Edu Rubio - Premier League and UEFA Pro Coach

In this episode of the CoachCraft Podcast, host Alf Gracombe speaks with Edu Rubio, a UEFA Pro coach with nearly two decades of experience in English football. They discuss Edu's journey from youth coaching to the Premier League (Wolves and West Ham), the importance of authenticity in coaching, and the balance between player development and achieving results. Edu shares insights on creating a positive coaching environment, effective communication during games, and the critical role of halftime talks. The conversation also touches on the influence of a coach on team performance and the importance of self-awareness in coaching.

For more information about CoachCraft, visit https://coachcraft.info.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:22 From Player to Coach
• 4:55 Coaching Roles and Responsibilities
• 7:18 Navigating New Environments, New Teams
• 11:51 First Impressions Matter
• 16:21 Balancing Development and Winning
• 20:12 Training Session Preparation
• 24:07 Importance of Collaboration Among Coaching Staff
• 29:03 Game Management and Communication on the Field
• 33:31 The Importance of Halftime Talks
• 38:29 The Coach's Influence on Team Performance
• 43:36 Quickfire Coaching Insights
• 48:52 Insights from Coaching at the Highest Levels
• 50:14 The Human Element in Coaching
• 1:01:44 Episode Summary

Transcript

Edu Rubio

I always believed that everyone has to have like a sort of like a job description and everyone needs to know their roles and responsibilities and a little bit their boundaries. But I call them healthy boundaries. So and then from there is a lot of collaboration.

And so for me, it's important when you put together a backroom staff that they are good people. And when I say good people, it's people who leave their egos in a box. mean, It's good to obviously have a passion and have a ⁓ sense of self-esteem, of course. But you need to keep your ego in control and in check. So to make sure that that doesn't cloud your thinking.

And then all of sudden you get too funny when someone, if you are the set piece coach and someone goes and says, have you tried this free kick, or I saw that against that team, these other team in that other league did this, shall we implement it? And then if that person says yes, that's music to my ears because that's development, that's collaboration.

Alf Gracombe

Hello and welcome to the CoachCraft Podcast, where we explore the art of coaching sports through conversations with exceptional coaches. Through in-depth conversations with coaches at every level, from grassroots to professional, we uncover not only the philosophies and methods that shape how they develop players, but also what the journey of coaching means to them personally.

Join us as we go beyond the clichés and the conventional wisdom to reveal the specific practices and insights that make great coaches truly exceptional at their craft. Today's guest brings a truly unique perspective to our conversation. Edu Rubio is a Spanish coach who spent nearly two decades in English football, working his way up from academy coaching to the very top of the game. Most recently, he served as assistant manager to Julen Lopetegui at both Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United in the Premier League. Edu's journey to the top flight is quite interesting. He was born near Barcelona and he fell in love with football early, playing at academy level before making the transition to coaching while still in his teens. He made the bold decision to move to London at just 21 years old to pursue his coaching education and career. And over the past two decades, he's built quite an impressive resume from coaching under eights at Valencia's Academy to leading youth teams working as head of methodology and eventually breaking into first team football at the most elite levels. What makes Edu's story particularly compelling is his experience coaching both men's and women's football at the highest levels. In addition to his recent coaching jobs at Wolves and West Ham on the men's side, he also served as assistant manager with West Ham's women's team in the WSL.

He holds his UEFA Pro license and brings a unique blend of Spanish football philosophy and English coaching experience to our conversation today. So today we're going behind the scenes of the Premier League. Edu takes us inside the training ground into those crucial halftime team talks and shares what it's really like to work at the highest levels of the game with the best coaches and with the best players. But more than that, we explore the human side of coaching, how to build culture, manage egos, and create environments where players can reach their potential. I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation today with Edu Rubio. Okay, so let's dive in.

Alf Gracombe

Edu Rubio. Welcome to the CoachCraft Podcast. Great to have you here.

Edu Rubio

Thank you so much, Alf, it's a pleasure to be with you today. Thank you so much.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah. And thanks. I know I appreciate you got a busy day and you're taking the call from your car, but so first first podcast recording in the car on the CoachCraft Podcast So you're breaking, breaking new ground here.

Edu Rubio

There is always a first and to be fair I really wanted to be with you guys so obviously I didn't want to reschedule or anything like that. But that's the job of a... I mean that's the life of a coach looking for a new job right? mean always on the move, meeting from meeting. Yeah so that's okay.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah. Always on the move. Yeah. Well,

I appreciate your time. So thanks. Thanks for making it. ⁓ Great. Well, let's get started. ⁓ So let's hear a little bit about your story, how you came to football, ⁓ take us back to your childhood and then ultimately what led you to England and your coaching career there.

Edu Rubio

No, it's an absolute pleasure.

So I mean, I was lucky enough to be born in a city next to Barcelona in the years where the Olympics were going to be hosted in Barcelona. yeah, there was a big buzz about sport, football, different things. And I suppose since my school days, I kind of like, you know, dive into playing football, playing handball.

playing basketball, doing loads of activities, loads of things. And I fell in love to football basically since the age of four five. I played in an academy, decent level, managed to get to the first team of League Two club when I was 17, 18. League Two back in Spain though, I mean, it didn't pay the bills. It wasn't massive. mean, it was kind of like semi-professional. I mean, it was good as standard, but it wasn't like the top.

And so I was very self demanding, very self-critic and I loved coaching. I was one of those players that I would be ⁓ on the coach writing drills, ⁓ tactics, talking to the coach. Probably one of those that the coach will think, ⁓ I love having a guy who is so into it, but at the same time he's doing my heading type of thing. ⁓ And so it was really good to be fair. I really enjoyed it.

Alf Gracombe

You

Edu Rubio

that coaching and then I started coaching under eights, nines, tens in Valencia Academy which was a very good level and so I thought wow this is what I like and this is you know and so the transition from playing to coaching was very quick quite early doors because rather than keep playing till the age of 30 in a division that wasn't gonna really take me anywhere I thought well let's maximize my time and

Alf Gracombe

Hmm.

Edu Rubio

go to university, do a sports science degree, do a masters in psychology, apply to football. And obviously that's what took me to London. And then in London, I just got lucky. I got one job here, one job there, and I've been ever since. I I came when I was 21. I'm 40 now. So it's half of my life in the UK.

Alf Gracombe

Great. And you've obviously done well as a coach in the UK and you've, I think recently been a first team coach with Wolverhampton and ⁓ sorry, West Ham. Yeah. And then you worked on the women's side as well, right? With the West Ham women's team.

Edu Rubio

That's right. The Premier League. Yes.

Yes, so basically that was in between. I had been in academy level for a few years, being the head coach of under 18s, head coach of under 21s, 23s, head of methodology. Then I went across to League 1 and League 2 to be first team coach, assistant manager. And then Julen, who has been my boss since recently.

Julen called me and said, Edu, I'm going to be heading into the Premier League and I'd you to be my assistant. But obviously I don't know whether that's going to happen in a month, in two, in five, know, whenever there is a job available. And so I was like in a transition point. mean, I didn't obviously want to start again the season with Crystal Palace as I was back then as a head of methodology. And so this good friend of mine called me and said, Edu, actually

could do with some of your help. Can you be my assistant manager in the WSL in women's coaching, actually in West Ham? Funny enough, then a couple of years later, I went back to West Ham as assistant in the men's side. And I said, yeah, that will be a great experience. Obviously, I'm in a transition period. Whenever Julen calls me, I'm going to leave. Is that OK with you? And he was, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean if you can do one month, five months, whatever, it will be good for me.

And actually what it started like a favor to him and in that transition period, it was really good for me. I mean, I learned a lot. It really enhanced my coaching ability and skills. It really made me think about how to coach, how to behave. It's different to coach women than men. And I had a cracking time. And then obviously eventually Julen called me and then we went to Wolverhampton and West Ham.

Alf Gracombe

So this is Julen Lopetegui. I always say his name wrong. Is that right? And so you knew him previously, or what was your relationship with him?

Edu Rubio

No, good, yeah, good pronunciation, it's not easy even for Spanish people.

Yes, I did. So basically, as I said, I had been in England since I was 21, 22, finishing my career, so my coaching university, I meant to say, and then obviously doing my coaching badges and the rest of it. But I did my UEFA Pro license still back in Spain. I wanted to do the highest qualification back in my country, in the national center.

That was kind of a dream of mine. So obviously I wanted to go and do it there. And I met him there. That was, I'm talking probably like 10, 11 years ago now. And he saw one of my sessions and he said, came to me after the session and said, I've really enjoyed that. Would you like to have a chat? And then obviously he became a mentor. Then we kept in touch, of course. And then it was always...

on the cars that whenever he would come to England I would help him and I would be his assistant.

Alf Gracombe

Great. So the opportunity at Wolverhampton came about, you joined his coaching staff there. ⁓ Yeah. I'm so really interested to just get behind the scenes a little bit at a Premier League club. ⁓ so you've been in a few roles coaching first team football, ⁓ both men's and women's, as you just mentioned. I'm curious, just like describe your role ⁓ on the coaching staff and what that job looked like.

Edu Rubio

That's right.

Yes.

Yep. Yep.

Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

day to day, week to week, match to match, take us into that world.

Edu Rubio

Very good question. Yeah,

very good question. And not such an easy one because it depends on obviously the backroom staff that you are in, the manager. And so with obviously my recent roles with Julen, for example, in Wolverhampton and West Ham have been what you would say, you know, a hybrid between assistant manager and first team coach. So I've been on the grass coaching the certain drills in a day to day basis.

to prepare the team for the games and then having to analyse the opposition to try to obviously work out weaknesses and strengths and then help the other assistant and Julen to work out the game plan for that game. But then I've also gone well above and beyond what a first team coach assistant manager would do. So I also help him with...

media. I also helped him with meetings with the chairman and the sporting director. I kind of like became his shadow and obviously you know some people would say oh wow that I mean you know 24/7 that's quite stressful do you really want to do it and but for me it was a blessing it was a blessing because I was I was being you know in a position of privilege I was seeing how a top guy is doing the job helping him.

supporting him without getting burned as such, right? Because he was the one facing the media, he was the one facing the chairman and the sporting director. And it's not easy. I mean, it's not easy to be the number one. And so I learned a lot from him and there is a sense of humility in the job and I really enjoyed it. And basically I also help out with the transition between the under 21s and the first team. So obviously because of my

Alf Gracombe

All right. ⁓

Edu Rubio

background in England and having been also in academy side and knowing a little bit the system here and having a passion of developing people, not just developing players but developing people. That is when I also became a bit of like that person who would kind of link up the club with the first team.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Alf Gracombe

Great. So Edu you come into a new club. You're starting, and let's just take Wolves or West Ham, your two most recent experiences. You're coming into a club, cold. They've got a history at the club, a culture at the club. How do you?

Edu Rubio

Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

Get your footing and acclimate yourself to this new environment as a coach, as a coaching staff.

Edu Rubio

Yeah Alf, I suppose it's like in any other industry as well, where you are new in a business environment in the office and you have to understand the new job, you have to understand the clients, the staff, the other employees that you're going to be working with. So very similar. But I suppose what's very relevant is that you have to do your homework before. So

Normally negotiations with a club takes five, six days. Those are the days where you would potentially do your homework, but you might be lucky and you might have been kind of like targeting that club or kind of thinking that there could be a change in that club. So you've had more time to prepare. And basically what you do in that time before you step foot on the training ground is understanding the squad, understanding the culture of the club.

And so when you get there on day one, you know pretty much about certain things. However, you don't really know about the main thing, which is the environment, which is the culture, which is the day to day. And that is about asking loads of questions on day one, making sure you try to absorb as much information as you can, remain very humble to talk to everyone, to meet everyone, to understand that everyone is part of the fabric.

of the football club. And so everyone can give you a piece of information that might be very little, might be very insignificant in that moment, but that might actually become vital. And so I think when you are in those scenarios, it's very important to learn about the environment. And of course, you've got a plan. Of course, you've got a method and you want to apply that plan and that method. But also I think it's very important to understand

culture and the environment of that club because every single club as well as every single company every single household is different and has a different energy and I think while you are in that place you are also a kind of like a custodian a custodian of that energy and that culture and I think it's important that you work together rather than ⁓ no no this is how we are going to start doing things from now on

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

everything is happening in past, forget about it. I don't think that helps. Of course, if you've been brought into the club, it's because they appreciate your expertise or what you can do there, but you also have to understand what's been happening and you also have to try to marry both things together.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah, I think that must be a really big challenge because on some level the club is expecting you to bring in new ideas. It's often, you know, you're in crisis mode already or this manager is brought in in order to fix something that the higher ups in the club, you know, don't feel are working. So I imagine you've really got to balance that respecting what's there, but also knowing what you need to change.

Edu Rubio

Yeah.

100%,

100%. And also knowing how to implement that change because not everyone is ready for certain change. Certainly not everyone is ready to work in that change in the same speed. And so you don't want to lose anyone behind and you don't want to charge forwards and perhaps, yeah, leave some great assets of the football club behind.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

thinking that you assume that they don't want to join in or they don't want to ⁓ cooperate or collaborate and actually potentially it's nothing to do with that. It's just that they are not prepared for that change or they would like some explanation. So I think it's important that you remain compassion, empathy and you understand that you have to be firm, you have to implement the change and you have to do the job that you've been employed to do. But there is also

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

a way of doing it and I think that's the difference between a boss and a leader and I think if you want to be successful you have to be more like a leader anyone can be a boss anyone can bark all those right but but you want to make sure that ⁓ you maximize the potential of everyone there

Alf Gracombe

Hmm.

Right, right.

Yeah. So take us to that first training session at a new club. What, does that kind of open those opening remarks from the coach? What does that look like? What, what, kind of, what is, what is he trying to impart? What does he, how much information can you, you know, front load into that conversation? Cause that's your first one. And obviously, you know, that matters, but it's the first of many. And so what are you doing in that first conversation with the players?

Edu Rubio

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, good question. Obviously, first impressions matter. And so you need to be prepared. Absolutely. But ultimately, it also depends on the club, the time. It's not the same to go into a club in pre-season or in a break, if there is an international break in that moment, or to go into a Tuesday where there is already a game on the Saturday. So obviously, depending on the circumstances,

that first session may look like different, football-wise talking in terms of the drills you do and how you talk to the staff and the players. However, there is something that would never change, which is clarity of the message, making sure that you show everyone what you want to do, making sure that you are very specific. Don't over-promise because you are still learning about the environment, you are still learning about the players.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

and make sure that whatever you say on that day could apply through your whole time in that football club. Because what you don't want to do is to then be a prisoner of those first words, right? And people remember, and rightly so, and athletes and staff in elite environment are people who are very skillful, very, you know, very aware, very alert. And so you wanna have...

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

clarity in your message and you want to you know start working out how to implement your methods and and the speed that you can do it and basically Create also a feel good factor or on day one is very important that you know You create that environment where everyone goes like hmm. I want to work with this guy I mean, I want to see what he is about. I want to give him an opportunity then of course

especially in elite environment, it's not about friends, friends, matey, matey, because ultimately, you you will have to make tough decisions that will affect some of them in a not such a positive way. You know, those who don't play so much, those who ⁓ don't make it into the starting eleven. But still with honesty, with clarity and with, you know, a sense of humility and novelty, I think you've got a chance to kind of like create a positive impact.

and an environment where everyone goes, okay, we've got an opportunity with this folk. mean, let's give him a chance and let's see where he can take us. Ultimately, I've always said that players, whether they play or they don't play with you, if they see that you care about them, if they see that they can improve with you, and if they see that you are there to win games with them,

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

they tend to cooperate and they tend to kind of stick together even if certain decisions don't go their way.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm thinking about obviously, know, Liverpool just winning the Premier League and Arne Slot, the new manager coming in. And, know, that got a lot of got a lot of attention, of course, with Klopp, you know, leaving the year before. But that was, you know, I think you heard that in some of the interviews with players. think I remember listening to an interview with Virgil van Dijk and

People were like, okay, what's it like under this new manager? you know, obviously Klopp being such an inspirational or influential figure at the club.

And he's like, yeah, you know, he's got a plan. The players are behind it and we're united behind this vision that he's brought in. And I think if Slot did anything really well, it's that he kept those parts that were there and were working. mean, it was a great team already. I think they underperformed perhaps the year before, but ⁓ that struck me as just there seemed to be that the team was united behind Slot as a manager and his vision. And that showed up in the season that they had.

Edu Rubio

Yeah, no, 100%.

But obviously, if I may say that, there were like in anything in life, there is never one just factor. There were loads of factors that, and especially that he's a very skillful manager, of course. But also, I think the transition of leadership was very well managed by everyone at the football club, by Klopp and by Slot. You know, it takes a lot as well for, you know, a charismatic manager like Klopp.

Alf Gracombe

Hmm.

Edu Rubio

to welcome the new manager and kind of like straight away give him a platform of, well, this is yours now, go and do it better if anything. And then for Arne as well to be assertive enough to say, yeah, thank you, I will. And for the club to make that a smooth transition. I think that's a very good example of a very well run leadership change.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. I think the results speak for itself for sure. ⁓ so take us out into the training ground. know, lot of the conversations that I have with coaches and just my own experience, it's with youth players, right? These are developing players. The orientation is always developmental if it's done well, if it's done properly, but you're at the top level of the game.

Edu Rubio

Yeah. Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

Premier League ⁓ and these are professionals, but you guys train every day. But is it as developmental at that level? mean, these are players, they've arrived, right? They want to improve and they want to get better within whatever system you're playing, understand the game model, be effective. And ultimately they want playing time and they want to have a great career. But developmentally, they're...

you know, maybe there's still room for development, course, throughout their career, but how do you balance kind of the developmental with then everything else that you need to do to win, on the pitch? What does that look like on the training ground?

Edu Rubio

Sure. You see, I think I like to think that I'm entitled to answer in this manner because I've been in both sides of the fence. I've been obviously in academy level with 16s, 18s, 21s, under 23s, head of academy coaching, head of methodology. And obviously I've been now as well for a few years in first team environment. I like to think that my answer won't really

resonate like in a bad manner. Basically, well, what I'm going to say Alf is that when you're developing youngsters, I don't buy into the idea of, well, it's just development. doesn't matter if we don't win And equally, I don't buy into the idea that first team as it's all about winning doesn't matter if we don't develop. I think, I think since you are born,

and hopefully till your last breath of fresh air. It is about learning, it's about developing, it's about improving. I mean, my mantra is that I like to be better today than I was yesterday. And today I like to, you know, to be, not to be as good as I'll be tomorrow because there is always chances to learn. And so in festive environment, absolutely there is a chance to develop.

both individually and collectively. Of course, there is less time and at times you have to focus on certain things and at times you need to prioritize. still, think, you know, in first team environment, even if on the likes of the Premier League, you still do IDPs, you still work with certain players on, I don't know, take a full back. How is he going to defend crosses?

how is he going to help out the team when we are doing our patterns of playing from the back and things like that. And so, and equally when you are in development, especially the the latter ages of development, so 16s, 18s, 21s, you have to also give them a kind of like insight of game development, game plans, collectiveness, and also the

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

they have to play the right way, but to win. Because otherwise they won't be ready for first team environment. Because then when they go into the transition and they are playing the first team, there they're gonna be asked to play well, to play obviously, to be ready to face the, in this case on the fullback, to ⁓ face that winger, that striker and defend in a proper way, but also to win, to help the team win. Because if they're not winners, and if they're not

ready to be assertive to deal with the pressure of winning then they'll be very good players but they won't be professional players which is a big difference

Alf Gracombe

And I, I know that, you know, of course, like these players are still developing. There's still room to improve, but, ⁓ I think that was kind of what was behind the question is just, is it more of like, assume, you know, a certain level of, of, of skill and, and, and, and, and capability as a technical player, just the raw sort of technical aspect of the game, but that is still baked into, training sessions at the highest levels. Yeah.

Edu Rubio

Yeah,

absolutely. we do a lot of, I'm a great believer of IDPs, of personal development. And sometimes because of time constraint and because of workload, sometimes it can't be on the grass. It has to be through clips, through videos. It has to be in conversations. But there is always an opportunity to give feedback to the players so they can get better at their individual game.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

So take us behind the scenes a little bit in that preparation for a Premier League club training session. You you can go on YouTube and you can watch some training sessions there and just to geek out a little bit with you. So what's the coaching staff doing? Everything from, okay, you just had your match on Sunday, let's say. Your next training session after that, kind of what are you taking from that game and how is that?

Edu Rubio

Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

How do you actually build out that plan for the training session?

Edu Rubio

Good. So let's imagine that it's what we call a clean week, which means that you only have one game from Saturday to Saturday, so you don't have a mid-week game. So in that kind of week, obviously it depends on the culture of the club and the rest of it. I like, so if the game is on Saturday, I like on Sunday to come in and do some recovery for those that played more than 60-65 minutes and for the rest of them to do a top-up session.

So it's more like a couple of possession games, small sided games. So then they start the week on Monday with the same sort of level of fitness and tiredness than the ones that play the game. So they all work on the same manner. They are all kind of ready to be selected for Saturday's game. Then on Monday, you would potentially give them a day off. And then obviously you work, you start on Tuesday. But sometimes you give them Sunday off.

if that's been the culture of the team and the club and then you do that recovery day and that top up on the Monday. But regardless, that first training session is an opportunity as well for feedback. So the coaches would have already watched the game, they would have already analyzed the game, they would have already prepared a few clips. And then there is an opportunity that same day or Tuesday, the very latest to kind of like show a few clips to the players.

to kind of like say, this was the game plan and this went well, this wasn't the game plan or this didn't go well and to reflect and feedback. I think it's very, important to do so. And certainly it's something that we work a lot on. And then from there, so go on, yeah.

Alf Gracombe

Okay. Sorry to interrupt.

Can I just ask one question? So I'm just curious, like, let's say you got, you had a bad result over the weekend, right? I'm curious kind of about the, um,

Edu Rubio

Yeah. Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

kind of the emotional state of the players and the manager. Are these sometimes difficult conversations when you're breaking things down? You can really see where things went wrong and how do players and coaches communicate in that space as they're assessing the previous match?

Edu Rubio

Yeah. Yeah.

It depends on your approach. For me, especially as a head coach now, going into my next role,

It doesn't matter the result, we will always feedback and we will always do it in a constructive way. So when you win, there is still loads of things that you could have done better and that you can improve. And when you lose, not everything is bad. I'm sure there were things that did work. And obviously if that wasn't the case, then obviously you can have a constructive, honest feedback with the players. And never pointing fingers and never blaming.

and never assuming that people didn't want to do it. Of course, you have to be firm if need be, but I think it's very important to remain balanced. mean, emotional self-control in the elite, in life in general, but I think in the elite is very important because you might regret what you said on that day due to high emotions. So of course, if you feel as a manager or as a staff that

hmm, perhaps we need another day to cool down, it's best to then leave that feedback session for another day and make sure that that feedback session is gonna be constructive. It's gonna be, okay, this is the first step to win the next game rather than blame and because that won't take you anywhere and that won't really, you what it's done, it's done. And now it's just, you need to be focused on the next game. And for sure, you won't really, you know, you won't really

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

have a greater chance to win the next game if you start blaming people, creating, okay, maybe you can get the lads a bit upset and that might get them some fire in the belly to win the next game. But long-term, I think you are more in a losing strike if you do that. That could be for one day. I've never thought that fear and blame is a long-term solution for a winning.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

mentality or winning performance environment.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah. Yeah. I can, I agree with that and I've seen it. You know, my background is up to this point has been not on the pitch like you, but, you know, in a, in a business environment and it's the same, it's the exact same thing. need to have clear eyed dispassionate, assessment of what you did before, but always looking forward. So, ⁓ so I wanted.

I do want to come back to some of the emotional dimensions on match day, but back to, you know, training and the preparation for that and kind of those, those days leading up to the next match. ⁓ so yeah, sorry, I interrupted you. I'd love to hear more about that.

Edu Rubio

No, no, not at all. then Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday, you would be obviously doing a mix between training sessions to do with your DNA, the way your style of play, and also things that you may tweak and change a little bit to face the next opponent based on what obviously the analysis of the opposition that you've done. You would have definitely watched minimum five, six games of the opposition.

and try to work out weaknesses and strengths. And then you would then put it together in a video in certain clips and then you would show the players ⁓ those clips, whether you do it, you break it down in possession, out of possession or weaknesses and strengths. You do a little bit of a video on Thursday, the other bit on Friday, you do all together on Friday. It depends. I think it's important to also assess the mood and see.

How many videos is good this week? Is it best not to speak too much? Are the lads a bit fed up of our voices? Shall we just crack on with it and keep it short? Or do they need a bit more of this or that? It's important that that's the art of coaching. I think it's important to assess the mood. But obviously you will do that. And then you would work out on the set pieces as well. For the corners, for free kicks and the rest of it and throw-ins. You will also show that to the lads. And then on Friday is match prep.

to really work on the game plan and then travel if it is away or not and then the game on Saturday and then we start again. So that's pretty much the week.

Alf Gracombe

Talk a little bit about the importance of how a coaching staff works together ⁓ Because you've got I know how big is your coaching staff typically five guys or so six coaches you

Edu Rubio

Yeah, it depends.

depends. I so far it's been five, but obviously it depends on the football club and the rest of it. But yeah, you've got a good number. Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

Okay.

And then, so how do you, how did these roles sort of shake out? Is it, and I would imagine the collaboration amongst this group is super important, right? Just to, the purpose of just efficiency and getting the right training designed and implemented and then executed. So, talk about that group of coaches and how you all collaborate.

Edu Rubio

So I've always believed that everyone has to have like a sort of like a job description and everyone needs to know their roles and responsibilities and a little bit their boundaries. But I call them healthy boundaries. So and then from there is a lot of collaboration. So now.

someone might be in charge of more set pieces than another person. Another person might be more in charge of our style of play. Another person might be more in charge of obviously the fitness and the workload. Another person, you know, but might be more in charge of IDPs, personal development, players development, individual development. But ultimately from there, from that clarity, then everyone has to be prepared to collaborate and work together because ultimately for me,

no question that it doesn't matter where the idea comes from. It doesn't matter who had that Eureka moment. It's for the benefit of the team. And if that is gonna make us win and that is gonna help us, who cares? Even if it was a conversation with someone in the canteen, it's not part of the backroom stuff. If it is a good idea and we can implement it, why not? So there has to be collaboration.

And so for me, it's important when you put together a backroom staff that they are good people. And when I say good people, it's people who leave their egos in a box. mean, everyone is good to have an ego. It's good to obviously have a passion and have a ⁓ sense of self-esteem, of course. But you need to keep your ego in control and in check. So to make sure that that doesn't cloud your thinking.

And then all of sudden you get too funny when someone, if you are the set piece coach and someone goes and says, have you tried this free kick, or I saw that against that team, these other team in that other league did this, shall we implement it? And then if that person says yes, that's music to my ears because that's development, that's collaboration. But if that person said no, I'd be a bit disappointed. I'd be thinking, ⁓ come on, really? mean, you know, for sure you can contemplate it. of course you can.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

discard it or use it or not, but you have to contemplate it.

Alf Gracombe

So what are some of the, mean, you mentioned sort of, know, keeping your ego in check and then of course these are all people working at a very high level within the sport. They have their ideas, they have their point of view. ⁓ But what do you look for in that partnership with other coaches day in and day out? because you got it at the end of the day, you got to get a job done, right? And it's.

Edu Rubio

No, absolutely. Yeah.

That's what you get paid for. So absolutely. mean, for me, it's whether there are people who are going to ask themselves this question every time they have to do or say something. Is this relevant to the team? Is this going to make the team better? If they ask themselves that question, ⁓ then they have a filter to say, yes, no, then, then.

Those people are people who know how to control their egos and they know the difference between me, me, me and we, we, And you do need we, we, we because the season is a long season. A lot happens. There is good and bad spells. The strength of the group will be that cohesion, that resilience, that togetherness.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah.

So I, know, every weekend I'm watching games like, like a lot of people who love football. so, in-game management, you know, to the lay person, someone who watches on TV primarily, and, know, I was in London over the winter break and saw a couple of games and it was great to see it in person, but you still, as a, as a fan, as you're watching, you're not at field level. You're not.

experiencing the game in the same way the players are and the same way that the coaches are. ⁓ You see a lot happening. You'll see certain coaches, right? They're very animated on the touch line and they're shouting things and hand gestures and all of this. you know, what we, at the youth level, it's always, hey, just let the kids play. You know, let the game be the teacher. They're probably not listening to you anyways. A million things going on. And then that's true for...

Edu Rubio

Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

professional players as well. I they're in the middle of a game. It's a high stress, fast, you know, active environment. So, but you've got to communicate with your players on the field. get one chance at halftime, but throughout the game, right, you see something as a coach. there's a, you know, you, you've got to, maybe we need to make a tactical switch or whatever it might be.

How are you communicating with players on the field during the games? Set aside the halftime, we'll come to that in a second, but just like while the game is going on.

Edu Rubio

Yeah, I mean, certainly you are completely right. mean, sometimes, you know, and we are all guilty of that at times. We are, we all bark orders from the touchline when there are 50,000 people there and potentially the winger on the other side is got no chance to hear what you're saying as much as he may want or he may not. But the point is, I suppose you like in anything in life, you have to work out the strategies and sometimes is, you know, by giving some instructions to

the nearest players so they can spread out the message and they can take responsibilities. You can also work out signs and coding. So for example, you may have said, obviously, you've done your job properly, you might have contemplated that, oh, well, if all of a sudden they change into a back five, we want to go 433 instead of 343. So what are we going to do? So obviously, we need to change quickly.

So you would have already kind of like preempt the team that, lads, if they go that five, we're gonna do this. When we do this, this is the new setup. And what I'll do is I'll shout change or one or three or seven or I'll tell the captain and then the captain will go like, lads, yeah. And then obviously we know what's happening. So you can work out those things. And ultimately, look, the old fashioned.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

Barking a few orders or making sure that someone will will listen to you also works at times. Obviously, that's not how you would like to do things I mean everything would have been prepared and you would have potentially work out a coding a sign You would have spoken to the captain or you know, there is always you know, some of you more mature Experience in the team that you know that you know potentially while there is an injury while there is something going on He has got the capability of listening

without losing focus. But I'm certainly with you. mean, during the game, it's not a great behavior to bark orders and shout because if anything, sometimes you just do it to self-regulate your own emotions more than anything. And so yeah.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah, yeah,

I I, you know, I love.

the way Guardiola's teams play. And, you know, I think his record speaks for itself, but I've, I've wondered so often because you'll see him on, just is one example, right? These gesticulations and arm movements and I have like, has he worked out some kind of like sign language system with the players? is he actually communicating information that's useful to them on the field? And you know, maybe that's just an unanswered question for everyone, but it's always struck me as, it's just interesting how.

It seems he's trying to communicate a lot in these very specific moments, but is that really happening or are the players just like, you know, I don't know, I'm just going to go back to playing.

Edu Rubio

I'm not too sure

but throughout his career must have worked because he has been really successful.

Alf Gracombe

This is something's working. Something's working.

So, ⁓ I was in London a few years ago and we toured, the Emirates Arsenal stadium and we went into the dressing room as part of the tour and the, the guy giving the tour, he just said, okay, everybody had a seat around on the benches in the dressing room. And he's like, imagine you've come in at half time and there's, know,

What is it? 70,000 people going crazy. The game is chaotic. You've just had 45 minutes of intense playing and...

that dressing room, I don't know if you've ever been in it, but it's designed as almost like a sanctuary. you know, he said that Arsene Wenger brought back this idea of this needs to be a place of calm, almost in like a zen-like space for the players to just leave that environment behind for these 15 minutes and then kind of just settle the nerves. So take us into a halftime talk at a club in that environment and...

Edu Rubio

Yeah, I have, Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

⁓ as a coach, you've got, you know, 15 minutes less really to, to, say something impart some useful information, knowledge to these players convey something. But first, like, what is that environment like? And then how do you prepare that talk and get with the coaches and, and, and, you know, do something effective with that time that's going to set you up for the second half.

Edu Rubio

Yeah, I've always believed that ⁓ you really earn your money as a head coach in half time and also when you do the decision making of substitutions or change of formations and the rest of it. That's what really you make a difference. That's really what you can affect in the game. ⁓ Half time, substitutions, not much more. mean, the rest of it should have been done from Monday to Friday, right? And so...

It's crucial, it's a vital time. But of course, you don't get to that point without having created the environment beforehand. So when you set 15 minutes, really you only have four minutes. That is the reality. Because the lads will take a couple of minutes to get into the changing room. Then they will take a couple of minutes to go to the toilet, because obviously they've been hydrating and they need the toilet, yes or yes. Then you want a couple of minutes to kind of like...

give them some space and try to start those conversations between themselves and kind of like start working out things. And if you've created a good environment, they should start kind of like having conversations and kind of like, you know, what's happening here? What do we need to do? What has worked? What hasn't worked? you know, the more experienced players to kind of like lots, then this needs to carry on. This has to change. And obviously those minutes are also minutes that you as a backroom staff and coaches,

Alf Gracombe

Hmm.

Edu Rubio

You take some space and then you start working out your key factors because as I said, you only have four minutes with them really. And so you want to make sure that you are concise, clear, and you you don't say too much because in that moment, I mean, there is high level of everything in terms of, you emotional level. And so they can't really absorb too much information. So you need to really have a very, very

exquisite conversation with your backroom staff. Okay, what are we changing? What are we keeping? Any substitutions? We have three or four game plans. Are we keeping A, B, C, D? Are we changing anything? So, you you have to work through that. And then you face the lads. And then depending on the team, depending on the squad, depending on the game, the environment, then you will approach it in one way or another.

in terms of your tone and your mannerism, but certainly you will approach it to solution problem and solve things. Then in my opinion, certain things have to be left for the day after, right? For that feedback session, for that constructive. There is about what do we need to keep doing or change to win the game.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

end of period, that's what we get paid for. And so in those four minutes, it will be all about key factors. And then you will work out, do I need to say all of this to the entire group? Do I need to say only a couple of minutes to the entire group? And then kind of like divide the group into a few groups. And I say a couple of things. One of my assistants say a couple of other things. Maybe I know that, I don't know, this coach has a really good feeling with these two or three lats.

And those are the ones that we need to kind of like coach right now. I'll let him talk to these two or three lads because I know that he gets into them more than I can do and that's okay. And that's why you work in a collaborative manner. And then another two or three minutes for toilet, kind of like encouragement. And then we go because it's on TV. You have to be on time on the pitch. you get fine. So you don't have a lot of time.

Alf Gracombe

You have to be out there. Yeah.

Edu Rubio

clarity and concise and it's very important. Sometimes it, imagine like when you see those Formula One stops, when everyone works together, change the wheels, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, so it's the same. I it has to be very precise and very well coordinated and very professional.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Yeah. And to your point, like you just don't have a lot of time. would imagine as you're watching the first half, you're one of the coaches there. You're, you're sort of like the eyes and ears of the head coach, right? Like you, you're, I would imagine you're kind of thinking about what you want to share with the head coach, maybe with some players here and there. So I assume you're using that time on the bench to start to think about what you want to convey at halftime. Yeah.

Edu Rubio

100%. 100%. And obviously

you can also with the iPads and everything these days, you can start clipping certain things. So when you get to the changing room, you can actually see some images to see whether your key factors that you have in your mind are actually relevant. Because obviously sometimes you even have to check yourself whether it's been an emotional kind of like reaction to certain things or whether it's objective. That is also important to do.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Edu Rubio

And then allow a little bit of conversation as well with certain players and see what they feel. In my opinion, good teams are also those who listen to each other. And sometimes the players can have great answers. And it's important as well to listen to them and understand that they know what the game requires. They've been there, they've been on the pitch, and sometimes they can actually work out certain things better than you can do. And so it's important that we listen to each other.

Alf Gracombe

So ⁓ I was reading an article recently and it was about, using Liverpool as an example and Arne Slot specifically. And it was exploring the idea of how much impact does a coach actually have on the performance of a team?

And there's a famous Giovanni Trappatoni quote, the Italian manager is quote is a good manager makes a team 10 % better. bad manager makes it 30 % worse. And I don't know how, how precise those percentages are, but it makes for a good quote for sure. But what's your take on this? I mean, how much can a coach influence a team either in the

Edu Rubio

You

Alf Gracombe

the affirmative or the negative. ⁓ Because at end of the day, these are players and they're out on the pitch and they're playing the game, right? So how do you see that?

Edu Rubio

Yeah, I mean, again, like you just said there, I'm not too sure about percentages. But what I can say is that you are as good as your players. That is a statement of mine. And so... ⁓

I think you are the person who can add a lot into the team by setting up the right environment, by providing clarity, by providing a sense of purpose, and by creating a ⁓ cohesion that everyone basically feels free to say what they feel and they think for the benefit of the team. And I think that is vital, and that is the role of a coach.

and obviously help everyone to kind of like, you know, get better and improve and develop. Now, how much of a percentage is that? I don't know. But ultimately, again, then it's also down to how good your players are and how much, you know, they want to do it and how experienced. And so I think there's a balance there. But I would agree with that quote in terms of, you know, we are not

as significant or as meaningful as some coaches and managers want to believe. That's probably those who really live through their egos. But we are certainly an important asset of the team, as well as anyone else, as well as the doctor, the sporting director, every single player there, the people who work in the canteen, the people who do the laundry for us. Everyone is important and everyone does their bit.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

to make sure that we are all ready to perform and to win.

Alf Gracombe

You know, but you made the point of, you're, only as good as the players that you have or the, or some version of that. don't want to misquote you, but you know, I look at, you look at players like who will, you know, maybe be struggling at one club and they move to another club. And then all of a sudden, like I think, uh, Antony who was at Real or sorry at Manchester United, he's now at, uh, Real Betis in La Liga.

Edu Rubio

Yeah.

Alf Gracombe

And it's like he's a completely different player. We knew he was good. He was good at, you know, before he came to United. and it's, course, it's not just the manager, right? Like United has its own, I don't know, thing going on, but like, how do you explain a player who can move from one environment to another and go from someone who's, you know, arguably struggling to then really, you know, playing at the top of his ability?

Edu Rubio

Yeah. Well,

let's clarify that first. When I say you are as good as your players, I don't mean that the players are as good as what they show on the pitch. So sometimes you underperform from different reasons. Underperforming or not performing at your best doesn't mean you are not good enough. So sometimes, you your performances don't kind of like relate to how good or how bad you are. That is the first, you know, clarification.

Having said that, I suppose it's like in any other, again, I take you to any other industry, Sometimes things click for you. Sometimes that coach has understood your character. Sometimes that club, that city, that crowd kind of like resonates with who you are, with your values. And that's why it's also very important as a leader to know your players and to know your staff and to make a...

a big effort to understand what really tricks, sorry, what really ticks that person. Because I'm a great believer that if you are comfortable, and when I say comfortable, I don't mean like we are cruising and not because in a little environment, you have to have that sense of pressure. And I think that is an important element of it. But when you are happy or content in that environment, when you feel like you belong into that environment,

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

you've got a better chance to perform and to succeed. And how do you do that? Obviously it works both ways. The player needs to obviously try to ⁓ get the support and the help needed, but you also have to make sure that you understand the player. And so sometimes coaching and managing is not so much about the tactical awareness. I suppose when you are in the Premier League or in a good league, everyone knows about football and everyone knows

enough to kind of like work out a decent game plan. I think the difference is can you manage people? Can you really motivate people? Can you really understand people? Can you really take the best out of those people? Like in any industry, there are loads of good environments, I or good companies, but those who are really successful are those who, wow, they really maximize the potential of every single employee. And, you know, they really take that 1%.

Alf Gracombe

Mm-hmm.

Edu Rubio

that makes them more competitive.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah. I mean, I can imagine oftentimes, like you said, I mean, it's a pressure environment that is just, that's priced into, to elite level football, but is it constructive pressure or is it destructive pressure? And, and, know, that can change from club to club. And some of that's, you know, there many other factors beyond just the tactical aspects of the game. ⁓ that's great. Well, Edu ⁓ really appreciate your time and just getting a really 

Edu Rubio

100%. 100%.

Alf Gracombe

great window into Premier League football and I appreciate just hearing your perspective and sharing your experience with our listeners. Before we go, I have a couple more quick questions for you. These are lightning round questions, so short, quick answers. We won't spend a lot of time on them, but all right, here we go.

Edu Rubio

Good.

I'm ready, fire.

Alf Gracombe

Okay, the question I have written down is who is the most technically skilled player you've ever coached? But at the same time, I do want to protect egos here. I don't want to necessarily hurt anybody's feelings that you've coached before. So I'll ask it as who is one of the most technically skilled players that you've ever coached?

Edu Rubio

Good question. I've been lucky to coach really good players and all of them very good technicians, otherwise they wouldn't be in the elite. But because of different reasons, I mean, because he's a centre-back and people wouldn't associate centre-backs with being the most technical of the team and because his background as a futsal player and because he's a left-footed, I think Max Kilman as a centre-back in the Premier League and being lefty

He is actually very technical and very good, but I suppose his futsal background helps him. Of course there are loads of others who were as good ⁓ or even better than Max, but just saying Max because of that, because his position and you wouldn't associate a centre back being very technical. ⁓

Alf Gracombe

Yeah.

Yeah, excellent. I will tune in more closely to him for sure. All right, what's the best piece of coaching advice that you've ever received?

Edu Rubio

Be yourself. Be yourself. Be authentic. The best person being Johan Cruyff, who is probably one of my, know, someone who I admired since I was a child, the best person being Johan Cruyff was Johan Cruyff. There won't be another one like him. There'll be someone better, worse, but not like him. And so the same, best Alf is Alf, the best...

person being Edu Rubio is Edu Rubio. I think be yourself, be authentic, be noble, humble, that is important.

Alf Gracombe

It doesn't matter what level you're at, whether it's, yeah.

Edu Rubio

It doesn't matter what

level because when you are authentic and when you are honest and transparent, you feed a different energy and people kind of like see that and all of sudden you create a different sort of aura around you and a different sort of energy in the room that people go like, ⁓ I want to listen to this guy even though I'm not too sure about what he's saying. But it's because they can see you are authentic and I think that is very important.

Alf Gracombe

All right. ⁓ What was your biggest coaching mistake and what did you learn from it?

Edu Rubio

Oof. I make coaching mistakes every day. So I could tell you loads, but I don't know. Sometimes it's about assuming. Sometimes that's very, very difficult. So I don't know. You are in a coaching session and you assume that that player didn't turn and didn't play that pass because he had something different to think about.

Alf Gracombe

You

Edu Rubio

and you coach that decision and sometimes that's a mistake. Let them make the decisions, let them prove you wrong, let them give them a chance. So yeah, sometimes kind of like in the coaching sessions, kind of like wanting to be involved too much.

Alf Gracombe

Yeah. Yeah. mean, you listen, this game, as we all know, it's infinitely complex. And I think if you're bringing your own assumptions about something you saw or how you're thinking or perceiving something invariably, you're going to come across other perspectives or the, you know, the players, they're going to experience the game in a different way than maybe you're seeing it from your vantage point. Yeah.

Edu Rubio

Definitely

Alf Gracombe

All right, ⁓ this might really be putting you on the spot ⁓ because I know you've worked with many of them, but who is a professional manager that you admire or look to as a source of inspiration? You mentioned Cruyff. He's no longer with us. Obviously one of the most influential thinkers the game has ever had, but in a more contemporary context, who are some managers that you look to?

Edu Rubio

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I can say loads, but obviously I'm going to honor ⁓ my former boss, still current mentor, Julen Lopetegui, because obviously he gave me the opportunity to be in the elite. I have a lot, a lot to thank him for. And he, for all his right and his wrongs, like everyone else in life, he is authentic. He is transparent. He is an honest person.

And I think that is very important and those are qualities that I admire and I respect.

Alf Gracombe

last question, I asked this of everyone at the end of each episode. So I'm looking for something you can share with our listeners. It's a resource for you. This could be something that you return to time and time again throughout your coaching career or something that you're just interested in now or that's really serving as a resource, a useful resource. So something to share with our coaches.

Edu Rubio

Okay.

Any book from Paulo Coelho, who is a psychologist, basically speaks about ⁓ self-awareness and speaks about...

Alf Gracombe 

Hmm.

Edu Rubio

understanding of yourself. Sometimes when you are a coach, you think that the technicality of the job is everything and you get nuts about looking for loads of resources about football and improving your players and the rest of it. And you forget to actually educate yourself and to actually work on yourself. And I think it's very important. Self-awareness is very important, the relation of self-emotions. And so I would say any book from Paulo would be a very good resource for people to kind of like understand themselves better because if you don't really understand yourself, it's a bit tricky to understand others. So I think a lot about, you know, self-awareness.

Alf Gracombe

Words of wisdom, for sure. And I'll put that in the show notes. So thank you for that. And thank you, Edu. I really, this time has been great to spend with you and just really appreciate you sharing your knowledge, your experience. This has been a great conversation and I really look forward to getting this out for folks to hear. So yeah, again, thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and yeah, just really appreciate it.

Edu Rubio

My pleasure.

And you, thank you so much. Thank you for having me in the show. Much appreciated.

Alf Gracombe

Well, that was a fascinating conversation with Edu Rubio, and I hope you found it as insightful as I did. We really got a rare behind the scenes look at what it's like to coach at the highest levels of football, from the Premier League training grounds to those intense halftime talks where Edu says the manager really earns his pay. A few key takeaways that really stood out to me from our conversation. First, on leadership, he talks about the importance of authenticity. His advice to...

be yourself isn't just feel-good coaching speak, it's practical wisdom. Whether you're working with eight-year-olds or Premier League superstars, people can sense when you're genuine, and that authenticity creates the foundation for everything else you're trying to accomplish as a coach. Second, the balance between development and results. I loved how Edu challenged the false choice between just developing at youth levels versus just winning at professional levels. His point that development never stops, that even Premier League players are constantly learning.

and improving. it's something we can all apply regardless of the level we're coaching. And third, the critical role of environment and culture, whether it's understanding the existing culture at a new club or creating candid and open spaces for players to share feedback. Edu emphasize that the technical and tactical side of coaching is just one piece of the puzzle. The human element, understanding your players, managing egos on your coaching staff and creating conditions where people can perform at their best.

That's often what separates good coaches from great ones. And finally, the humility piece that really resonated with me in what Edu said, his recognition that he makes coaching mistakes every day. His emphasis on collaboration over ego and his understanding that sometimes players see things on the pitch that coaches miss from the sideline, they just can't see. And that's the kind of honest self-reflection that leads to growth and that's great feedback for any coach at any level.

Regardless of the environment in which you coach, think the core message is clear. Yes, know your stuff tactically, technically, but don't forget that you're working with human beings. Understanding yourself and understanding your players, that's where the real coaching craft lives. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time on CoachCraft.