Interview with Stefano di Micro – Season 22 Day 12

PSM Press presents an interview with Stefano di Micro, manager of Americas side Union Espanola.

Martin Baker: Hi Stefano, Glad to have the opportunity to interview you.

Lets start at the beginning, you joined the club 6 seasons ago. In your first full season you was promoted from league 3 via the playoffs, then the season after you followed the playoff win up with a runner up position to get to league 1. It was a great start to your career in world 1, did you expect to hit the ground running like that?

Stefano di Micro: Hi Martin, nice to be here with you!

Having been trusted with taking the mighty Espaonla back to where they belong in the top flight, I had a 5 year plan to get the team up 2 divisions and competing in League 1. I didn’t expect to achieve instant success, and in hindsight being in League 2 six seasons later you could say it was too much too soon! As a club we’ve enjoyed the ride, and I feel we’re now in a better position once results start improving.

MB: After 6 games in league 2 this season, the form has been poor, do you put this down to bad fortune, or poor player performances? How do you intend to turn it around, as Union Espanola are surely one of the favourites to be at the top end of the table this season.

SDM: The problem we’ve had is that in the past 3 seasons the team has set up to stop the big guns of League 1 from playing. Now we are expecting to go after teams and so far we have struggled to adjust. The standard of League 2 is clearly at lot higher than when we were here last, but as the season progresses my chairman Jorge Segovia and I fully expect the side to be pushing for promotion.

MB: The fans seem to be unhappy with a couple of players’ performances, with a lot of criticism aimed at Bello. Do you agree with the fans on this front?

SDM: I wouldn’t like to single out the performance of 1 player for criticism – the team as a whole is underperforming at present. Bello is still a young lad but he’s been a regular for two years now and perhaps some time out of the firing line would be useful for him. Sadly the squad is lacking strength in depth as the club is focusing finances on improving our Santa Laura stadium.

MB: What improvements can the fans expect with the stadium? What price will fans be paying after the improvements? And how much extra seating will there be upon full completion?

SDM: We’ve recently installed our first set of 4,500 seats, and improved the capacity of the ground to just over 20,000. The aim is to take this to as close as 25,000 before the season’s end, hopefully this will include some additional seating. There were discussions at the end of the last season to move the club east of Santiago, however the plans were scrapped on discussions with the supporters club and it was agreed we would expand the existing site.

In terms of prices, standing tickets are set at £10 with seating £16. For the upcoming cup game we are letting kids in for free when accompanied by an adult purchasing a full priced ticket. The ground has been a sell out for years so we clearly offer value for money.

MB: With improvements costing good money, will your hands be tied in the transfer market?

SDM: The fans have had to put up with us being a selling club for many years, as we try to lay the foundations for the long term future of the club. They have witnesses greats such Uribarri and Sonnefeld leaving for a total of £40m, and most of this money was invested into the future youth of the club. My chief scout and I are always on the look out for players that will improve the quality of the squad, we recently picked up two young keepers from Marseille for less than £500k. We also spent over £3m in bringing in Vibart from Rochdale in the summer. Hopefully the facilities that are now in place will provide the training and expertise needed to bring through the next Uribarri, and I hope that we can first look to promote from within before spending money that can be used elsewhere.

MB: Looking at your next league fixture, you come up against an in form Boca Juniors, unbeaten in the league so far. How do you rev the players up for this and what approach will you take?

SDM: Boca is a massive game for us. They finished bottom of League 1 last season but I have nothing but admiration for Ropey for turning it around this season. That said, we will go there expecting to compete and I would be disappointed if we didnt come away with something. We’ve played each other a number of times and they are always close encounters, and I don’t forsee this being anything else. Nunez is always a threat, and we will have to watch out for Dudic at set peices. I’m sure Ropey will be worrying about a few of my boys too!

MB: If you are to do well this season then Kripak’s goals will be important, just how big a player is he for you?

SDM: Kripak is extremely important, he’s the side’s talisman and his loyalty to the club should be rewarded with trophies. He arrived from Cheltenham for a club record fee, and has been top scorer for the past 4 yrs. We need to work on the supply line, because he’s a deadly finisher. His all round game has improved too, I’m hoping that Vibart could strike up a partnership with him but we can also use him on his own if need be.

MB: So your overall aim for the next three seasons? Is the long term plan to challenge for the IRC places?

SDM: Everyone’s ultimate aim should be the IRC otherwise you might as well pack up and go home! If we can get back to League 1 in the next 2 seasons then that would be a success, but the main aim is to build on what we have to ensure that if we go up, we stay up. Teams like Boyaco Chico, River Plate & Boca have started to yoyo and it can’t be good for player morale. We have some good youths filtering through in 3 or 4 seasons so the real push will start then!

MB: Sounds like exciting times ahead. Is there any particular youth that the world will be hearing of soon?

SDM: The four below are the best prospects:

O Wenzel 16 M-R 3 6 19 7 75 59 12 5 7 33%+7
Q Otañi 15 M-C 3 12 46 8 20 70 10 5 15 33%+6
L Freitte 15 D-C 3 55 15 7 17 8 3 4 16 33%+6
P Mazarz 14 A-C 1 17 17 5 26 13 11 61 14 33%+7

Mazarz should have over 500 points when he’s promoted so hopefully he will be a ready made replacement for Kripak or one of the big hitters may decide to take a gamble on a lower league youngster. Otani will fill the hole left by Uribarri, maybe Vasco will pay us £25m for him too!

MB: Who would you say are your rival teams in Americas, and which games do you always look forward to, in an attempt to get one one over the opposition?

SDM: Being from Chile, our local derby would be Colo Colo. We kicked off the season with an even 2-2 draw. Other teams are Lusa (family ties), Toronto, LDU Quito. I’m also looking forward to playing Botofogo and Libertad this season, and I hope to play Minnesota Thunder soon but preferably not in League 3!

MB: A new last question this week, sum up your style of management in one word.

SDM: Focused.

MB: Thanks a lot for your time Stefano, wish you all the best in trying to achieve your goals, long term and short term.

Credits to Martin Baker for the interview.

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