Shropshire Star

Key factor in West Brom boss Carlos Corberan's squad-building plans

Albion boss Carlos Corberan believes Spain's top quality ahead of tomorrow's Euros final is their strength in unity.

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Corberan, who is from the Valencian region in eastern Spain, will be at St George's Park with his Baggies squad for a week-long training camp from Saturday as England tackle Spain in Sunday's showpiece.

The Hawthorns head coach stressed the key factor when assembling a squad – either for a 10-month league season or a short international tournament – is focusing on the character of individuals and whether they commit as a team, as the Spaniard's Luis de la Fuente has achieved.

Corberan told Spanish reporter Guillem Ballague: "One of the first things as a coach you need to win is the commitment of the players. As soon as you win their commitment it is easy for them to move their level to the pitch. They can fight because they commit to the situation.

"The commitment is the first principle from the players, that they give their best.

"They are showing the important thing in a short tournament is being a team. Sometimes good habits can be challenged in the passing of time to let's say not the best habits.

"Right now with Spain you are watching unbelievable players that play football very well. And you can only play very well when you understand football as a team. Football is not just to play for yourself. Things you do individually impacts your team-mates.

"Normally the players who understand the game are team players, you can only achieve something when you attack and defend collectively."

Corberan is partway through his biggest recruitment drive in more than 18 months at The Hawthorns with three new faces through the door as the Baggies settle into their camp in Burton.

The former Huddersfield boss regularly places emphasis on having the right characters and insists team sport demands individual sacrifice for the benefit of the collective.

"It is very important (to have good people) especially when you are building a squad and not just a national team," added the Baggies chief.

"When you are working with players for 10 or 11 months in the year – we don't all have the same personality – but when you play football it is not tennis. In tennis you play yourself and achieve or not.

"In a team sport it is a team. It's a challenge because everything is focused on each player, individual pressure, what you achieve or not. When you build a team you need to have players who think the important thing is the team.

"To build something special with your team you need to manage some individual sacrifices. If you are not going to accept your individual sacrifice for the benefit of the team, then it is not going to work.

"For me this is one of the challenges we always have as coaches. When you build a squad you will not be happy if you don't like your players. Firstly you need to build a squad of players you like."

Corberan typically likes to build a squad of 20 outfield players, excluding three goalkeeping options. It remains to be seen if Albion, who released a significant portion of last season's squad at the end of their contracts, will go with as big a squad for the coming season.

"You know you have to select 11 but have a squad of 20 players of the side you love and like their style of football," the boss said. "When you select 11 you need to tell the others you love them but are not playing them.

"They need to understand that to be competitive in any competition we cannot do it with 11, it's impossible. You need 20. Or you need 16, or 18 amazing players. They need to understand they will not receive what they always want to.

"They need to have resilience or accept the situation will work how they will like. The important thing here is the team. The person who will always think the best for the team is the coach. Because we always want to do well and achieve good results."