When he first arrived at Nottingham Forest, Juan José Vila set his sights on helping Aitor Karanka challenge for promotion at City Ground.
The assistant manager decided to reunite with the former Middlesbrough boss for a second crack at English football, but it all came to an end in January 2019 when the Spaniard asked to be released of his contract at the Championship club midway through the season.
Since then, Vila, who is described as an expert in football tactics, has been enjoying his time outside of the sport, giving the odd conference at universities and relaxing in the Bergantiños region near La Coruña.
The former Nottingham Forest assistant manager was recently invited to be the herald for his hometown’s Festa da Pataca, where he addressed his current situation and potential future, relayed by La Voz de Galicia.
He said: “I’ve spent the past two years working with Aitor Karanka, and there are always projects. At the moment, I have a few on top of my table, but you have to choose the right one.”
As for his time in Nottingham and Middlesbrough, it clearly left a good impression on him, as he said: “England is the cradle of football, they invented it. I had an enjoyable time over there. They live intensely. It’s a culture that is passed from father to son.
“Here we are divided in two groups, Barcelona or Madrid, but over there, it’s very rare to see a boy in Nottingham with a Chelsea or Manchester United shirt on.”
And, like everyone else, he was impressed with the level of support the team got wherever they went.
He added: “The island allows fans to travel a lot on short distances just by driving for two hours. If a team in Spain of Nottingham’s size gets three to four thousand fans at a final, they get that many every game.”
Perhaps if one of those projects he mentioned happens to be in England, he might not be so against a return? After all, he has worked with Unai Emery in the past, and seems to be rather fond of the British Isles and their passion.
