FCBARCELONA.CAT

04.07.2007 20:31

Galilea, new coach of Cornellà

Cristina Collado

Former FC Barcelona star, José Luís Galilea, is the new head coach of WTC Cornellà, a feeder club to Barça. Galilea says he is thrilled at the prospect.

José Luís Galilea is to leave the court and take to the bench. The ex Barça man is to take over at WTC Cornellà, an FC Barcelona feeder club. Galilea played for Barça from 1990 to 1996 and told Barça TV and fcbarcelona.cat: “This is a new stage in my life, and I am thrilled about it. I would like to convey all that my coaches have conveyed to me, as have all my colleagues.”

Experience on the bench

Galilea already has a certain idea of what coaching is about. Two years ago he was seriously injured when playing for Basque outfit Porfirio Fisac, and saw the season out as an assistance manager. He has also been an assistant to the Basque national coach Pablo Laso, so he knows a fair bit about the job. “The main difference is the way you channel your energy, your nerves, and that is what I found so hard at first” he said. “As for the rest, as I have been a playmaker all my life, which is fairly similar, I know all about organising a group, and knowing that it is not just about my own role, but what the team does as a whole.”

Making Cornellà competitive

Cornellà is the training ground for future talent. But more than that, Galilea wants to make his new team competitive in the LEB League, rather than just a team for trying out new players. He says “I think that is a very important part of it, of course we want to train up some great players that can go on to play for FC Barcelona, but we should not ignore the competitive side of things. And that means winning games, something that needs work and learning”

The NBA

Asked about Juan Carlos Navarro going to the NBA, Galilea said “it is what we all expected. Navarro is a player at the very top of the European game. We would have all liked him to stay here a whole lot longer, but it’s only normal that he wants to go. We are always going to have to replace the big names.”

Galilea spoke about his own relationship with the NBA, saying “when I left Barça I had the chance to go, but pretty much to sit on the bench and nothing more. I was very young. I thought I still had a lot more to learn. But the dream of playing in the North American league never went away”.