by It is 11:30 on a windy morning at the West Bromwich Albion training ground and Carlos Corberán is parading around the field with a ball under his arm and a whistle in his hand.
“Excellent,” he purrs, nodding approvingly as his players execute an intense pressing drill, and it soon becomes clear that Corberán is an extremely hands-on head coach.
The training ground is where he comes to life and Telegraph Sport has been given exclusive access to watch the highly regarded Spaniard in full development ahead of a packed fixture schedule.
A self-confessed disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, after working with the Argentine at Leeds, Corberán is a fascinating and football-obsessive character who has transformed the culture throughout the club.
He also emerges as a leader in times of uncertainty; an emblem of hope for fans who have become disillusioned and frustrated with the direction of the club.
West Brom is still under the control of unpopular owner Guochuan Lai and remains in talks with various parties over a possible sale, with a Nigerian and American group believed to be the two favourites.
The valuation is understood to be around £30m, plus various debts and money owed on loans. Sources have confirmed that negotiations are “moving forward.”
“Being a coach is a dream”
Corberán faces uncertainty if a takeover is not completed soon, with pressure to raise money through the sale of players in the January transfer window.
But try telling him that. The 40-year-old refuses to let any outside noise damage the team spirit he has created. Whatever happens behind the scenes, ‘King Charles’ will be there every day until 8pm, plotting his path back to the Premier League.
“Being a coach is a dream and I couldn’t be prouder than to represent this enormous club,” he says. “Before working here it was one of the clubs that caught my attention, but now being here I realize how important it is.
“You live with a lot of responsibility because you know how much you are impacting the club and the fans. “I want to put this club at the top and do my best for them.”
‘It’s about finding solutions’
This is a unique opportunity to witness the meticulous preparations and extreme detail of Corberán, who has guided West Brom to third place in the Championship.
In October he celebrated one year in office and marked the occasion by presenting each member of staff with a bottle of Estrella beer (last Christmas it was a bottle of red wine from Valencia).
We were invited to attend last Thursday, before the game against high-flying Ipswich, and Corberán has called a team meeting at 10.30am before the players start training. Meetings are common here, and another after training. The day before games, each player is seen individually for 15 minutes each.
Corberán’s meetings and training sessions are absolutely crucial to transmit his philosophy to the squad.
Their training method is based on periodization (a four-phase strategy of attack, defense and intermediate transitions) with an emphasis on shorter, more precise sessions and the workload generally decreases closer to match day.
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays there are more detailed and longer sessions divided into analytical training with defense and attack exercises, as well as small games.
Corberán prefers to operate with a squad of 20 players and, in the session we observed, all field positions have two players following each other.
Thursday’s session focused in more detail on how to exploit Ipswich’s perceived weaknesses. Corberán prefers to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation, but, in this game, he will use a 4-4-2 defensive formation. The plan was to target, press and isolate Ipswich right back Brandon Williams as left back Leif Davis is usually higher up the pitch with a wide winger. Pressing when we didn’t have possession was vital.
It clearly worked, with West Brom winning 2-0 and sentencing their opponents to their first league defeat since August 26.
“Football is growing and the coaches have a great knowledge of the game. It is increasingly difficult to prepare but it is about finding solutions,” says Corberán.
“It’s important that when players go out on the field they don’t feel like they need to give the right answer every time.
“Training can help us create positive habits and behaviors, which is why our concentration level is so high. “Everyone needs to know everything that is going to be required in the game.”
Each player knows his job.
Corberán’s team is a mix of experience and emerging talent, including captain Jed Wallace, standout forward Brandon Thomas-Asante, goalkeeper Alex Palmer and playmaker John Swift.
There are high hopes for Caleb Taylor, the 20-year-old son of former Birmingham defender Martin and the academy’s latest graduate.
“Aggression” and “intensity” are two words that Corberán usually uses when giving instructions. Each player knows his job and if the team loses the weekend it will not be due to lack of preparation.
Along with his coaches, another key member of Corberán’s backroom staff is Tony Strudwick, Albion’s medical director and former head of performance with England and Manchester United.
Strudwick works closely with Corberán in developing the weekly schedule, with each player’s fitness levels and statistics captured by GPS trackers. Players are weighed every day and were asked to submit personal reports while away during the recent international break.
The mission is always to leave the rival behind and West Brom has one of the fittest teams in a highly competitive league. The team’s average distance per game is 112 kilometers (including the goalkeeper and center backs, who run less).
Fitness and athleticism are fundamental to Corberán’s explosive and high-energy game.
Corberán idolizes Benítez
The coach’s influence also extends to the training camp canteen: bread, ketchup and other processed carbohydrates have been eliminated.
As you walk towards the players’ locker room, there is a slogan on the wall that perfectly captures their approach.
“If people doubt how far you can go, go so far that you can no longer hear them,” it reads.
Corberán, a former goalkeeper, has been waiting for these moments since he idolized Rafael Benítez during his time at Liverpool.
Corberán became famous in this country working with Leeds under-23 and then with the first team. He still speaks regularly with Bielsa and describes the relationship as “a privilege”.
In his first job as number one, he guided Huddersfield Town to the Championship play-off final, which they lost to Nottingham Forest. However, it is at West Brom where he feels most at home and his impact has been significant.
After missing out on the play-offs on the final day of last season, hopes are high that they can go further this time.
On Saturday his team faces another test with the visit of league leaders Leicester to the Hawthorns. As usual, ‘King Charles’ will leave no stone unturned.
