Football Espana
·6 March 2023
Football Espana
·6 March 2023
Real Valladolid manager Pacheta is gaining a reputation for his inspiring speeches, and after Javi Sanchez missed their match against Espanyol for the birth of his child, he made it very clear that he had not expected Sanchez to be playing.
La Pucela managed a 2-1 victory without Sanchez, with Jawad El Yamiq and Joaquin Fernandez holding down the central defence in Sanchez’s place. Pacheta was asked by the press after the match about Sanchez.
“Some people have four, or five children, but the most normal thing is to have one or two. The boy had to go. The boy had doubts, ‘listen… boss…’ Go and be with your wife.”
“Because in addition, you never know what can happen. And if something happens, you have to be there. And then the emotion, if they let you see the birth of your child… That… There’s nothing better in life. Here we win and lose, but the birth of life. That has no discussion, it doesn’t, and the boy has to go,” Pacheta said.
“Game of football – very important. But another teammate played it, we won, the boy was with his wife… Everyone is happy, this is a matter of life.”
It is easy to see why Pacheta is beloved by his players and his President Ronaldo Nazario, who was present in the dressing room after to crack a few jokes. The Burgos native clearly puts his players first and is always keen to protect them.
La Pucela were many people’s favourites to go down this season, with a comparative lack of investment to many sides in the bottom half of the table. However currently Valladolid sit 14th with a two-point gap to Almeria in 18th.