Unai Emery: “What am I missing? Making my masterpieces, real masterpieces. And making them my own.”

Shortly after the announcement of his departure from PSG, Unai Emery spoke exclusively and extensively to Marti Perarnau, the author of “Pep Confidential” and “Pep Guardiola: The Evolution”, on his time at the club. Emery most notably went into depth on his relationship with Neymar and the rest of the dressing room, key moments during their champions league tie against Real Madrid, the hardships of the team, what PSG are lacking to win the Champions’ League and his future.

Get French Football News has translated the exceptional piece of work into English.

On PSG’s bench, you seemed to move around less, and seemed more moderate in your gestures and instructions with your players. Was this really the case or was it just an impression?

I controlled myself a bit more, it’s true. My priority was to adapt myself to the team. Not too long ago, a journalist asked Asier Garitano why he never wore suits during matches, to which he responded that he wanted to adapt to the club. Leganes is a small city outside of Madrid, and for him, wearing a suit was not an essential factor. In Paris, I had a similar experience. Upon my arrival, I had to adapt to PSG and conform to certain formalities so that I remain the same person, all whilst adding nuances with my relationship with the players, board, stadium and fans. I became a bit less expressive in order to adapt myself to PSG.

During the week, you would fulfill your role as a coach, but during the match, you were dependent on what the players did. Whether it was from a stroke of genius (from the opposition) or from an error, how do you manage that feeling of being on the brink of something that may ruin the work you’ve done?

I am able to manage this through my experience, and having lived that kind of sensation on multiple occasions. I remember playing the Europa League quarter finals with Sevilla. We beat Athletic Club Bilbao at San Mames, and everything was in our favour, until Bilbao managed to come back and bring the match to extra time at Sanchez Pizjuan. At one point during the game, Susaeta was one-on-one with our goalkeeper and I could feel that this moment would determine the outcome of this knockout game. If they were to score, the tie would be over.

And upon seeing the play, I kept on telling myself, “Normality, normality, normality” because Susaeta could just as well miss the opportunity, as he could score it. I learned to go through those kinds of moments thanks to this normality. The times where things go your way and the times where things go your opponent’s way. Susaeta didn’t score that opportunity. It is not easy to do so in certain, pressuring conditions! The same thing happens when it’s up to my players to pull off a stroke of genius or to score an easy opportunity. It’s normality. These kinds of things happen quite often. But when you’re in a team like PSG who wins very often, you are used to winning and used to every opportunity being slightly less important than in other teams where these kinds of opportunities come less often.

At PSG, it is more common that these kinds of opportunities come about, which is why I am more calm. To come back to your first question, that is why I move around less. Because we win more often. In PSG, when a player manages a stroke of genius and scores, I feel a form of normality. It’s “normal” that a player manages such a feat. I talked about this with Neymar.

I always prepare set pieces extensively, and that has often worked in my favour. But when you have Neymar, sometimes there isn’t much more that you need – Neymar, becomes your strategy. Marcelo Bielsa explains this very well when he talks about talented players who can manage things more naturally than others. Bielsa believes that the others, who make up a majority, who don’t have the same gift, must repeat the actions so that they recreate it on the pitch.

As a coach, I had the habit of showing players what steps to follow, similar to controlling someone with a joystick. Except that when you come to PSG, you realise that the players are the ones who make the most effective decisions. One day, I told Neymar that, “There are match situations we have worked before the game, but in your case, you imagine those situations by yourself.”

What makes coaching a bigger team better than coaching a more modest one? Not just in regards to the possibility of earning titles, but from a methodological standpoint.

Let’s start from this very basic principle: coaching is very, very, very difficult. From there, coaching excellent players is even more difficult. Why? Because being convincing is the most fundamental thing to coaching: the players have to believe in you. Whether they believe in you because you have won many trophies, because you are a great coach, because you are imposing, because everything you say ends up happening… Whatever the reason may be. But they have to believe in you. And in big teams, the players expect exactly that – for the coach to not to mess up.

That’s also what they expect in a more modest club, but they are also aware of the larger margin of error and that bad results can happen more often. That is not the case with a big team. You have to be right even on the finest of details: your work, your preparation, your principles, your way of speaking, when you decide to speak. Everything is a bit more difficult. Maybe from an external perspective, you may think that you can work less, but it’s the opposite. You have to speak up at the right time, which can help your team win. In a team like PSG, where winning is expected, that is what gives meaning to your actions and what you say. In smaller teams, the results can vary. Here, it’s not the case. You almost always win, and that’s what forces you to hit your target at the right moment. Every time.

A squad filled with the likes of Neymar, Cavani or Mbappé has plenty of egos.

First and foremost, you need to establish a normal relationship with the player on a personal level. Individually or in groups. A coach needs to have a relationship with his player, similar to that of a father and son. In that respect, no one enjoys having to reprimand a player because he has done something wrong, similarly to how a father does not like yelling at his son. But sometimes, it is important to do so, without it ruining your personal relationship with him.

With your son, it’s easier to reprimand because you’ll remain his father no matter what, with the same love. But with a player, a relationship can be ruined and he can decide to leave the club. That is why it is important to weigh your words and how you say things, because it is a more sensitive topic. This can have irreversible consequences on your relationship with the player. In a smaller team, there is less risk because the whole group knows that you are in charge. In a bigger team, the responsibility is sometimes put on various people.

One day, Jorge Valdano said, “At Barcelona, the leader is Messi. At Real Madrid, it’s Florentino Perez. At Atletico, it’s Diego Simeone.” A player, a coach and a president. A different kind of leader every time. I know when I’m the main person responsible, and when I’m not. It’s a process that a coach has to live with and internalise, and that he assimilates with time and experience. In every club, you have to know what your role is and what role you have vis-a-vis the rest of the group.

I am of the opinion that PSG’s leader is Neymar. Or that he is currently becoming it. Neymar came to PSG to be the leader, to go through this process to someday become the best in the world. It’s a process that will require a bit more time in order to consolidate this position. At Manchester City, Pep is in charge. At PSG, Neymar has to be.

I think that I managed the dressing room quite well. My greatest satisfaction was that the team didn’t sink, after losing against Barcelona or Real Madrid. A few weeks ago for example, we had a horrible first half against Saint-Étienne, but after the break, with one player sent off, we reacted well and managed to equalise. One of my staff members told me, “Unai, today the players showed that they are with you. If that weren’t the case, we would have lost.”

And he was right. If the team wanted to end me, that would have been the moment to do so. But the team was able to react. That was my main satisfaction, even if this will remain something personal which won’t matter for much from an external point of view. Of course, I don’t control everything. Both round of 16 eliminations showed that. It is difficult to control the necessary elements with a big team, and I still need to improve in that respect.

A few months ago, a PSG player said to me, “Mister, this year you have changed.” It was obvious. I couldn’t be the same coach with and without Neymar. We went through a period of adaptation with the player. A process which is ongoing. It is not instinctive just yet, because we have to really get to know one another. Coaching Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar is not easy.

They are the best in world so that is a lot to take in. You have to adapt yourself to them. Look at Guardiola at City. He is lucky because he doesn’t have a major figure like that to be faced with. There are big players who become one when it really matters. And when it comes to taking radical decisions, Pep took them. For example, by getting rid of Deco, Ronaldinho, or Ibrahimovic when the latter had issues with Messi. By doing this, he is avoiding serious problems.

On the subject of your relationship with the players, you never alluded to the linguistic elements, i.e the language barrier between you and your players.

Luckily, the French I learned when I was younger helped me out a bit! Of course, I don’t fully master it. One day, I heard Rafael Benitez say that he wasn’t able to transmit everything he wanted to say in English, and that surprised me because he was fluent in English and that he had been living there for 15 years. But he was missing that small percentage which would have allowed him to connect perfectly with his players.

My language proficiency in French was enough to explain myself and to be understood. Of course, one of the most important elements for a coach to succeed lies in his ability to communication and connect with this players. On an emotional level. Furthermore, I tend to talk a lot in the dressing room, even if I brought down the intensity of talks to 60%. But I was able to say what I wanted to in French thanks to the two years of French I had studied in Hondarribia when I was young. My talks with the team were done in entirely in French, and I think that we understood each other and that the language wasn’t a barrier for us.

Playing every three days didn’t make that process of perfecting a team any easier.

We went from cycles of training sessions to prepare for matches, to cycles for successive matches. On the other hand, I believe that a week full of work seems a bit too much currently, but I’m doing my best to make the most of it because it allows you to progress from session to session. But at the highest level, it’s become rare. Now it’s from match to match. At this level, it becomes more difficult to work specific match situations in training. You don’t have time.

It’s best to prepare a small video with specific plays that you have in mind, and that the players, who are generally smart enough, get the idea in around five minutes. I’ve always prioritised this order of work: on-the pitch training, video sessions, repeating the drills and putting it into practice during games. This order has been reduced to two steps: working on videos and then the game.

This change in methodology also included set pieces.

Yes it does. Normally, I work set pieces for half an hour on Friday and half an hour on Saturday, but currently, this is limited to 5-10 minutes during the pre-game talk at the hotel, which automatically reduces the range of opportunities. You find yourself with a smaller amount of possibilities on set pieces, typically designed to surprise the opponent. Though sometimes, there are still surprises. I’ve always had three principles on set pieces: playing it quickly before the opponent organises themselves, playing it short in order to displace the opponent and create spaces, or playing it directly according to certain ploys. I’ve always worked with these three principles.

But at the beginning of the season, Neymar arrived and we didn’t have the chance to work on these plays, nor have the possibility of deciding our set-piece taker. During his first match against Toulouse at the Parc des Princes, we get corner. Neymar takes it quickly and Kurzawa scores. We hadn’t worked that at all with him. Afterwards, I told Neymar, “My work is limited to your strokes of genius.”

Can you talk about your style of play?

Being competitive means adapting yourself to the reality of your opponent. Sometimes, you win because you use the ball better, and sometimes you have to adapt and give in to the idea that you don’t have it. That’s why I’m so admiring of Guardiola and Simeone. Because they are competitive with opposing styles. Of course, when I arrived to PSG, I knew I was with a team that liked having possession, having the ball, and that looks to score. I came with an idea of continuity.

Let me say this: PSG played well and won. Many people don’t value that enough and believe that it is easy. But what happened to us? We lacked competitiveness in important moments. Why? Because this team is not confronted with enough moments of adversity in the league. Being competitive also means being faced with adversity. One has to suffer like Simeone’s team to win. One has to suffer like Pep’s team to win in England.

My team had two basic principles: having possession and pressing. That was the basis. Having the ball, and winning it back as fast as possible. I should add a little nuance. I’m talking about having possession and not positioning because there are moments where you can win the ball through positioning, and others where moving out of position can surprise the opponent. And like Guardiola says, if you have to win with a long ball from the goalkeeper towards the striker and that the forward scores with his ass, then so be it! We work like that as well.

Let’s talk about the defensive midfielder, an essential element to a team. Why has this position been a weak spot for PSG this season? You have tried playing with Motta, Lo Celso, Rabiot, Verratti, Lassana Diarra…

It depends… I remember when I would analyse Real Madrid, I thought that Xabi Alonso suffered from not having to run track back and that he was the weak link. When I would analysed Barcelona and saw Busquets, I thought that Sergio suffered from the space left behind him. I thought the same with Thiago Motta. All the great defensive midfielders suffer from a lack of space behind them, and when they are required to track back. But when a team has the ball 70% of the time, that is more important than knowing if you’ll struggle when tracking back. You are the one dominating the matches. That’s why your defensive midfielder’s output during moments where you don’t have the ball is less important.

Because those periods don’t last as long. If I were to put a destroyer at defensive midfielder, there’s a significant trade off between what I can do during build-up play, rather than what I can do in defensive situations. Of course, Thiago Motta needs to better without the ball. But if you analyse Xabi Alonso or Sergio Busquets, the same could be said for them. They struggle during those periods, but they contribute so much more while on the ball. I don’t think this position was a weakness for PSG.

Motta is an incredible defensive midfielder. His injuries were the problem this year. Motta brought a lot to the team and his contribution on the ball was significant. He had difficult tracking back? Fine, but so do two other European champions Xabi and Busquets, who possess the same characteristics as Thiago. I don’t think PSG’s problem was the defensive midfielder.

Let’s talk about Rabiot. He’s a central midfielder, who is more comfortable playing as a defensive midfielder rather than a creative one. Even if he remains more of box-to-box, rather than a defensive midfielder. When you want to play with a defensive, creative and box-to-box-midfielders in fixed positions, Rabiot finds himself confronted to a problem. He has to run, run, run and not play in a fixed position statically. And even less so with his back turned on the action.

Rabiot doesn’t really like playing as a defensive midfielder, he likes playing as a box-to-box, but I prefer him as a defensive midfielder. That’s why after the elimination against Real Madrid, I told him he would play as a defensive midfielder.

In that position, he can be faced with play and switch around with Verratti. He is more competitive in these conditions. With certain players, you can’t impose a strict idea. You have to adapt yourself to their characteristics in order to win in individual and collective competitiveness. Lassana Diarra? He arrived in early January, after having played for six months in a low level league, and he needed time to accustom himself to the high level.

Pep told me something fundamental last year. To win the Champions’ League, Barca had to go through two crucial moments in their history. Bakero’s goal against Kaiserslautern (goal in 1991 which prevented Barcelona’s Champions League elimination which they would win a few months later) and Iniesta’s goal against Chelsea. PSG are missing a goal like that!

This goal could have maybe come about last year when we lost 6-1 to Barcelona. Maybe that was the moment to hit the ceiling and reach the next stage. Or this year, with Real Madrid. PSG is missing that match, that moment to build upon. Having a “Bakero goal.” Even if the opposition were inferior or didn’t deserve to win. But that “bam!” moment, where you score your goal and change your destiny.

To become a great team, everyone has to go through this. The only team who doesn’t need it because they’ve lived enough experiences like this is Real Madrid. This year, we went through a moment where everything could shift. It was at the Bernabeu where Real struggled. We could see it. We even spoke before the match, “Real has to struggle to lose.” Our objective was to make them struggle and for them to not come out alive from that moment. Giving them a fatal hit at the time when they were in most difficulty. We had the opportunity to so in the second half at 1-1. At that point in time, I was calm, because the victory seemed feasible.

Yet, and we spoke about this before, you have to be careful about the beginning and end of the halves with Real, because that’s when the time where they wake up. And for the match, what we hoped wouldn’t happen, did happen. At the end of the first half we conceded a penalty and they equalised. During the second half, we didn’t take advantage of our best period. At the end of the match, they took advantage of that and doubled the score-line. We weren’t able to finish our chances when they were available and we didn’t suffer properly when we should have. If they score the goal for 2-1, you have to suffer until the end, hang in there, grasping, suffering, suffering, resisting and doing your best to make sure the score remains the same.

Of course, the second leg was a whole story because Real came to our stadium in very favourable conditions. We needed the match to be crazy, but we didn’t manage. Maybe because I started players who would help us control play, instead of accelerate the rhythm of the match. At that point, I didn’t have control of the team. I put players to control those tense moments, but the match required something else.

As early as the 15th minute, I told my assistant Carcedo that it wouldn’t be enough. For that match against Real, we needed the same excitement as last year – we needed to break everything. And with that excitement, Real would get scared. We managed to get that feeling at times in the Bernabeu, but not for the second leg.

The Champions’ League ties against Barcelona and Real Madrid, PSG needed 5, 6 or 8 more minutes….

It’s just that. Those last minutes. To break the ceiling, to get past that barrier, to overcome that psychological obstacle, but the club is not ready for that. Why was Verratti sent off? Because of his emotional frustration. Because it is difficult to hold back in such frustrations. You have to learn to live with them, play with them, or overcome them.

This probably wouldn’t have happened with a Real or Barcelona player. Once we get past that stage, we will make a significant leap in quality. Having a goal from a Bakero or Iniesta. Why did I put on Pastore when 1-0 down in the second leg? Because Pastore is a liberated player, who can try to meg the opponent without worrying about losing the ball. He’s a player with flashes, who could have helped change the dynamic of the game we were playing.

PSG needs to experience this. By recruiting Neymar or Mbappé, we put pressure on ourselves because, from this point onwards, we became the team with money. Be that as it may, Real Madrid did the same thing over the last decade with Cristiano, Bale, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric… Polished and confirmed players. And they have Zidane, the best coach possible for a club like Real. Maybe Zidane wouldn’t be the best fit for other teams, but for Real he is the best, and he shows it. Can he improve? Of course he can, but he knows how to manage that group and keep the players happy. The players have said it themselves.

Zidane is the best coach for them because he understands them, he is happy to be with them and he knows that they can’t let him down when it matters. Could they be better? Yes, because they aren’t always consistent. But Zidane knows what his group needs and does everything to make them comfortable. Being comfortable means letting go, and paying the price in the league, for example. But that allows you to have the right intensity in the Champions’ League. We had the chance to ruin their dynamic and disorganise them, but we didn’t manage.

Coaching Real Madrid, Barcelona or another big club is very complicated. Finding the right balance is an art. The balance between making sure your players are happy, all while being very demanding with them. That’s why Zidane’s job is so difficult. And that’s why Guardiola and Simeone’s work is so admirable. For me, they are the two best in the field. What Pep did in Germany, adapting to his players, was incredible and admirable. Could I reach that level? I’m not there yet. I’m still missing things. I think I can try to reach it, but I’m still missing a lot.

The first thing I did this season was set a priority: do my best to make sure that Neymar is happy. The first of things was to make sure he’s happy, at any cost. I had multiple discussions with Neymar on the topic. Some were not as constructive, but others were. During one of our conversations, we spoke open-heartedly for 45 minutes. It was amazing. He listened to me and I was able to convince him of certain things. But it’s a process, which will eventually make him the best. 

One year ago, when speaking to Xabi Alonso, we discussed the famous YouTube video of a dinner conversation between Meunier, Draxler, Matuidi and Verratti before the second leg against Barcelona. In that video, we could see the fear that the players were showing. Does PSG have emotional shortcomings that they need to overcome? Thiago Silva also said that only praying could stop Messi.

In important games, the team needs to take that extra step. As I said before, you need that goal from a Bakero or Iniesta. Having a squad with great, experienced players can help break that barrier. When will that happen? I think that this is a strong project from an economic standpoint and in terms of the quality of players. Plus, it’s in a region which is crazy for sports. What else do you need? Patience and experience. My objective was to accelerate this process. I wanted to see if I was able, after three Europa League triumphs, to accelerate the process and take that extra step. We didn’t manage. We still lack certain things. You have to be great in important games.

As a player, I’ve felt that kind of fear on the pitch. That fear of playing. And sometimes in Ligue 1, you can make mistakes all while remaining in a comfortable position. This complacency is bad for players because it makes you stagnate. I tried to prevent this by risking a lot of things, having more discussions, shaking up the dressing room. But shaking them up, when you haven’t won the Champions’ League, was sometimes detrimental.

I tried my best to make as many things as possible happen during games, to make sure the team wasn’t too calm, or idle while waiting for a stroke of genius from our front three. I don’t like the idea of very little happening during a match, with no risks taken and that the big players decide the game. It goes against my idea of the game. I can’t win like that. Of course it can be used to win, but I don’t look to do that. That’s why I admire Guardiola. Because he tries and creates things. That’s what I like: trying to create action.

There are two ways of seeing football: aggressively or passively. You can win the ball back or wait. I always considered systems in 4-4-2, which are the newest trend in Spain, the best for preventing the opponent to get between the lines. Seeing as there are three. Marcelino’s teams are good because they do that very well. It’s difficult to get through three-lines. His teams look to win the ball back in order to counter attack, thanks to the two wide midfielders and two central players. It’s about being positioned defensively and counter attacking.

With Guardiola and the Spanish national team, a new style is developing. An all-out style, but this style is on the decline because with worse players, it is easier to control. And the 4-4-2 is made just for that. My preference is the Barcelona from before Guardiola, even though the current team is very good, with Luis Enrique’s concepts revisited and adapted by Valverde in his 4-4-2. That’s actually one of the reasons that Neymar left Barcelona. Because play is focused entirely on Messi and that Neymar has to do a lot of work up and down the wing.

What I like is provoking the opponent. It’s a more aggressive idea, which exposes you more. Bielsa’s style, Guardiola’s style. When you lose the ball, you win it back as quickly as possible. Anywhere the ball may be, the team has to position themselves to press and win it back. If play stops, everyone goes back to their position. If the ball is in play, we press, all while remaining organised tactically.

Those are my two outlooks from a defensive point of view. If the ball is in play, you press. If play stops, you reposition yourself. For me, the 4-1-4-1 is the system which facilitates that type of pressing. The 4-4-2 is designed more and more for zonal positioning. It’s less aggressive, but is more difficult to get past. That’s the case with Marcelino’s teams, Quique Sanchez Flores’ teams, Saint-Étienne when we last played them…

I am not ruling out the possibility of a 4-4-2. That’s not the idea that I privilege, but if it allows me to be more competitive, then I’ll go towards it without hesitating. We sometimes used it in Sevilla. I would put Banega in a playmaker position, and have him move to the second striker position without the ball. With two strong, physical players behind him, it provided me with the necessary cohesion to press.

In my case, the idea was not to win the ball back and counter as quickly as possible, but rather to equip ourselves once we had the ball. What Guardiola’s Barcelona did magnificently. We win the ball off of them, but those bastards always won it back. And Pep is doing it with City now. High pressure and win the ball back to start again once in position.

PSG had a game plan that is still not appreciated to its true value. The other day against Metz, we scored a fantastic goal. We were in our own box, pressed by the opponent, and Verratti played with our goalkeeper to get out of the tight space we were being pressed in, by playing quick passes, and playing out. Then, pam, pam, pam, and goal. When Guardiola’s City team do it, it’s the talk of the town.

These kinds of plays from PSG are not even recognised because we’re in France and the consequences are not the same. And I think that has an impact on the players, who end up not believing in themselves, which prevents them from competing. They know they are great players because they feel comfortable, but when that comfort goes out the window and the moment of truth arrives, they are not well-prepared enough to suffer. PSG needs to overcome this.

What does your future hold?

Well, it’s been a few days since the decision was taken to not continue, and I am starting to get some offers. I like competition, and moreover, I feel accountable towards my staff. It seems difficult to stop for one season while I recharge my batteries or wait for a more prestigious club. I can’t rule it out, but it seems difficult to take a sabbatical year. Stopping for a year? I can’t see myself. I love coaching. Luis Aragones never stopped. He would come and go, but he never stopped.

On the other hand, some coaches believe they have reached a certain status and wouldn’t want it to change, even if it means not coaching for a year or two. I would struggle to react like that because I want to coach. People tell me I have an important status, and that I should wait for a club with a status that suits me. I understand that, it’s good reasoning, but deep down, I feel the need to be on the sideline.

When you say that you’re not ruling anything out, does that also mean you wouldn’t rule out the offers from clubs ranked lower than PSG? Or do you hope to find another top level club?

I want to see all the offers, and evaluate them according to three different criteria. Firstly, from a football perspective. Depending on what presents itself, I would like to continue competing in the Champions; League or Europa League, all while being able to achieve something in the league. In short, being a competitive environment. Secondly, the quality of life. And thirdly, the economic side of things. If two out of the three are met, then I can accept a project. With the three, it’s easier, but with only one of the three, it’s a lot harder.

What is Unai Emery missing as a coach?

I’m 46 years old. I have to continue on my path and progress. I am also learning and maturing. I am very fond of self-criticism. I still have a long way to go. Doing my best to manage the bad moments and defeats. I was less animated at PSG, that’s true. But tomorrow, if I want to be more animated, be myself, and transmit something. When I see Pep and Cholo, they move around a lot and I like that. At the time, Jorge Valdano and Del Bosque criticised me for that. They spoke to me about that. I was more neutral at PSG because I understood that it was favourable.

And of course, winning is normal at PSG, which results in you relaxing a bit more. I have to develop my ideas on the game a bit more. I love studying tactics. Looking for ways to get the team to play better. For us to play with less fear, and without the handbrake. I think that certain PSG players have progressed with me. Most notably, Kimpembe and Rabiot. Even if certain players don’t value that, I think that I did good work at PSG, even though our match against Barcelona killed us.

Our trajectory is a process, filled with positive moments, titles won, a style of play, and other elements. Negative ones too like our games against Barcelona and Real Madrid. I feel like a coach who is still in the works because I am experiencing this period of learning, making mistakes, and correcting. What I have learned is that you need to be ready to use all these means and experiences to prevent anything from slowing your project down.

Nobody is perfect, and it is not always necessary to look forward to advance. Sometimes, you can advance while looking back, learning and correcting. Sometimes, you need to do what Guardiola did when he got rid of Deco, Ronaldinho, and Ibrahimovic. Afterwards, Zlatan and his agent got into an argument with Pep? Ok, but they got rid of him, and and they got rid of the obstacle preventing them from completing their masterpiece. Pep is a coach who makes masterpieces. What am I missing? Making my masterpieces, real masterpieces. And making them my own.