Pablo Aimar has always shown that he has very clear ideas when he has made statements in his time as a coach. The former Argentine footballer, who currently trains the Albiceleste Under-17 team and is part of Lionel Scaloni’s coaching staff, did a review in the section of “Where I want to be” in The Coaches Voice about his career on the bench, his time at Valencia, technicians who have influenced his way of thinking and the figure of Maradona.
In the article, written by Aimar himself, he explains that He likes working with young players, training footballers so that in the future they can represent their national team at the highest level and play in the top teams of their clubs. “The job is for these players to develop a sense of belonging, that they want to be national team players”He explained while questioning whether his goal on the bench was to become the head coach. For Aimar, The philosophy of the game is to try to play, ensuring that the ball is not a problem for its players and that this can help them in their future as footballers. He also adds that the diagrams are an aid for the players, to locate themselves and to locate their companions.
His time at Valencia
In the note, Aimar reviews his stage as a footballer of the Valencia, commenting that he had to adapt to the way of playing Valencia to compete against Real Madrid and Barcelona. “From playing 70 percent of the game with the ball, I went to a team that played much less with the ball.”He commented while saying that he really enjoyed this stage.
El Payaso managed to win two leagues with the Spanish team in the 2001/02 and 2003/04 seasons, in addition to adding the 2003/04 UEFA Cup and the 2004 European Super Cup to its showcase.
But he not only focused on talking about his figure on the pitch, his time at Valencia also gave him the opportunity to learn things that could later serve as a coach. “I learned that a coach can convince 20 footballers to compete in one way”, wrote in the line of the explanation about how he had to adapt to the style of the club.
The influences of Aimar and the role of Scaloni
In the text, Aimar highlights three names that influenced him in his time as a player to later earn him learning as a footballer. Marcelo Bielsa, Néstor Pékerman and Jorge Jesús they were technicians who have made the ideas of the Argentinean be molded. From Bielsa highlighted the influence he has on all the people led by him, on Pékerman explains that he instilled in him that football was a game based on common sense and peace, and Jorge Jesus highlighted a phrase “Great players are not anxious”, on the importance of being patient to receive the ball.
He did not forget Lionel Scaloni in the national team, Aimar only has good words for his teammate. He emphasizes that the current albiceleste coach is passionate about football, being also a coach who takes risks and assumes them. The Clown admires in his compatriot the calm with which he took charge of the national team, and how this made him achieve a great communion with the players.
A few words to Maradona
Finally, Aimar focused on the figure of the Fluff to praise what he was for the people of his generation. “Maradona for those of us born in the 70’s and 80’s was a superhero. For many of us, he was what we wanted to be”.