Esteban Vigo, known as ‘Boquerón’ Esteban, due to his Málaga origin, was a key footballer at Barça in the 70s and 80s, when he played in our beloved Camp Nou alongside Johan Cruyff and Diego Armando Maradona, among many other great names. After retiring, Esteban became the manager of teams such as Xérez and Hércules. In a recent interview with Flashscore, the great ‘Boquerón’ Esteban spoke about his memories in Barça’s locker room and also about his vision of the current Flick’s team.
“It is not easy to explain 10 years of your career in a club like Barcelona“, he starts, “I feel satisfied to have completed a stage in my football life in a club as important and as big as Barcelona”. Esteban began his coaching career at Barça’s youth system, about which he states, “Barça’s youth system has always been very strong and very well organized. Now, probably due to the club’s financial situation, it is a little easier for players to get into the first team, but if they were not good, they would not be able to play there. “
The former player shared the pitch with Cruyff, who was his boss years later, “I was lucky to have Cruyff as a teammate in my first year, which was his last, and then as a boss, because he coached the first team and I worked in the youth system, where everyone develops the same game system as the first team, which facilitates the players’ transition to the first team.”
Vigo also spoke about Hansi Flick and his current Barça side, who is now leading La Liga, “being Barcelona’s coach wears you out, even when winning. You have to be very prepared and I think Hansi, last year, was fortunate to achieve such a brutal success none of us expected. Players like Raphinha have improved a lot. Veterans are helping young people realize where they are. All the big clubs have ups and downs and this year Barça did not start that well, but last year the level was very high, more than expected. This year the situation is similar, but more care is being taken in the defensive aspect recently, and the team is improving thanks to that.”
