Del Bosque on Dembélé: "I don't believe in punishing players"
The former Spain and Real Madrid coach feels there are better ways of handling Dembélé's situation at Barça. “I never fined a player”, Del Bosque said today.
Vicente del Bosque says that with a little patience and dialogue, most misunderstandings can be cleared up in football and there is no need to take severe measures. When asked about Ousmane Dembélé's ups and down at Barça, Del Bosque was clear about how he would handle the situation “[These matters] are resolved through persuasion, by trying to convice the player of the error of his ways. I don't believe in punishment - I don't think it works”, the ex-coach explained at an event in Leganés today.
Fining players doesn't solve anything
“During the years I spent in coaching, I don't think we ever served a player a fine once. Persusion is the best method”, he continued. “I'm sure that at Barcelona, in Dembélé's case, they have plenty of resources to resolve a problem that shouldn't even exist in the first place. It all started off with a player who wasn't behaving adequately in terms of his timekeeping, but I think there are ways of guiding him and making him understand what it means to be part of a team. A team is based on a disciplinary code which has to work well. If it doesn't, we end up distancing ourselves from what would nornally be a good and healthy coexistence within the dressing room - which is what every team needs to get good results”.
Similar case with Anelka
Del Bosque was speaking from his own experience. In the 1999-2000 season, he was forced to mediate with recent arrival Nicolás Anelka who was experiencing similar difficulties settling in at Real Madrid to the ones Dembélé is having at Barça.