afraid of that. However, they need to be ready to play for a club like Sevilla FC. We've already been talking to Víctor and Jesús Galván, with whom we'll have a good relationship to go hand in hand. Those players who stand out in the reserve team and who I won't be able to see on a day-to-day basis, Jesus will give me his feedback so that those who deserve it, we can see them."

All that's left for García Pimienta to do is get to work: "I'm very proud to be here managing a big club, I think I've earned it with lots of hard work, dedication and patience. Nobody has given me anything for free and I have to prove that I am capable. I feel that I'm ready to coach Sevilla and now the good things are going to come. Starting in July, it's time to work hard, repay all that trust and achieve our objectives, which have to be to be as high as possible."