5 Questions with Juan Lopez Armentia

The pursuit of wisdom in any walk of life quickly reveals that what you think you know is not nearly enough to get you to where you want to go. As I'm starting out in my football journey I challenged myself to reach out to those already working in various roles in football to answer a short list of questions. My goal wasn't to get answers but relevant perspectives on the game within the game.

Here is Juan Lopez de Armentia:

What is your first memory of football?

My first memory of football was playing at school with my friends and seeing it on regional television (ETB1). Also, going to Mendizorroza to see Alavés matches in 2B division.

What is the biggest misconception/cliche regarding recruitment you’ve found in this space?

I think a big error is not taking context into account. If a player performs here, he also performs there. That is an error. It is important to take into account the style the team plays, the teammates player has, the goals of the club, the lifestyle of the city... There are multiple factors, not exclusively related to football, that imply a lower or higher performance of a player.

If you could start over what skill would you build on first?

I probably would have focused my studies on analyzing the game from the data. Analysis of the structures of the teams, detection of spaces, analysis of networks to detect patterns of play, etc. And of course, I would have been interested much earlier in understanding the game better at a tactical level.

What three (3) football icons would you want to have a meal with? Why?

It's a difficult question, but these would be probably:

Pep Guardiola: in my opinion, a coach that changed football.

Julian Nagelsmann: very young and talented coach with innovative methodologies.

Jurgen Klopp: the modern football stereotype.

What is your favorite quote or saying? 

I don't have a favorite saying, but recently I heard one that said "Work beats talent, if talent doesn't work enough", with which I feel identified, because work is the basis of success.