Rodolfo Borrell may be Austin FC’s newly appointed sporting director, but he’s not a completely foreign name to Major League Soccer watchers. Over the years, Borrell has been linked to any number of MLS jobs, most recently with the Philadelphia Union and DC United.
“And there’s a few more that you don’t know about as well,” Borrell said during a recent meeting with Athletics.
Borrell has perhaps the most impressive European resume of any sporting director in the league. He rose to fame in the late 90s and early 2000s at the famous Barcelona club. La Masia academy, which at the time was busy producing players like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas. At Liverpool, he was instrumental in remaking that club’s academy system and implementing a clear philosophy within it.
More recently, Borrell rose through the ranks at Manchester City, eventually becoming a first-team assistant, working closely with Pep Guardiola and helping to propel City to recent historic success.
For years, though, Borrell has eyed MLS as a possible landing spot. Now, he joins an Austin FC team looking to find their place among the league’s elite franchises. Last week, Borrell discussed his new post, along with a host of other topics, during a wide-ranging interview.
The questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
You are connected to several others MLS work over the years – why Austin? How did this come about?
Four or five years ago, I was introduced to (Austin FC owner) Anthony (Precourt) by Philadelphia Union (co-owner) Richie Graham, a guy I really love and admire. He has always been very interested in me landing in the US because he always felt that the US needs professionals like me with my experience and knowledge.
In April or May of this year, Anthony asked me if I would be interested in being a candidate for the position. They already knew me well enough because of the informal conversations we had had. We had a few online meetings, of course, and then Anthony traveled to Manchester to meet me in person, on behalf of the entire ownership. After all, an online date is an online date, but you need to see if you have real chemistry. I got to know him, he got to know me, it seemed like a very interesting project. I saw his passion and determination, how much he dedicates himself to the club, how he is trying to develop the club. It made me feel very wanted, which is a very important part for any professional. I have gathered enough information.
How much familiarity did you have with the league when you started your process with Austin?
I have followed MLS for a very long time, quite intensely. Not just results. I watched many, many matches. Because of the Philadelphia Union’s interest in me, I began attending the Eastern Conference. I would watch on Saturdays from maybe 9pm UK time until 2am Eventually I started watching the Western Conference too so Saturday nights would sometimes go on until 6am.
GO DEEPER
Wayne Rooney – Ornstein Interview: Glazers, Kane, Greenwood, Messi, MLS, Everton and more
This is absurd. I live on the East Coast and often try to stay up for West Coast games.
Right, but that’s the reality. I want you to understand that I’m not the guy who comes here from Europe and just tells people that they have no idea about anything, or tells people that they have to blow everything up and start over, no. I’ve been following the MLS closely since 2015, when I first talked very seriously about getting a job here.
Austin was outstanding last year, but got off to a slow start this season. They have bounced back a bit but are still mid-table. What have you done with the club and how does (coach) Josh (Wolff) make them play now?
If Josh wasn’t the head coach now, I wouldn’t be joining Austin FC. The reality of the situation is that I didn’t need a job. I don’t want to sound like a big shot, but I’ve had a really good job. I had one extraordinary work. If I thought Austin’s style of play was too far from what I believe in, I wouldn’t have joined. This is the reality. I’m not just trying to play nice with Josh.
Of course, there is great room for improvement, as in any other area. Every other team has huge room for improvement. But they already play in a certain way, they have the ball a lot but they have the ball with a purpose. They have a lot of combination play, while trying to keep organized and balanced in defense as well. So I think right off the bat that’s a good place to start.
Borrell, centre, had been working with Man City’s first team since 2016 (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
You are working closely with a coach who has this particular identity. Everyone knows how Pep likes to play, everyone sees how Manchester City play. In MLS, there just aren’t many teams that have really strong identities, tactically. There are some teams that adapt their styles game by game, and there are other teams that sometimes barely have a plan at all. Would Pep’s one-man approach work in this league?
However, this happens everywhere. In England and Spain there are also teams that play much more directly, or use different formations. And some clubs that stick to one formation, and others that have many variations within that formation. And some that change the lineup entirely every single game. And some others who defend with the same formation they attack and some others who do it differently. It happens in every league. After all, you can make anything successful as long as your implementation is correct and you have the right players to do it.
If you have the resources, you should determine the ideal profiles to fill the positions that fit the way you want to play. If you don’t have any resources, obviously you just have to make do with what you have. MLS is slowly getting more resources. And not just financial – I understand the rules and regulations of a salary cap, but within that other things are improving. The training facilities, the training staff, all of it. So, the league is slowly growing to a place where coaches can now select players based on their ideal style of play instead of fitting players they’re stuck with.
In terms of those players – at Man City, if you’re looking to improve in any particular position, you’re picking from maybe seven or eight players, globally. In MLS, the task is quite different. You’re looking at hundreds of players in dozens of leagues, at any given position.
It is true that there are factors that are completely different. It’s not just players. My first trip with Austin was Vancouver, and the flight from Austin to Vancouver would be the furthest distance that any European team, that is in the continental competition, would travel all season. There are time differences, big temperature differences, the fact that there are some teams that still play on turf – the differences between pitch and grass are huge.
Rules and regulations and the salary cap is another massive change. And by and large, most of the money teams spend is on the offensive line. In general, teams spend more on attacking players than on defenders. You should also consider this. The game is the same, but it will affect the profiles of the players we bring in in different positions.
GO DEEPER
Pelé’s NY Cosmos debut: ‘Like seeing the Hope Diamond in a trash can’
Someone told me the other day that their guess about you is that eventually you’d want to get back into coaching, whether it’s in Austin or somewhere else. Is this desire still present?
At this point in my career, I was at a crossroads. It was about deciding whether I would continue to pursue my career as a coach or enter the path of being a sports director. From the moment I decided to join as a sports director, it is not in my head to continue my career as a coach. I think that would be stupid on my end. I am determined to be successful on this path. I don’t think it would be fair to take this job and think about a possible future to enter a coaching career.
I’m sure you got a lot out of working with Pep over the years. What’s the biggest thing you took away from that experience?
I’m not saying this just because I’ve worked with him for so long: for me he’s the best coach in the world. There are several others that are also extremely good, but for me he is the best, for many different reasons. One of the reasons is his vision and implementation of the vision. There are many people who have great ideas but lack the capacity to implement them. And also how dedicated he is. The amount of hours he still works after winning so many titles and so much recognition. It would be easy to get complacent in a way and he continues to work as if it were the first day. His capacity to work is incredible, his vision is incredible.
It is true that you need the right players to realize a vision, but there are many coaches who have great players and cannot execute their vision. In fact, one of the amazing things for me is not just the fact that he has won so many titles, but that he has done it with a very, very specific way of playing, which is obviously very attractive to fans and supporters. In this business you never stop learning and I learned a lot from him. Coaching is more of a profession than a job, and Pep has real vocation, real passion, determination. All that.
What do you think about Messi coming here? Sometimes it seems a little beyond belief.
I will give you a rather general answer because I am not interested in commenting on players who belong to other teams. As for Messi, however, it will be great for his club. It will be great for the league because a lot of people around the world will be following it now.
But you’re saying beyond belief? I slightly disagree. I think this is a league that is exporting players more than it is importing them. And I would like the league to grow little by little, where in the end, the best American player stays in America. I know it may not happen right away, but MLS continues to grow. It will continue to grow to levels that people cannot even imagine. I’ve always said, Americans have always been on top in sports, and when they really get into something, they make it work. It may take a long time for that to happen, but ideally, if people continue to invest in development, in the academy, I’d love to see it get to the point where the best American players stay here instead of going to European leagues.
(Feature photo: Lynne Cameron – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
