Ilaura: I am a Garnett fan and will draw different tactical inspiration from the NFL and the NBA

Hupu August 12th News TheAthleticUK exclusive interview with Bournemouth head coach Ilaura.

Ilaura lost her defensive core that beat Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle last season in the Premier League, but sat in a conference room at a Chicago hotel, the Spanish coach was much calmer than many of her peers in similar situations.

In Bournemouth, the club's organizational structure is very unique. Ilaura's job is to guide the team and develop players, but the team's signings are entrusted to the club's president of football operations Thiago Pinto and technical director Simon Francis. Therefore, he plays the role of "assistant".

"When we sign players, I try to help, I give my opinions, especially what kind of players we need and what conditions need to be met in this position, but I am certainly not more familiar with transfers than management.

Of course, if they ask me what I think of Premier League players, I will give very accurate and very accurate assessments, but for us, it is very difficult to sign players from the Premier League. I remember that during my coaching period, we have not signed any players from the Premier League. Most of the players we signed come from other leagues, and many of them I have no control over.

You can watch videos and watch players' games, but that may not make you clearly point out the strengths and weaknesses of the players."

TheAthletic pointed out that many coaches are not as modest as admitting that they don't understand everything about the transfer market. There are also some coaches who are unwilling to entrust the responsibility to the recruiting experts.

"For me, it's true. Sometimes, I observe a player and don't like his performance from the beginning - maybe his way of running or reaction.

I'm not only focusing on the player's skills and physical fitness. For example, I'll focus on how the team responds when they score goals. I like to see players celebrate, they're so happy, even if they're not involved in the goal, they don't touch the ball.

I'll try to contact people who know the player, their personality or their personal life. But I'm not an expert in signing players. 95% of the work is done by people who know better than I do."

But in coaching, Elaura led Bournemouth to create the best record last season.

"We have had very beautiful victories against other strong teams except Liverpool, and Liverpool remains the only team we cannot get points."

During the preseason in the United States, he spent time with the NFL Chicago Cubs, while also drawing inspiration from NBA research. At the end of his career, he played for one season at New York City, where he kept watching the NFL's New York Giants game.

(Ilaura, Pirlo, Villa)

Later, due to his admiration for power forward Kevin Garnett, he became a fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves. During that time, he traveled across the United States, from the East Coast to the West Coast, spent a summer in the Rockies, and headed to Vancouver, Canada.

"I went to Alaska by cruise. There is only one highway there!

In the NFL, we can learn their methods, especially when it comes to set pieces. They have a set manual with 200 to 300 tactics. They put all the tactics together to keep the 50 players in a consistent way. They find ways to adjust every week, and no one forgets what they should do."

In football, Ilaura said that different players have different abilities to accept commands.

"Some players know what they should do in set pieces and what the other 10 players should do. Usually the first two to three set pieces are easy to remember, but when things get a little confused and players start to feel tired, they don't necessarily follow the instructions exactly.

We have to make the details of football much simpler than (NFL). We don't have that many extravagant pauses, and if we set the pauses, football loses its essence. Football is different and unique because you can't correct so many mistakes in real time. It's a dynamic sport."

As a coach, do you feel scared when you're well prepared but lose control?

"You have to accept reality and trust the players. There are some players on your team that can correct other players during the game. Usually, these players are midfielders or center backs, and they have a broader vision and can correct the way we oppress or the space we occupy.

For us, players like Christie, Cook, Taylor Adams, and Senesi; they are in the middle, experienced, and have a comprehensive understanding of the game."

Ilaura is still watching NBA games, looking for skills that can be applied to her team.

"In basketball games, you can shoot, but when a player shoots, what are the other players doing? How many people would you send into the penalty area and how many people would you leave so that they can also prepare for the defensive transition?

And there is a vision, not only the holder, but also the others. What are they doing? Why not grab the rebound? Why use two players to open the space?

Basketball is also about creating misalignment. They try to force our best players against their weakest players, and if your strong side is inside, you need to create three-point space, strive to pull the opponent's defense open, create different threats."