Nuno Espírito Santo: ‘It is like Coca-Cola, they never change the recipe’
Nuno Espírito Santo has been holding court for about 20 minutes, at one stage comparing the ingredients that go into making Coca-Cola with his own recipe for success at Wolves, when he leans in and makes a prediction that stops everyone in their tracks. “I will not give you clues, but football is gonna change,” Nuno says.
That intriguing comment comes in the middle of an answer about whether or not those players who experienced Premier League football for the first time with Wolves last season, when the Midlands club blazed a trail by taking 16 points off the top six, finishing seventh and qualifying for Europe for the first time in 39 years – they face Crusaders in the first leg of their second-round Europa League qualifier on Thursday evening – will be better for the experience.
“We started this season trying to develop, trying to improve. We are not going back trying to repeat the same things we did last pre-season. It doesn’t make sense,” Nuno says. “After two years of working we are the same people, we know everything. We have to go and look for better solutions, trying to anticipate. I will not give you clues but football is gonna change.
“The football you see now and are reflecting on this season, I will not say next season, but in two seasons’ time, is gonna change. I will not tell you, but there are normal effects of when teams sit, they affect naturally the rest of football. If you consider that … I am already telling you too many things. This is what we are trying to anticipate. All the managers are quite clear on how they want their teams to play, and how to perform. What I am trying to build and improve is, I know, I suspect, going to change.”
Asked whether a new cycle is coming, Nuno replies: “I knowa new cycle is coming.” So is he talking about other ways of playing, through different systems? “Mmm, OK. You look at that, you look at systems, tactical aspects. But I’m telling you, for sure, in two seasons the football in the Premier League will change.”
As with a game of chess, Nuno seems to be thinking a few moves ahead. “It is a lot like chess,” he adds. “I think all the managers, for sure, we have to anticipate. The best way, it is chess. I tried to put myself inside the other managers’ heads. It is a good exercise. If I played against Wolves, what would I do?” Does he ever win in that scenario? “Never,” replies Nuno, with a wry smile.
Nuno has a reputation for being a man of few words when it comes to press conferences and it would be easy to form an opinion on him based on some of those awkward exchanges before or after matches. As anyone who is a regular visitor to Molineux will know, his programme notes are just as brief and would struggle to fill the back of a postcard. Small talk of any description is not really Nuno’s thing.
Yet the reality is that, in the right setting, the 45-year-old can be fascinating and engaging company. A couple of weeks ago, the former Valencia and Porto manager sat down with half a dozen journalists at Compton, Wolves’ training ground, and spoke candidly for more than 45 minutes across a wide range of topics, taking in everything from the mental cross-examination he puts himself through after a disappointing performance to the unwavering belief that he has in his own philosophy.
“Everybody knows how we play, everybody can see. It is the most important thing, an identity,” Nuno says. “When things don’t go so well, what are you gonna grab? Stick to it. It is like Coca-Cola, they never change the recipe. Diet, full sugar, no caffeine, maybe. But the recipe is always there.”
Nuno changed the system last season after Wolves picked up only one point from a possible 18, but not his “idea” – something he talks about a lot. The 3-4-3 that had previously served Wolves so well needed another layer, or an “extra line” as Nuno puts it, to give Wolves “the capacity to go higher on the pitch”. Deploying Rúben Neves in a slightly deeper role was the solution.
His overriding message, though, is that the basis of his approach – seizing the initiative defensively and stealing possession in areas that leave opponents unbalanced and exposed – will always remain the same. “The idea never changes,” Nuno adds. “I always look at the way I want to be in the game, even if I don’t have the ball I can be in control of the game … my defensive process has to be organised and strong enough to control the game. How I do that? By creating trigger points on where I want to recover the ball.”
Interestingly, Nuno takes no credit whatsoever for the decision to pair Raúl Jiménez and Diogo Jota up front midway through the season and the way that those two dovetailed so beautifully thereafter. “That is luck,” he says, almost dismissively. “One day I went: ‘Let’s try.’ Quality and talent of the players and dedication, belief – the way they believe in what you say and propose, it is always about that. You can have the brightest of ideas you can imagine, but if your players don’t believe – pah.” Presumably, though, it is Nuno who engenders that belief? “They give to me, honestly. It is the other way around.”
When it goes wrong, however, it is Nuno who shoulders the blame. So much so that his family would like to see him smile now and again. “They say I should enjoy it more. They say: ‘Even when you lose you shouldn’t be so down.’ But how can you not be down? When the team doesn’t play good you go home and you say: ‘Why? Why? Why? Why?’ And you go around the ‘why’ and the ‘how?’ It’s very hard to enjoy.”
One of the few occasions when Nuno did have genuine reason to feel low was after the FA Cup semi-final defeat against Watford in April, when Wolves threw away a 2-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Yet even then there was much to admire about the way his players responded, taking 10 points from their last five matches to secure seventh spot.
“It was a tough moment. It can disrupt a season and create problems but we reacted very well,” says Nuno. “After the result at Southampton [the week after Watford], the way we performed with steel and making our grief, if you can say that … we had a moment to gel and put the past behind you and look forward. The boys did fantastically.”
Although the transfer window has been frustrating so far for Wolves, preseason has been rewarding in other ways. Wolves defeated Newcastle 4-0 before beating Manchester City on penalties in Shanghai on Saturday to win the Premier League Asia Trophy. That competition may rank low on their list of priorities this season but it meant a lot to Fosun, the club’s ambitious Chinese owners, and Nuno recognised that afterwards. The Portuguese handed his winners’ medal over to Guo Guangchang, Fosun’s chairman, as soon as he walked off.
The pursuit of more silverware starts with Thursday’s first leg against Northern Irish side Crusaders. It is the first European tie that Wolves have taken part in since 1980, when they lost 3-2 on aggregate to PSV Eindhoven in the old Uefa Cup, and the fact that it is a 30,000 sell-out says everything about the mood around Molineux these days. “This is what we work for,” says Nuno, smiling. “We work to give joy to the fans. If the fans are not happy, what’s the point?”