Football Daily - Euro Leagues: UCL Final set & Marti Cifuentes on his career

Episode Date: May 7, 2026

John Bennett is joined by Guillem Balague, ESPN's Julien Laurens and the former Leicester and QPR manager Marti Cifuentes to discuss the fallout from this week's Champions League semi-finals.Is setting the right culture the key to Arsenal and PSG's success? Has Arteta taken the next step? Are there any weaknesses in this PSG team?The panel also discuss Real Madrid's troubles with Kylian Mbappe becoming increasingly unpopular with the fans and Marti talks about his managerial career which has seen him work in 5 different countries.TIMECODES: 03:46 - PSG show their class 13:57 - Arsenal's rise continues 16:31 - How will the final go? 24:14 - Barcelona on the brink of La Liga title 26:22 - Kylian Mbappe's troubles at Real Madrid 33:09 - Athletic Club and Villarreal's managerial changes 34:36 - Where next for Andoni Iraola? 37:44 - Marti Cifuentes on Leicester, managing in Scandinavia and his future

On the Football Daily podcast, the Euroleagues with John Bennett. Hello and welcome to Euroleagues with me, John Bennett, on the Football Daily podcast. Joining me this week, Guillem Ballagay and ESPN's Julian Lorenz. Hello, guys. So, Guillem, you've been busy. You're at Arsenal, Athletico, Madrid. We'll get some stories from that. Then you're in the match of the day studio. And Jules, of course, was in Munich last night.

He looks very tired, but it's a happy tired. But I think there's a dilemma, Guillem, for Jules, because I think I'm right in saying this. Jules' household, the Leron's household. It's half PSG, half Arsenal, isn't it? Yeah, that's right. That's right, man. It's the worst final ever.

Literally, literally so bad that for my marriage, it would be better if Arsenal won that final. The kids can't really say anything, but they're PhD fans. We all know that. But we won last year. They were very happy last year in Munich with me to witness PhD winning that.

I guess, you know, if he was awesome to win, they would still be very happy. And like I said, my life would be so much better for it. But this is like New Year's Eve, right, where you want to be together and celebrate together, the jump into the new year. But I bet nobody's going to see each other until right at the end. Is that right? I bet. Absolutely, man.

We can't even talk about the final already in our house, you know, and we've got another three weeks to go. It's a few weeks to come for Jules. It's not just us three. On Eurolegs this week, Guillem, you have brought us a special guest, Introduce us to our guest this week. Yeah, I just thought that having seen the two semi-finals of the Champions League, so many tactical discussions that we can get into by not getting somebody who has been brought up in the Catalan coaching culture

and went from youth to senior, and then decided to leave everything he knew behind and go to Scandinavia, everywhere but Iceland, to coach, and then eventually jump into English football in one of the toughest league in the world, which is the championship. So we've got with us, Marti Fuenes. Marty, thanks so much for joining us. Great to speak to you.

Hi, guys. Hi, everyone. Thank you for the invitation. What is it like, Marty, at this time of year, for a head coach, who's not in a job at the moment, can you relax with the family or are your bags packed, ready for the next adventure? I mean, it's a mix, right?

I think that after many years in a row coaching, changing leagues, living in different countries, it's been a nice time to spend back in Barcelona to spend some time with the kids, with the family, with friends. But at the same time, watching a lot of football, watching trainings, watching games, a lot of matches on the TV, live. So, yeah, almost getting the feeling back and getting ready again. Do you know when you choose your frame to do a Zoom with?

You always look behind you to see exactly, you know, what is that you want to say about yourself to the world. All I see is a lot of blue and white. Is that Saturday? It's Saturday. So they actually is the first club that I started coaching, and I have their great feeling for the cloud. And I spent five years, fantastic years there.

And yeah, I'm still watching a lot of games. I follow them. And I always support them. Yeah, as well on the other side, it's a QPR shirt. But I have, this is my office. This is where I work, and I have all the shirts from all the clubs I've been in. And definitely that one from QPI is a special game. It was the day that Stan Bose passed away.

and we were playing at home. I loved the road and we had a fantastic game. So it's kind of a special shirt for me as well. And I see a tactics board in the background as well. We're going to talk tactics with you, Marty. We'll talk a bit more about your career as well later on Euroleagues. But I'm looking forward to getting your insight into the Champions League semifinals. So as we mentioned, it will be the current champions, Paris-Sangermain against Arsenal in the final in Budapest, 30th of May.

I'm sure Guillem and Jules have their tickets booked already. and you'll be able to hear the game, of course, on five lives. So Arsenal beating Athletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday night, 2-1 win on aggregate. More on that shortly. But let's start with Paris-Sajemate against Byrne. So 1-1 on the night, 6-5 on aggregate. And Jules, we said on last week's Euroleagues that it's very difficult for Paris-Zerame to be solid

and to control a game. It's all about attack. And then what happens? They're so close to keeping a clean sheet. Yeah, I thought they were incredible defensively, and the way they set up the game playing from recent week. the cohesion defensively with that team, the structure as well, but also all the sacrifices, because you can put,

and Marty, I'm sure, would agree, you can put the best game plan in place and the best structure in place and have worked at training on how drilled you have to be and how disciplined and organized. But if on the day your players don't run and don't give all that they have to track back and to double up on the players that they have to double up on and help your teammates and make sure that you're covered

and just go. and put all those effort in, the best game plans would never work. And I thought yesterday on that page, every PhD player, the one who started, the one who came on, just did that perfectly, really helping each other out, playing as a team, defending, sometimes suffering, sure, inviting the pressure, being under pressure from Bayern, who are a wonderful attacking team, really, but also keeping them quiet massively with the EAS and Olysset and Kane, and that's not easy to do. and at the same time, having what you need to hit them on the counter,

the first goal obviously earlier on. We've seen PhD doing that before under with San Riqui, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, last season and this season. But even after that, Dwe could have scored, Nevis could have scored Hearduk Vazcalia could have scored one of the goals of the season right at the end when he just whizzed through that box and just missed a little bit of composure at the end. So I thought from Lusenrique and the boy is almost the perfect plan from start to finish. Yeah, the Paris Sartjama, President, Nasser al-Halifi.

said, we have what it takes, as we prove today. They're not just footballers. They are true fighters. As George says, the attitude was so impressive. Marty, what impressed you the most about that Paris Saint-Germain performance on Wednesday night? Yeah, definitely I would say it was, again,

a very interesting game from a tactical point of view. Obviously, the first leg was incredible. One of the best games we have seen probably over the last years. But at the same time, this one was so intense, right? fluidity, a lot of rotations, a very dynamic way of playing for both teams.

For me, perhaps, the summary of what PSG did on yesterday, it was minute 89. Kavitsvela is jumping to press, Manuel Noyer. They are leading 1-0. It's almost game on, and he still has the mindset, not only the legs, but the mindset to jump on. The flare player doing that, the star player, the flare player doing that.

Exactly. And probably the best player, in my opinion, in the pitch. He did amazing. He handled a lot of situations difficult, keep the ball, give the transition moments, but as well, the quality to keep the ball for PSG in difficult moments. He's jumping to press. That provokes as well that the fullback is jumping behind him, half a second late, which that makes the difference at this level. After 89 minutes, those high press situations are not easy, and he still has the energy and the mentality to track back and provoke a throwing, defending and and tracking his men.

So I think that that defines a little bit not only the quality of the mindset and the level of those players. It just felt like Dembele's goal spoiled the priority, really. I mean, because from that moment on, I'm joking, obviously, but from that moment on,

PSG, having learned from the experience of the first, like, decided to manage the game and manage expectations, which is fair enough. They defended deep. That and the lack of accuracy of Bayern Munich that was like 10 out of 10, in the first leg, meant that Bayan couldn't break them through. And of course, Michael Olysa disappeared.

Nuno Mendes was absolutely brilliant, held by Fabian. So there was no way that he could actually push Bayan to another level. And it was interesting that Harry Kane was used mostly as a nine and not as a link-up and allowed others to do that. But we have to point that at some point. This is not just the consequence of a game or a season or a bunch of players being put together. this is a change of a culture at the club.

There are so many examples that I'm sure Jules can help us with, but it just comes to my mind what Luis Enrique said when Mbapé left. He said, when you have somebody that does whatever he wants, the problem is you cannot control everything that happens on the pitch. So from the moment he left, he said, now I'm going to be able to control absolutely everything. So he has imposed a culture that has to do with how they relate to each other, how they work, how much they look, how much they look.

forward to come into training a lot of things that are absolutely crucial to get the kind of performance that we saw. Marty, how much of a challenge would that have been for Louis-Senrique, to completely change the culture? Like you say, Kravaxcalia in the 89th minute, the star player, the flare player, working that hard. Is that what really impresses you, not just tactically Louis-en-Rieke, but the way, as Guillaume said, is completely changed the culture and there's no egos in that squad?

Yeah, I think that both Guillem and Jules previously mentioned. and talk about it. I think that probably the most important or biggest challenge that as a manager we have when we arrive to a new club is to set the culture and to be a line in the culture. I definitely think that Luis Enrique has the personality and a clear philosophy on how he wants to work, but anyway, it takes time.

So probably his first season was not easy. And instead, perhaps last year this season, we can see that he's feeling like probably this is his team in terms of all of the players. playing at really high level of intensity, understanding, because the level of those rotations that we speak, obviously, Luzin Rike is a coach that comes as well from the position of play for school.

So it's a lot of fluidity, it's a lot of rotation. And that requires not only just the theory, but the game understanding. This is as well about the egos at the end, because the players, they need to understand that, okay, my teammate is here, now I need to do this, because that's the best for the team. That's exactly what, in my opinion, we can see at this moment with this team. I think there's something that sums up everything we've just said is when D'embele came off after 65 minutes,

when he's the ball and the current ballando, he's the best player in this team. He's just scored a goal. He's scored in the semi-final and the quarter-finals. And yet he comes off because he's run so much. He pressed so much. He didn't touch the ball that much actually after the goal. But he did so much invisible work for the team. His legs were probably already gone a little bit.

And yet he came off and went and supported the team from the bench, high-fived his manager, not sulking, not complaining, not moaning, nothing at all. Because he knew that Barcoa coming on, we do the job that he did. And at some point, that's what teams do. That's what squads do. You know, it's not just about one player. And I think this PhD team that Luis Enrique made so special is a team where there's not one above the others. They're all, you know, whether you're ballando winner or not, whether you're Vassie.

Kaliah or no, whether you're 20-year-old Zaire-Remri or Duet or 31-year-old Marquinios, you're all at the same level, really. And in a way, we could say that Luis is the boss and Luis is the star, which is fine, because he's earned it, I think, by now. But in terms of players, they're all at this, on the

same page and same level and all those things that the boys just described. That's what they do. And Asa Desire-Ewey after the game, and he said, you know, to win titles, you have to defend, you have to run, you have to track back. If you don't do that, whoever you are, it's never going work. That is an iconic picture, isn't it, to represent all of these, which was the face

of Dembele, about to pressure Soma against Inter, remember that phase. Yeah, in the final. Yes, yes. And I ask him about it, and he says, I was so tired. I was, he was a hunter, but a hunter that had lost the consciousness almost. He was so tired he couldn't think, but he knew he had to do that. So imagine, Martito, have a player, that when he cannot think, he's still doing unconsciously what you ask him to do. You actually reinterpret his DNA. I mean, that is the biggest success as a coach, isn't it? Definitely one of the best feelings when you, when you as a manager,

you feel that you convince everyone to work for each other that the whole team has the same idea, the same target. That's the definition by Team Rugrat, right? I think the credit, obviously, to the whole organization, but I have good friends in PSG as well. And I think the transition from that model years ago when it was about signing perhaps the best players, but that doesn't make you always the best team. And instead, now you can see top, top players, and many of them are best crawling the wall as well. I'm not saying that there is not the same quality.

But it's definitely a team that works with, yeah, like a symphony, right? Everybody knows what they need to do in the beach. I think from a tactical point of view, the way they build up, for instance, when they are slightly high on the pitch, it's very interesting because usually it's what we call a structure of 3 plus 1 with Bittina on the base, with 3 players, one of the fullbacks goes higher,

but that's extremely fluid and that changed. Sometimes it's Fabian here, and then Bittina is higher. Sometimes it's one of the fullbacks that stretch higher while the other stays. So that requires, as I said, not only the understanding, from an individual point of view, not only a lot of work behind the scenes and trainings and so on, but requires the understanding

every moment during the game, what does you need, what is the point of doing, and that's the beauty of what they are achieving. So Arsenal will stand in the way of Jules' Paris Saint-Germain going back to back, Bukai Sacco's goal, sending them through an excellent performance

against Athletico Madrid in the other semi-final. And Guillaume, you're in the thick of it. Were you around the technical area at the end when there was chaos, wasn't there, with Diego Simeone going wild, the Arsenal, backroom staff, the players going wild. No, no, that was started by Bertha. Oh, yes, yeah.

Well, talk us through this. How close were you to this? Talk us through what happened. We're just a little bit behind in the kind of observer seat, and you could see that somebody that shouldn't be there, in this case, Bertha, was incensed about things that were happening on the pitch, whatever was that got him upset.

So remind us of his role. Is director of football of Arsenal, but was director of football of Aletting? Madrid for nine, ten years. So close to Cimeone. And when Cimeone saw him, he started pointing out of the referees. Get this guy out of here.

Come on, go, go, go. And then the whole thing just started. But there was a lot of tension because he was just little details that has taken on will take us now in the next 20 minutes or so to praise Arsenal. And there's a lot of questions

about the project at Aletico Madrid. On the back of a game that could have gone completely different ways. We're not going to get in detail into referee decisions. It was small margins. And Aletico Madrid played two very good 45 minutes. Both second legs were very, very good. In fact, they shouldn't go more than Arsenal. They should on target more than Arsenal. They force more saves from Arsenal's goalkeeper than from O'Black. So, considering the gap that is financial gap and in terms of quality of players, I think Aletton of Madi did quite well. But we have enough time to actually talk about the culture of Arsenal. because that also is crucial to what happened on the pitch,

how Arteta has changed everything. And if you have to find a moment, he talks about when he first came in, he brought in an expert in culture, in company culture. And they put on a board, he asked to put on a board, the main words that people describe,

how they felt coming into the training ground. This is players, assistants, chef, everybody. And he was amazed at the words. They were disappointed and happy. They didn't believe in the project. So it was like, oh, wow, we're going to have to just put roots here and then start developing it. And it took about six to 12 months to start seeing a little bit of a change of that culture. And as a consequence, we've seen a progression that's taking them to the Champions League final.

This is the theme, isn't it, of the two Champions League finalists, Marty. The culture changed that both the head coaches have brought in. What are you making of this matchup in the final then? Paris-Sangement and Arsenal, I mean, it's a bit of a generalisation, isn't it? But everyone's saying best defence against best attack. What do you make of this match-up in the final? Well, definitely it's going to be, I think that the M spoke about the small margins. And this level of the competitions is going to be always about the small margins.

So one action can change the whole game. Even yesterday, for instance, Mendez could have seen. It was this humble. It's going to be the second yellow corner, what would have been the effect of it. So the same with Athletic against Arsenal, those are small situations. For sure, I would say that we are talking when you look as well at the level of performance in their own current leagues, championships and so on. It's probably two of the best teams at the moment in Europe.

So it's going to be a fantastic game. Probably there is differences on the way. Two coaches as well coming from this positional play is cool, but perhaps having different expressions on it. I would say that Arsenal still relying more like in zonal principles to the fan. Habs-Prasen-German being more aggressive, looking more for men-to-man situations, more often than what Arsenal does. But in any case, two fantastic teams, and it's going to be a fantastic final to watch,

because the quality of the players of both teams, the bench quality, the level of the managers, it's going to be super interesting. Jules, most people are talking about what's going to worry Arsenal in terms of Paris Saint-German, Denbella and Kravitz-Ccalier. What do you think it's going to be concerning Paris Saint-Germain the lead up to this final? I think set pieces to start with. I know we say often, and even if Arsenal lately

haven't been as efficient on set pieces, then earlier in the season, they still are the best team on set pieces too. So hard to defend. And we can't really say that is PhD 40 to defend set pieces either. So let's see that. I think if there's a team that can also slow down

the tempo against PhD, that can control things, it's this Arsenal team. They can almost do to PhD what PhD did to Bayern last night. I think that that. However, I think PhD have maybe more option and more variation in the way they can play as we saw against Bayern in the first leg and in the second leg. I think they can do a lot of different things that maybe Arsenal can't do on the ball either. So I think it's going to be great.

I also think just to finish on that, that last season's final that PhD won against Inter would be psychologically a huge advantage. There's a lot of players in this Arsenal team and Mikkel who've never reached this stage. Obviously, they've never been in a final. They've never won, apart from Kai Havert. they've never won the Champions League and I wonder if at some point especially if the game stays tight and there's not much to it

the difference could just be made on that kind of experience of having been there before and having won it before. If they win the Premier League title though will that take a lot of the pressure off going into that final. The focus will be on that

and it'll make it a bit easier of preparation? Yes, I mean they already I think deserve a lot of price for what they got to but yes, getting the Premier League which seems to be the priority for most fans, interestingly enough.

In England that's how it works in Europe, it would be completely different. But I also feel that hardly got anything, nothing to lose. They're at the beginning of a project I feel where they got it right now. Can you still say at the beginning? I think Arteta has obviously put that culture in place,

but now he's got a squad from the last two years maybe, which has taken them to two semifinals of the Champions League. Okay, call it progression. But to get to that level where you start winning, there has to be a moment,

a moment that you almost, can point out a day, an afternoon, an hour, a gesture that takes them into the next level. It was, I don't know, with Spain when we beat Italy in the penalty shootout and the quarterfinals of the European Championship in 2008. Boom, psychologically, we were released of a lot of pressure. Here, I think it was this semifinal. It felt like they won it in a way because it was like now, now we just done that step that everybody is asking us to do, which is fair to demand. and now I'm not saying they have nothing to lose but I'm saying that in a way

that PSG are favourites and Arsenal will do the best but I do feel that they will be more PSG Arsenal finals in the near future Marty, could I just ask a very quick one about Mikhail Arteta? Again, I ask you about Louis and Rico what impresses you the most.

Mikhail Arteta, the job he's done is there one thing that really stands out for you? Well, first of all I would say that I love the fact that he's been allowed to build something because the first couple of years probably were not easy neither for the club, neither for him. I think himself yesterday,

he mentioned that, Guillem, in an interview to you, that he felt like the confidence he got from the club was massive to be in the place where they are at the moment. But, yeah, you see there is a common threat, I would say, in all the clubs that are successful, the culture. And when the culture is strong, the most important, I would say most of us managers would say culture,

and then you want to arrive at the end of the season with options to win things. to be in a position where, look, we cannot control if it's going to be a humble, if it's going to be this action that will change the game. But to put yourself in the situation where they are at the moment, it's up to them to win the Premier League. Obviously, the pressure is massive. It's been a lot of years since Arsenal won the last Premier League title.

So it's going to be some pressure in those games. But they are putting themselves in almost the perfect spot, right? It's up to them to win the Premier. It's up to them to play a final league challenge. Champions League after what was that, the last one, 20 years ago. I think it says a lot about the development, the culture, the style of playing that he has implemented. Hope some club owners are listening to this. It's all about culture.

Culture has been the big thing. Should we talk about Real Madrid next? We are getting to them. Very quickly, before we get on to Rail Madrid, Guillem. Diego Simeone, will he be there next season? Yeah, he did that thing that when he feels hurt and empty, which is at this stage of the season. Who doesn't, by the way? I bet all of us feel a bit the same, having given absolutely everything to our jobs.

He came out with this line when he was asked by, first by Mobistair, is the first flash interview as soon as he's come out of the pitch. And he was like, have he got enough energies to go on? And he says, right now, no, I don't. And then in the press conference, he kind of a smile. I said, no, I said right now, right now I don't. So he's curious to find out what Apollo Sports Capital, who are the new main shareholders of Aletico Madrid

with a lot of money, one of the biggest investment funds in the world, what they're going to do. And what they're going to do is put a lot of money in the squad. But also in the infrastructure, a lot is happening at Aletico Madrid. Go and see the stadium now. Go and see it in four years' time.

It's just incredible what's happening there. So he wants to be part of that. And he will be there next season. Forget about this link to Nymeri, similar to stay, because also the CEO, who was the former main shareholder, Miguel Angel Hill, will remain in charge for two or three years,

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Listen on BBC Sounds. On the Football Daily podcast, the Euroleagues with John Bennett. So let's get on to Rail Madrid then, because the Spanish title could be decided in this Sunday's El Classico, Barcelona, 11 points clear. Well, that would be the first time ever.

That would be decided. Wow, that is an incredible fact. Then they just, just a point against Real Madrid at Camp. now to be champions, which would be pretty amazing. Marty, so I think I'm right in saying you grew up in Barcelona. A big Barcelona fan? Was that your team growing up?

Yeah, actually. Actually, no secret on that. So it's going to be an interesting couple of days before the game because I think that the whole city is starting to get into the mood for a big game against the biggest rivals. and I think that we need to remember as well that the season didn't start perfect for Barcelona and the fact that they managed to turn around

Real Madrid in the first matches of the season were ahead of them and now, yeah, such a young squad with this attacking style, has the opportunity at home to celebrate the title in front of you, biggest rivals, obviously is a dream opportunity. I mean, Marty, tell us what that would be like for the Barcelona fans. Do we have to celebrate the title

where they've played against Real Madrid? I mean, like you said, that is the dream, isn't it? It's a special game, right? The classical is always one of the biggest games in the world and the fact that now at this stage of the season, I can imagine just for all these young players, right? La Min Yamaal, Fermin, Cuper C, all those guys that most of them have come through the academy.

And they really feel, they really know the meaning of the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid and have this opportunity at home. It's going to be definitely a top game. At the same time, obviously, Real Madrid professional pride and still, even if it's a few chances for them to win the title, it's just about making sure that this is not going to happen, right? So I expect a game with a lot of, yeah, tension and a lot of, yeah, good mood.

Apparently, Fronantino Perez cannot make it on Sunday. What a surprise? Yeah, he cannot make it. Sorry. Let's get on to the troubles that he is having, that Real Madrid are having. I mean, surrounding Kiliin Mbapé, because there is all sorts of talk about here. On the BBC Sport website, they've covered this story reporting about this online petition, calling for Mbapé out, which spread rapidly on social media,

encouraging fans to demand change regarding his future at the club, Killeen Mbapé's future at the club. It aimed to collect 200,000 signatures, more than 12 million people have signed it in less than 24 hours. Guillaume, sum up what is going on with Killeen Mbapé? What is the problem? He was pictured wasn't. on a yacht. He was injured at the moment. It was pictured on a yacht in Sardinia,

I think it was, and they were playing a game, weren't they, at the same time? Is that the main issue, what they're upset about? Two years, no winning. That's the main issue. And when that happens, generally the Spanish media, we experts on looking

for one reason, and one reason only, just playing the whole thing we decided is Mbapé. So scapegoat, basically? Scapegoat. It's there is quite clearly a campaign, I don't know if he's orchestrated or not, to herd Florentino Perth and his power. And one way to do it is that way,

is a good moment to do it, for him Marirano winning. Embapé has a, I don't think he's been the most intelligent in sort of the things that have happened because, yes, he was on holiday and he was on a break, and everybody else was on a break,

so he could just go. He was allowed to go, wasn't he? Yeah, he was allowed to go, and he's still been working hard to recover from his injuries. injury and there are tests this morning about see if he can play the classical and so on. But don't land you jet 18 minutes before a game of Real Madrid when you will be at the airport. Just be at the game.

Be present, be visible because you are the face of the whole project. So I think it's horrendous when that happens. But deep down, there is a lack of – and it happened with Cristiano Ronaldo. a lack of admiration, love, blind love, if you like, towards Mbapé. Because he hasn't won anything yet? No, I think it's to do with, again, why is Vini and Mbapé not working together?

Would it be Mbapé, perhaps? Some would say Mbapé or some Vinny. Why is he one of the forwards that runs the least in the whole of Europe? Is it justified by the amount of calls? But perhaps in these days, when you see PSG, no, it's not. So there is enough reasons to have a go, but I think it's completely exaggerated,

this thing that's happening with him. George, does Mbapé have to take some of the blame here? I mean, in Likip, they've been reporting claims that Mbapé has recently shown an extremely self-centered attitude on and off the pitch. Is that unfair? Is that fair? I agree with Guillem. I think the things he could have done differently

and certainly be a bit more smart or just make the wise decision, really, for example, you know, coming back on time for the game, maybe showing a bit more commitment. I've got no issues if somebody only days off and he's been allowed by his employer to go and spend two days in Italy and Sardinia with his girlfriend. I don't think you should be blamed for that.

I don't think you should be criticized for that at all. There are other things, sure. There's a few stories now, as always in this case, that come out that we didn't really know about it or we knew about it, but nobody had said them before or written them before and now they're all coming out, that it could be late sometimes. that it is this, it was a bit rude to one of the assistants,

and things like that, which is never good. And it's not a good look for Kiliang, it's not a good look for Real Madrid. It's not a good look for Art Beloa, although we know Arbeloa is not going to be the next season. But still, it's not great. It's not a good time, especially a few days before classical. So it's another crisis, and we don't even go into Rudiger and Carreras and Chuani and Vini and all of that. But it seems to be one of those seasons again from Real Madrid point of view. So, Martie, you've got...

you've got your best player, potentially your best player, doing these kind of things. And you know none of it is wrong, if you like, but it's questionable. What do you do? I mean, first of all, despite it seems that he was in a very good company. I would say that as a top play in the world, as a phase of the project, as you said, despite he, I'm sure that he has the permission from the club to take a rest, to recover and so on. And we need to understand that those guys, they have a lot of pressure to perform. and so on, sometimes it's positive for them to just re-job.

I guess that he could have done certain things different, right? I think that we agree all of us on that. Now, what I think is something that I reflect about it is that, for instance, Barcelona has been always a club with managers. Okay, so it was Provef, Barcelona, it was Peps Barcelona, and so on. Madrid has been always more about the players, and this is a part of the culture. But when I look back, since, I don't know, I don't want to go a lot of years back, but I know Raul, for instance, he was like the one keeping the legacy, the values

of Real Madrid. Then I think about some years back, it was Sergio Ramos, it was Luca Modrich. So you could discuss about what kind of play, but I think that they were the trend. They were keeping that culture through the years. When I look at the Madrid squad at the moment, I struggle to see who are really the ones that are keeping that culture. So Mbapest, look, is one of the best players in the world. And there are many in that squad. But who is the one holding the culture, the values of the club? Who are the ones that are really leading all these small things like A Killian? Fine, you're going to score 50 goals next season when you're back,

but now we need you. Even his understands, you need to be here for us. I think Charlie Alonso will tell you that nobody. Is that the dream of a manager to have the people in the dressing room where the dressing room can look after itself? You have those leaders in the dressing room, so you're not on top of it all the time as a manager. Do you have the people in there driving the culture, those leaders?

Is that what the ideal for a manager to have? And what Real Madrid don't seem to have at the moment? I mean, without knowing exactly what's going on in Royal Madrid, but I would say that at any club, it's always important, but the dressing room is a healthy place. And listen, it's not just about them being friends because sometimes professional life, it's just about making sure that when we're on the pitch,

we compete together and we do our best, we take care of each other. So I think that what is crucial is to understand that sometimes it requires more direct leadership, some of the dressing rooms there are more like they can manage by themselves, but at the end, again, this war that for me is the key, right, is the culture of the culture of the club, that everybody is aligned on the same values, about the same targets,

and everyone is ready to give their best for each other. It's getting to that time of the season where managerial appointments and departures are being announced all over the place. This week we've seen Athletic Club appoints the former Brissy Dortmund coach Edd, Tursich, Villa Real, also announcing Marcellino will be leaving the club, despite getting them back into the Champions League in back-to-back seasons.

I think that was a contractual dispute, was it? He wanted a longer contract, they're only offering a year? Sometimes you feed well, even though you get the targets, you feed or you may not fit well. And in the case of Marcellino, I think, for a while, the club was like, he tried to... He wasn't a Marcellino team so much when he first arrived.

It was an IMEIMEI team, and he continued with that with some adjustments. And perhaps it wasn't as attractive as they would have liked, and certainly the failure in Europe, the heritage team as well. So I think it's Inigo Perez, Rayao-Bayekano manager, because in the semi-fellers, who will take over, and that would be interesting. An athletic club, they remember the time of Jup Henkes, another German manager who came in in two different eras, did really well, changed the culture,

and a lot of things that took Athletic Club to another step, forward and they expect the same now. It's like bringing club in a way. So it's a club that is used to transitions, physicality, dynamism, attacking. I think they're going to get that because what you get is a disciple of European club. Lots of people, Jules,

have put two and two together and expected Andoni Eiroola to go to Athletic Club where, of course, he spent many years as a player. But do you think he's aiming higher and possibly aiming to stay in the Premier League? Does that tell us that he's likely to stay in England? Yeah, yeah, I think so. I mean, I don't know if he had talked with, you know, talks with Athletic Club or not,

or if they, you know, if he was the number one target or if he was always Thursday or somebody else, but if you're underneath Raula right now, the amazing job that you've done at Bournemouth, yeah, I think you should aim for as high as possible. I think he's ready, even for a top English club. I think he would be ready for a top club anywhere, really, after the three years that he had at Bournemouth. So I'm not surprised in a way. I think he would have been great and it might happen later in his career. He's still quite young because of the three.

of the play that he was because of, you know, obviously being Basque and all of that. But I, yeah, I'm not surprised that he's aiming for higher than that. And that's no offence to the club, really. It's just, I think he's got a lot of ambitions. He'll end up there at some point, weren't it? Yeah, at some point. But what's interesting is the position of And Doni Raola right now. And I wonder what Marty thinks of this.

So he wants to go to a project that makes sense where he will feel protected, whether there is the right culture or at least will be allowed to... Culture again? ...move the culture, the right direction, etc. And he's a strange character as in he had offers from conversations with spares in the past. He said no, I'm okay. I stay in an extra year at

Volmouth. Right now if he doesn't find the right thing he won't coach. And he's the kind of manager that will not be managing for a long time. So he rather enjoys what he's going to do next. But it must be, I can't imagine the conversations with his agent and our team must have some of that experience as well when the agent's like, but you have to listen to these guys.

I said, no, no, no, not these guys. Maybe those are the guys, but these are the guys already got a manager. So I don't know, maybe no. I won't work. But you're hot now. M.R.T. That must be difficult.

Sometimes managers, we can be bit weird if you want. When it comes to take our next project and so on, I totally understand, understand what Andoni is probably thinking at the moment. He has on a fantastic, I would say, superb job at Bournemouth. because for me it's not just the consistency on the level of performance through the seasons, but as well the challenges, because every season they have been losing the best players. So the demands from a coaching perspective to be building every new season,

like almost a new team, I think that says a lot about his level. But I remember him saying in one of his interviews that actually, I think that's public that he almost chose Barmuth because for him, the pressing, the all the athleticism of his squad is very important to be able to play the style that he wants. And they had the data about Burmov being a very electric team. I think that Bull probably fit very well his philosophy and his desire to press and so on. So at some moment, I'm sure that he's going to coach Aletting Bilbao because probably as well as a former player, as a Basque one, he would like to do that.

But yeah, I think he's a very smart one and I'm sure that he's going to pick properly. Let's finish by talking about Marty. Let's put Marty centre stage. I know it's a European football show, but the Leicester City fans listening to this will be saying, ask him about Leicester. So, Marty, I just want to get your reflections. How are you looking back on your last job at Leicester City?

What are your reflections on that? Well, definitely. I cannot say that I'm extremely happy about the way it ended, definitely. But at the same time, I feel quite proud and calm about the way we try to handle the whole situation of the club. So, yeah, I would say that it was a good experience in terms of managing a great club with a lot of great people that I really wish them well. Unfortunately, since we left, things didn't get much better. I would say the opposite.

But, yeah, it was a challenging moment for the club and definitely a very intense period for us. Yeah, it's a challenging time, isn't it? I guess it is that culture issue which comes back to the fore? Is that something you feel in the future they might have to look at in terms of the... the culture of the whole club going forward? Yeah, probably is one of the main things. And actually, the main conversations we had before arriving there was about giving us the time to change this

because we spoke about top managers, having a lot of resources in our case. Unfortunately, financially, the situation was very difficult. So we had to sell a lot of players. We couldn't invest actually a penny. So it was not easy to make this transition. We thought that we were on the right path, definitely to make this transition over the season.

And we were closer to the playoff positions when we left. And unfortunately, it didn't go much better, right? But I would say that any successful club, everything starts by having a clear philosophy, how you want to do things, because in football you can achieve success in many different ways. But the one thing is your culture. It must be high performance-based.

It must be with a clear high demands, higher standards. and that's something definitely that I know that there's a lot of good people there that I know that they are looking at improving. Guillaume, you listed some of Marty's clubs at the top of the show. It's a really interesting journey that Marty has had. I want to ask you about that, Marty. So Norway, Denmark and Sweden. That's a path, isn't it?

A lot of English coaches have taken, Guillem. And they're going to Scandinavia and then getting back to English football. It's the language, I suppose, that helps. But more than ever, the coaches that are. going abroad have got a base, a theological base, a philosophy base, whatever you want to call it in England, that allows them to have longer periods there

and not just base their time on their name or the fact that they come from England, which is something that Marti did and so many other Spanish coaches. They come from a culture in which the top of the iceberg is a bunch of people that have prepared themselves really, really well.

If you go to the second and third level, they're still very, very well prepared. And you started to see in that with the English coaching culture as well, that people are, they know languages, they're well read, that experience, they're going abroad and finding out others. They open out their minds. But as I said, and I think you will agree, Marty, that's something that in Spanish football culture has happened for a long, long time. And you benefited from. Yeah, definitely. I would say that the level of, I'm talking on my own experience, right, but I would say the level of coaching is really, really high. And actually that was one of the main decisions where I wanted to try something abroad

because I felt at that time I was coaching in the second division. And I felt it was great coaches, great coaches in that league, a lot of good players. But I wanted to try myself having another experience, trying to learn another culture, another way of thinking about seeing football. And then I got the chance to go to Scandinavian. And it was definitely one of the main reasons was the language. So I didn't need a translator. Everybody's so good speaking English in Scandinavian.

So I could express myself. And it was, you know, sometimes you try something, almost thinking, okay, it's going to be one, two seasons. And at the end, it was eight years where I really enjoy. I had the possibility to be three different countries. Sometimes when we think about Scandinavia, we might think, okay, it's the same. Football, Scandinavian football is almost the same. But actually there's a lot of difference between Norwegian football and Danish football and actually Swedish football, the culture, the atmosphere in the stands is fantastic in Sweden.

fantastic in Sweden, perhaps not at the same level in Norway, but the culture of training is different in Norway. So it was something that I really actually learned a lot and I became much better coach for sure because of those experiences. What would you want to do next? Where would you want to go? Would you want to discover another league, country, culture, things like that, to add to everything that you know already? Would you want to go back to England or Spain, you know, La Liga or even the second, something that attracts you much more now, to stay maybe close to the family as well? Yeah, you know, I think for me,

I've been always quite curious person and I always want to keep learning, keep improving myself. And I'm open. I'm open to a new experience, but at the same time it's true. I will not lie when I'm saying that for me, English football is special

because of the tradition, you can fill it. So even at championship level, you go to all the stadiums are full and you go to play against clubs with great history. history. So I'm very open, but at the moment, all that I'm doing is trying to prepare myself and I want a project. That's the only thing that I speak with my agents. I really want something to build. I really want a club that has a clear idea on what they want to do,

and then hopefully we can add the support, the time to build something because that's what I've gone in all my clubs. Does Euroleaks have a good track record at getting managers jobs after they've been on the program, Guillem. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. I agree. Hey, good news. What's your phone going off in the background, Marty? No pressure to you go.

We take 10% though. We take 10% just so you know. No, Marty, thanks so much for joining us. It's been brilliant to get your, particularly your tactical insight and manage your insight into all the topics we discussed today. So thank you so much. Jules, good luck with the domestic situation in the lead-up to the championship. Yeah, I need it. Thank you.

And, Guillem, it's been great to see you in the studio. in person. It's always good to us. A rare chance to see you in person. Thank you so much for listening to this week's Euroleagues. We'll be back very soon. Goodbye for now. Five live sports.

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