We sit down with journeyman coach Pep Muñoz to discuss his time with La Masia and his stops in China and Cambodia. Whether in Spain or across China, Cambodia, and beyond, Pep Muñoz has seen an incr...
We sit down with journeyman coach Pep Muñoz to discuss his time with La Masia and his stops in China and Cambodia.
Whether in Spain or across China, Cambodia, and beyond, Pep Muñoz has seen an incredibly well-traveled coaching career at all levels, be it youth, senior, or international.
The Spanish coach was part of the youth system at Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, where he won several titles and had the opportunity to work with and develop well-known players such as Grimaldo and Adama Traoré. Muñoz was also part of Chinese football’s so-called “golden era,” a period marked by massive investment and the arrival of major international stars. During his time in China, he had the chance to coach two big names, Marouane Fellaini and Graziano Pellè, at Shandong Taishan. In addition, Muñoz served as an assistant coach with the Chinese national team.
In an interview with Urban Pitch, Muñoz opened up about his experiences in football, discussing his time at La Masia, developing young players, living through the peak years of Chinese football, and navigating different cultures and customs.
Barcelona and La Masia
Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Urban Pitch: You spent several years inside La Masia. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the academy?
Pep Muñoz: The values you learn there as a human being, such as respect, humility, strength, ambition, and teamwork.
What makes La Masia so special compared to other academies around the world?
The game style, the love for the game, the love for the ball, and how everyone understands how we want to play football.
You worked with players like Grimaldo and Adama Traoré. What stood out about their personalities or work ethic at a young age?
They were nice and talented kids of 16 years old with ambition and determination to be better every day and to get everything from training. That drives them to grow up in La Masia and to have the chance to be professional footballers outside of the Barça environment.
China’s Golden Era
You experienced Chinese football during its highest investment period. What was the environment like at that time?
At that time, they thought they could buy everything just with money, and it was like a competition between the bosses of the clubs. The investment was just to win immediately, to get quick success. They didn’t think about the future; the growth wasn’t well structured. No financial rules and no salary caps. And in the end, it’s impossible to keep it up over time.
How did Chinese players react to the arrival of major foreign stars and elite coaches?
They understood that the foreigners could help to improve the league, to improve themselves as footballers, and obviously to have better salaries. I think one of the positive things was the implementation of professional routines in all the clubs and the investment in club facilities.
Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
What was it like working with top professionals such as Marouane Fellaini and Graziano Pelle in China?
2019 was a beautiful season in Shandong. Fellaini and I joined the club at the same time. Pelle was there. They were two “monsters.” Big guys, very, very professional on and off the pitch, and true leaders that the locals followed.
From your perspective, why did the huge financial investment in Chinese football ultimately fail?
As I said, it comes from the past, when nothing was structured and everything was like a race to invest and win. When they set the salary caps, everything changed, and at the same time, some of the biggest clubs where the bosses came from private companies failed because the companies failed as well.
What positive elements do you believe Chinese football still has today, despite the setbacks?
Well, they have a huge population, a lot of football players, and they really have quality in all positions. For me, the point is self-responsibility, of being better and better every day. The football industry in China ensures that the players have a good salary and can play in the top league easily. Even in the second division, they have a good salary. They don’t have the ambition to play abroad. They don’t need to.
How would you describe Chinese fans, their passion, expectations, and relationship with football?
They are really passionate about the team they follow. Sometimes they just put the focus on the score and don’t have a deep vision of the football work behind a team, but they are really strong supporters, and it’s a pleasure to see full stadiums every weekend.
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What surprised you most about football culture in China?
Especially how the level has improved over the years. Stadiums are better, facilities are better, and local players and local coaches are better.
Do you think China can still build a successful long-term football project in the future? What must change first?
Not an easy question. I am positive about that, but they have to set a structured mid- to long-term plan and be clear with the message to the supporters, especially with the national team. They have to keep trusting foreigners to help them develop football there.
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
How would you describe your time with the China national team?
It was hard but nice at the same time. We were in the COVID era, and players were not in the best condition. The league was played in bubbles, and it was not so intense and competitive. That affected the national team directly. We were playing games for the Qatar World Cup. At the same time, for me it was an amazing experience to work with the best Chinese players, some of them at the end of their careers, and with former legends of the national team as coaches. I have really good memories of the time I spent with Coach Li Xiaopeng and the rest of the staff. Memories and friendships for all my life.
In a national team, where you have limited training time, how do you create identity and cohesion?
It is a process, and you have to explain it like that to the fans. Football associations need to have a clear vision of how they want to play according to the local profile of players, and then choose the coach and let him work. Patience, consistency, and work.
What are the main challenges when you have players coming from many different clubs, cultures, and training methods?
The key point is player selection. How you do the scouting and what kind of profile you need to play how you want. If you are accurate at that stage, you have half the work done. The football language is universal, so if the selection of the players is correct, that makes everything easier.
A Move to Cambodia
Cambodia is a very unique football environment. What motivated you to work there?
Well, I found a well-structured club with a foreign sports director who could understand my professional demands. I felt I could express my football idea as a coach with freedom and support. We grew together with hard work, and we put Svay Rieng among the top clubs of Southeast Asia. I have to say the level of the league is really competitive, and people would be surprised by what Cambodian teams can do playing abroad against clubs from countries with huge budgets.
How would you describe the level of talent and passion in Cambodia’s young players?
People of Cambodia are friendly, nice, and full of joy. They like their lives, and they really enjoy with not too much. I learned a lot from them. It also happens in football. They play as they play in the street, and that makes the training easier and with a good and positive mood.
What were the biggest cultural differences you encountered on and off the pitch?
I would say the professional routines. In terms of lifestyle, nutrition, and things like that, you have to be permissive and accept their culture and their habits. We have to understand their culture and be able to adapt what we can because we are the foreigners.
After working in Spain, China, and Cambodia, what have these cultures taught you as a coach and as a person?
As a coach, the level of Cambodian football surprised me in a positive way. In China, they have everything to develop a football history. Both cultures are amazing. In China, people work all day long to achieve success in their business. In Cambodia, they are nice and generous even when they don’t have too much to offer you.
What is the most important lesson you have learned in your coaching career so far?
I would say that behind the footballer there is a person, someone that you need to know as well as you can. Understanding their feelings and problems will help you coach them better and get their best performance.
Category: General Sports
