“One day in the Camp Nou, towards the end of 2010, Pep instructed two of his youth players – Gerard Deulofeu and Rafa Alcántara, Thiago’s brother – to join the senior players’ training session for the first time. He told me all about it: ‘I loved working with them. It’s much easier to train youngsters than it is older players. Much easier. You feel like you’re really coaching. With older guys you have to watch and review what you say, how you say it, you have to take into account the result of your last match. You stand there watching the expressions on their faces and making sure you’re using exactly the right words. With the kids, you just take them by the scruff of the neck and bring all the talent out, just like squeezing an orange. I get so much more out of it – and it’s a lot more fun.”
Excerpt From Pep Confidential