64 Friday May 27 2022 | the timesSportFootball
Danny Drinkwater described his move
to Chelsea as “a business deal gone
wrong” as the midfielder announced he
would be leaving the club.
The 32-year-old joined Chelsea for
£35 million in 2017 — on a contract be-
lieved to be worth in excess of £100,000
a week — but made only 23 appearan-
ces in a disappointing five-year spell, in-
cluding only 12 in the Premier League.
His last game for the club was in the
2018 Community Shield and he went
out on loan four times to Burnley,
Aston Villa, Kasimpasa in Turkey and
most recently to Reading.
Drinkwater cited injuries and off-
field issues as reasons for why his careerGary Jacobbecause he is one of the best coaches
in the world,” he says. “Marcelo has
spent more than half of his life in
coaching. He is 100 per cent
professional in every detail that can
affect the performances of the team.”
It was a gamble leaving his tutelage
under Bielsa and also required a risk
by Town’s head of football operations,
Leigh Bromby, but Corberán was
ready. “My level of motivation to
work at Huddersfield was massive
because I know how big a club it is,”
he says. “It is true that the highest
level of success in the league was 100
years ago [with three First Division
titles in the mid-1920s] but the year
before I arrived Huddersfield were in
the Premier League, even if the last
year was tough.
“That just increased my motivation
to give something to the Huddersfield
Town fans. I knew in the previous two
years before I arrived that they were
suffering. We needed to [show] them
that they could believe in the players
and feel proud of the team again and
trust them. It took time.”
Along with Bromby and more
recently the popular, returning owner,
Dean Hoyle, the high earners and
low-yield names went. In came thefree transfers, as clubs shed players in
the pandemic.
Shrewd recruitment, overseen by
Bromby, has been a huge factor. The
two sides who won automatic
promotion, Bournemouth and
Fulham, enjoyed healthy resources,
making Huddersfield’s journey to
Wembley even more impressive.
“Some teams can relax because they
have individuals who can win a
game,” Corberán says. “We develop
other strengths to be competitive.”
They sourced players such as
Colwill and gave a platform to
another Cobham graduate, the
midfielder Jon Russell, who had been
released by Chelsea. And
Huddersfield invested intelligently
behind the scenes in nutritionists,
analysts, coaches, strength and
conditioning staff and psychologists.
Russell responded to their attention
and Corberán’s coaching. So did Sorba
Thomas, who came in from Boreham
Wood in the National League, was
developed by Corberán and is now a
full Wales international. “I want the
player to be better when I have
finished with them,” Corberán says.
He leaves nothing to chance. He
watches video after video on theachieved everything without anybody
giving them a present.
“I don’t think it is ‘a miracle’ what
we’ve done [reaching Wembley]. With
our amazing characters, it is possible.”
Levi Colwill, the 19-year-old centre
back on loan from Chelsea, embodies
that work ethic: “He’s going
to make a good career
because he has a good
balance between
being able to
defend and
attack. He has a
lot of maturity
and demands so
much of
himself. He
knows he’s at
a key age to
improve.”
Just as
Corberán
himself
developed
under
Bielsa. “The
experience of
two years
working with
him was
unbelievableDrinkwater: Chelsea was deal gone wrong
at Stamford Bridge did not work out.
He was banned from driving for
20 months and given 70 hours of com-
munity service after admitting to
drink-driving in 2019.
He wrote on his Instagram yesterday:
“My time at Chelsea has come to an
end... actually feels really strange
writing this. Me, the club and fans are
hugely disappointed with the outcome,
there is no doubt about that.
“Injuries, how I have been treated,
mistakes I made, lack of game
time... the list of excuses could be end-
less but I would not and cannot change
what’s happened.
“I’m going to look at positives over
the past five years, I have played with
great players, coached by awesomemanagers, worked with some brilliant
staff, met some fantastic people, lived in
some beautiful places, travelled the
world and won some more silverware.
“Football’s a fantastic sport but this
for both parties was a business move
gone wrong, it’s as black and white as
that. To the Chelsea fans, I apologise for
how this has turned out.”
Drinkwater, who began his career at
Manchester United but did not make a
senior appearance for the club, rose to
prominence at Leicester City where he
was a key member of their Premier
League-winning side in 2015-16.
He formed a formidable midfield
partnership at the King Power Stadium
with N’Golo Kanté, who moved to
Chelsea in 2016.the site for staff during the transition.
Newcastle’s players return from their
summer break on July 1 and the club
had hoped to begin work on new build-
ings by then. However, that could be de-
layed because an assessment by con-
sultants Total Ecology has shown that
areas the club want to extend into have
several bat-roosting opportunities.
No evidence has been found of bats
living inside the training ground, but
gaps in the wooden cladding, cracked
mortar on gables and displaced tiles
have led to the building being classifiedBats could delay Newcastle
training centre improvements
as having moderate roost potential.
That means a recommendation has
been made for two bat-activity surveys
— one at dusk and one at dawn —
between now and September, which
could delay the work Howe says is vital.
Since the £305 million takeover last
October, when Saudi Arabia’s public in-
vestment fund bought an 80 per cent
shareholding, the club has looked at
finding land to build a new state-of-the-
art centre. In the meantime, they want
to upgrade the existing facility, with im-
provements including a purpose-built
hydrotherapy pool, new changing areas
and sports science rooms.continued from back
C
arlos Corberán will step out
at Wembley on Sunday,
take up his position in the
Huddersfield Town dugout
and look at his players and
the passionate supporters. Corberán
knows his team will give everything
they have against Nottingham Forest,
the Sky Bet Championship play-off
favourites. He knows their fans will
sing themselves hoarse.
“I know our spirit,” Corberán says.
“This is the spirit of Huddersfield
fans, the club and the town. This is
the spirit of people that have a
working mentality, people who
sacrifice and people who face
adversity with determination.”
The 39-year-old Spaniard feels at
home in a way. He feels many of the
Huddersfield principles — hard work,
teamwork — chime with his
childhood growing up in Cheste, near
Valencia. “My parents gave me a lot
of values,” he recalls. “I came from a
very humble family. I developed the
hard work [ethic] when I was a child.”
Corberán never made it as a player
but these traits were enhanced by
immersion in the youth team and
then reserves of his famous local club,
traits that now serve him well as
Huddersfield’s head coach after
leaving his role as Marcelo Bielsa’s
assistant at Leeds United in
July 2020.
“I started to play in
Valencia as a ’keeper
when I was 12,”
Corberán says. “I
wanted to play
for Valencia
where I was
not the best,
and I
needed to
be working
hard and
pushing myself
to the limits.
“I developed
important values
like the hard work.
I feel very proud to
be working at
Huddersfield
because I’m working
with a group of
players who have‘The dream can come true on Sunday’
opposition. “I wouldn’t say I
am [obsessive] but it is
true that I like to spend a
lot of time analysing.
“I like to arrive to the
game knowing exactly
what the opponent is
going to try to do, what
are their strengths and
their weaknesses.”
Does he ever relax?
“You never can relax in
football,” he says. “The day you
relax football teaches you can’t relax.
When you win you have to keep
winning.
“My wife enjoys football but she
knows how demanding my job is. A
coach always has problems to solve.
You need experience to find a better
balance between personal life and
professional life. When I go home,
even if it’s late, I like to be more
focused with my wife and my son.”
Corberán is good at getting players
to maximise their potential. He never
rose higher than the Valencia B side
and takes inspiration from other
coaches who did not hit the heights as
a player. “There are good coaches
who were very good players — Pep
Guardiola [at Manchester City] is an
example — and there are good
coaches that didn’t make a playing
career. To be a good coach you need a
good understanding of the game,
good leadership skills, the skill to
analyse the game and to pass
information to the players and to
always improve your players.”
Just as he looks at his players
before kick-off, Corberán will also
look with similar pride at
Huddersfield’s fans, who capture this
country’s obsession with the game.
“Football is part of the life of the
people here,” Corberán says. “For me
it’s special to see the love and
commitment that fans have for their
clubs. The love that English people
have for football could not be higher.
“Huddersfield Town is a real, real
family. I feel proud to be working in a
club where everyone has the same
importance. I’ve had the opportunity
to work closer to Dean this year. I
have a strong connection with Dean
because he has a lot of determination
to make his dream come true.”
That dream is a return to the
Premier League. “The motivation is
very high,” Corberán says. “We know
how big a game Sunday is. All of us
are excited because we know we play
in a special stadium. With Steve
Cooper [as manager], Forest are a
really, really dangerous team.” But
Corberán will look at his players and
supporters and have faith. “We hope
the dream comes true on Sunday.
We’ve worked for this.”Carlos Corberán insists
Hudderfield Town have
earned Premier League
return through
hard work, he tells
Henry Winter
Huddersfield
v Nottingham
Forest
Sunday, 4.30pm
TV: Sky Sports
Main EventCorberán, who was mentored by Bielsa at Leeds, below, has forged players like Harry Toffolo, above, into a winning team