Following a chance pre-match chat with Xavi Valero’s wife a couple of years ago and discussing the family’s support of foodbanks in their local neighbourhood, I recently sat down with Hammers’ goalkeeping coach Xavi Valero.
I was keen to discuss his playing and coaching career, and the opportunities and experiences the sport brings for living and working abroad in different cultures for a young family. We also discussed his seven Club, European and World Club winners medals:
John: You were playing for Cordoba in Spain and were approached by Wrexham in League One to go and play for them. Regular keeper Andy Dibble was injured so you had a few games for them. Was that the first time you had the experience of living overseas and working in that way?
Xavi: Yes, as a working experience. It was like an odd thing that just happened, and it was interesting for me just to have the experience. I agreed with my club in Spain to a short loan because I wasn’t playing in my team. I thought I needed some game time, and when Wrexham approached me, I was happy to go. My agent spoke to some English clubs, and said I could go and play five games in a few weeks if I wanted to. That was good for me because I had some links with Liverpool, and it was quite close. I already knew some staff at the club so it was a good option for me. So I joined them for three weeks to play five games and then I went back to Spain.
John: So then you went back to Spain and did your coaching?
Xavi: I came back to Spain. I played three more seasons and I did my coaching badges while I was playing. My first experience as a goalkeeping coach was in Liverpool right after retirement.
The Call from Rafa Benitez
John: You got the call from Rafa Benitez at Liverpool. Can you describe the experience of being at Anfield and coaching Pepe Reina?
Xavi: For me, it was a big step because I didn’t have any experience as a coach. But because of my profile, my academic background, and some references that he was given, he thought of calling me as they were looking for a new goalkeeping coach back then. I flew to Liverpool where I had a short interview and they offered me the job. It came as a big surprise to me. It’s a big responsibility too, because it’s a big club. They were as strong in Europe and in the Premier League then as they are now, so I really needed to join them and start performing straight away. It was a big responsibility with top players, top keepers. I accepted the challenge and here I am 17 years later.
John: When you started with Liverpool were they playing in the Champions League?
Xavi: Yeah. And they are now one of the strongest teams in Europe. We were always likely to qualify for the Champions League. I have had many good experiences. It can be one of the nicest experiences in football so I was lucky to be there with them. The fan base is great for European nights. We have experienced this with West Ham on European nights. I think everyone will remember the night against Seville at home – it was one of the nicest of my seven seasons at West Ham.
Family Life on the Move: Italy, Spain, and China
John: You met your wife in Liverpool whilst you were there?
Xavi: Yes. She was living in London, but came to watch one of the Liverpool games and we just met by chance. That was during my second season in Liverpool. She decided to move to Liverpool with me a few months later and it’s been 17 years now.
John: And you settled in West Kirby on the Wirral?
Xavi: We were living in West Kirby when we had my eldest daughter. She was born in Liverpool, and my second daughter was born in Cobham when I was working at Chelsea.
John: So you followed Rafa Benitez to Chelsea?
Xavi: Yes. I was in Liverpool for four years and then we moved and I followed Rafa. We went to Inter Milan for two seasons and then we came back to England, to Chelsea, and that’s where my second daughter was born. Then we went back to Italy and signed for Naples. I was in Naples for two more seasons. After that we went to Real Madrid for one season, and then I joined Manuel Pellegrini’s coaching staff. He was leaving Man City, and he was looking for a new goalkeeping coach. I joined Manuel Pellegrini with a view to signing for a European team. But then you know, football is always changing. It looked like we were staying in England, and then it looked like we were signing for an Italian team. That didn’t happen and then a month later we went to China, which was a beautiful experience on both a professional and a personal level.
John: How old were the children at that time?
Xavi: One was seven, and one was four.
John: So culturally for them, life would have been so different?
Xavi: We lived in Beijing and it was a beautiful experience for everyone – for the family and on a professional level. I enjoyed coaching in China and also learning about the culture and the people. It was a nice experience that lasted two and a half years. It was a beautiful time in our lives. It is a challenging country in many ways. We discovered a beautiful country where the people were always so respectful and helpful in coaching Chinese goalkeepers.
Coaching in China: Rules and Respect
John: Did you have a lot of non Chinese players playing, as at that time there was a lot of money going into the Chinese game?
Xavi: Every team was allowed five non-Chinese players, and there were big names coming from Europe. We had in our team Mascherano, Gervinho, who was at Arsenal, and Lavezzi, the Argentinian player. Plus strong Chinese players. The goalkeepers had to be Chinese. That’s a rule to protect and keep developing the Chinese goalkeepers. No-one was allowed to sign a foreign goalkeeper. I was surprised by the level of the Chinese goalkeepers. It was higher than I expected. They were in very good athletic shape and I had a good experience with them. Developing goalkeepers in the first team and living in China were both beautiful aspects of my life for those two and a half years in Beijing.
John: Living and working abroad, and the challenges and opportunities that you have had – how much has this impacted your family? Did your wife and daughters enjoy these opportunities as well?
Xavi: Yes, this is something that I will always take with me. One of the good things about the job is that we’ve had the opportunity to meet so many different people and to live in different countries – to learn from different cultures with my family as they’ve always been with me. It helps develop an open-mind, especially for the girls. From an early age they were pushed to adapt to different cultures, different languages. It is incredible to see how young children can pick up languages, and understand diversity. It shapes their values and how they see the world, which for me is one of the most valuable things that I take from this job. I have been given opportunities to travel with my family, live in different places, and expose myself and my children to challenging situations and contexts. When we are home and we talk about all these things I’m really happy to see how normal it is for my children to see and accept diversity. I think that’s one of the nice things about travelling, and I think if the job has given me one thing, on top of many other good things, it’s the opportunity to travel and open your mind.
Medals, Trophies, and the European DNA
John: I want to ask you about your medals. You will have received a medal from the Europa Conference League, but you must have won other medals over your career. Do you have any from your time in Madrid? I think they won the FIFA Club World Cup? Were you involved?
Xavi: Yes I was. I was involved in two FIFA Club World Cups but not with Madrid. One was with Chelsea that we lost in Japan against the Corinthians. A very unlucky game. And then the other World Cup Club final was with Inter Milan in Abu Dhabi against an African team which we won. So I’ve been involved in two finals and got one winners’ medal from the FIFA Club World Cup.
John: And in Spain and Italy?
Xavi: With Italian clubs, we won the Italian Cup twice, which is equivalent to the FA Cup. We won the Italian Super Cup once. So, six medals internationally. Also in the season at Chelsea, we won the Europa League. The only one that I haven’t won is the Champions League. Hopefully we can get there with West Ham. We were unlucky, because we should have played the final against Rangers. We should have been in that final. I think we had a chance here in the first half to score a couple of goals and maybe play in the final. It’s been a fantastic run of European games, but it’s so difficult to play in Europe, and I think we had one of the best runs of unbeaten games. It is difficult to get into and perform in Europe. When you are not in there is when you realise how difficult it is to get in there. It is difficult to perform at that level. We managed that consistently for three years and it’s driven us to winning the title. When we won the Conference League and I saw how many people gathered around the team during the celebrations, I felt we should be able to match it on the pitch. With the size of the club, West Ham should be acting so that it consistently plays in European competitions, so that has to be the DNA for all of us.
Working with International Number Ones
John: Can you tell me about some of the international goalkeepers you’ve worked with?
Xavi: When I came here we had Adrian and Fabianski. We arrived at the same time. A good experience was the opportunity to work with international goalkeepers playing for different national teams, like the Brazilian number one; the Spanish number one; the Polish number one; Areola, a member of the national team for France and Petr Cech at Chelsea, who was, of course, one of the strongest.
John: These goalkeepers already each have their own habits and routines. Do you have to take this into account when coaching?
Xavi: Yes. I think first you need to respect who they are and acknowledge that they are top goalkeepers already. The first challenge is just to understand what they need from you. Sometimes you try to give too much and that can be a mistake. It’s always a fine balance with professional players. They need to perform every week, so you need to be careful with the things you want to add to their game because maybe what they have is already enough. You need to think about what you want to add and what you want to change because they are under a lot of pressure to perform every week, and that change can be heavy and disruptive sometimes. The biggest challenge as a coach is to know what you have to offer each goalkeeper. Sometimes you don’t have to do too much. Just help them to raise and maintain their level. Each goalkeeper presents a different scenario for me as a coach. My role is to build a relationship with each one as they will need different things from me. I need to know how to help each one perform and reach their individual targets. That’s my main challenge.
Risk, Preparation, and Helping the Forwards
John: We’ve seen the role of the goalkeeper change in recent years – playing out from the back, ball passed to the full backs and back again. It’s a very, very tight game when the forwards are pressing, these moves are riskier but seem to be more common now. Some goalkeepers have to learn to use their feet skills more, and be braver. How do you feel about the higher risks?
Xavi: Well, you need to accept that mistakes are going to happen because the margins are so tight. There seems to be more risk now for the whole team. I think we, as coaches, ask the players to take bigger risks on the pitch to keep possession and to win. The focus is on what you want to achieve as a team, but this comes with a lot of pressure. The higher the risk, the more mistakes are likely to happen, but we need to accept some mistakes as part of the game so that the players can have freedom on the pitch. It’s difficult for them to perform under great pressure with little time and space in which to make decisions. The levels in the Premier League and the speed of the game are so high, that they really feel the pressure when they step onto the pitch.
John: But in terms of preparation, when you’re playing a team and you know who their penalty takers are – do you remind the goalie what each opposition player is likely to do, or is that something that the goalie works out for themselves in advance?
Xavi: As coaches, we’d be prepared. We try to give the right information. On the coaching staff each one has their own responsibilities. Mine is to prepare the players and to have a good understanding of the game and the opposition that they are going to face. I share knowledge not just of penalties but also free kicks, attacking patterns, how they press, and how you can damage them when you’re on the ball. These are all things players need to be aware of when they are on the pitch.
John: And you also help the forwards as well. Fernando Torres of Liverpool mentioned that you helped him so much because you were able to put in his mind the goalkeeping perspective of what the striker is going to see. Is that something you work on with all the forwards?
Xavi: We will analyse the opposition and the position of their goalkeeper, in order to tip off our players in case they face tight situations. In a one-on-one situation, it helps to have that kind of information so you can anticipate how the opposition goalkeeper is going to react in certain situations. It can give you a small advantage that sometimes makes all the difference. That’s part of the job we do throughout the week.
John: It has been interesting to get your perspective of family life overseas in terms of education and family experience. You seem to have grasped such great opportunities in your footballing career.
Xavi: I have been blessed with this job. My family enjoys the game and football has enabled us to support social football projects wherever we live.
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