Julio Velázquez did not show himself from his best side on Saturday night. Fortuna Sittard’s trainer let his emotions run free after FC Twente’s 0-2. Velázquez rammed his fist into the dugout several times, kicked over pawns and then vented his anger on sound equipment as well.
“It doesn’t matter now to talk about it. I am sorry to see the images again,” said Velázquez in front of the camera of ESPN. The reason for the Spanish coach’s frustration was that, according to him, Twente took a free kick too quickly, after which Manfred Ugalde was able to score. “The ball didn’t stop. I do not understand. How could this goal have been awarded? But hey, that’s football. We will focus on the next game, because we cannot change the result of tonight.”
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Twente would eventually win the game in Sittard 0-3 thanks to a goal from Vaclav Cerny and a double from Ugalde. In the studio of ESPN Velázquez’s outburst of anger was watched with astonishment. “He is a disgrace to the trainers guild. The proletarian of the trainer’s fever”, said Hugo Borst. “If you are a trainer at a club like Almere City or Fortuna Sittard, you know that there is a lot going on. Then you have to control yourself.”
Hedwiges Maduro, who himself played in the Spanish LaLiga for six years, also did not know what he saw. “You often say: ‘He’s a Spaniard, that’s why he’s temperamental. But they don’t do this in Spain either. You don’t see a trainer rushing into the dugout that quickly. I think this is going too far.” According to analyst Kees Kwakman, Fortuna’s trainer also crossed the line. “I sometimes protected him in the beginning, also because he was not always easy to speak with the language. But you also have a certain exemplary function as a trainer. If you behave like this, you can wait for a player from Fortuna to give someone a rock kick soon.”
Earlier criticism of Waterreus
Ronald Waterreus lashed out at Velázquez last month. The Spanish trainer of Fortuna Sittard was sent off the field during the lost Eredivisie match with RKC Waalwijk (3-1) after repeated comments on referee Bas Nijhuis. Waterreus called the Spaniard, among other things, ‘an insult to the coaching profession’. “Velázquez is Diego Simeone in overdrive, but one without status,” the former goalkeeper wrote in his column for the Limburger. “Velázquez is the excited Jester in the Council of Eleven, the Clown Bassie of football coaches. Crazy, if you will.”
Velazquez succeeded Sjors Ultee, who was fired by Fortuna, at the beginning of September. Under the leadership of the Spanish coach, the road started upwards. Thanks to eight victories and five draws from twenty matches, Fortuna is currently in eleventh place. Still, Waterreus does not expect Velázquez to be head coach in Sittard for long. “In a nutshell, this tells the announced demise of Velázquez at Fortuna and will soon irrevocably also at his 13th, 14th and 28th employer. A trainer who considers himself more important than his club will not last long anywhere.”