Between the League Cup final with Vitória de Guimarães and the surprising elimination of the Portuguese Cup in Fafe, Carlos Vicens gave a long interview to the Spanish newspaper Mark and discussed various moments in his career, even before becoming a coach, but also revealed details of his departure from Manchester City, where he was Pep Guardiola's assistant, to become head coach of SC Braga. «Our contract was ending, but we were focused on getting into the Champions League and we achieved that in the last round. SC Braga respected this and, when I received the offer, as well as when Heracles' proposal came up [em 2022]I spoke to Guardiola. He knew my past as a head coach and my illusion and ambition to embrace a project and he told me something he always repeated: 'If you have that feeling, grab it, don't hesitate. With me, you won't have any impediment'. Pep always wanted people to do what they felt. With boys, the same. He always encouraged people to pursue their dreams. His words were always supportive", he began by saying, explaining his reason for heading to Portugal. «Because Portugal is a football country, because SC Braga is a great club, because it is a project where you will try to compete for everything, you play in Europe, you have the possibility of offering something that they have not seen because it is not a continual project, but rather a change in philosophy and game identity. Furthermore, it offered me the opportunity to test myself in a country where the level of coaches and players is very high. The president, António Salvador, also showed me his ambition and desire for me to come. The combination of these factors meant that, although we always think about things, I had very few doubts when embarking on this path», he explained, pointing to his main objective. «I would like it to be possible to say that we left a legacy. I want to make my contribution in different areas and implement a mentality that helps the club grow and get closer to the world elite. Then there are the results, but I think a few things can already be seen. Since we arrived, we have demanded that daily habits become extraordinary. It is not words or great phrases that bring us closer to excellence, but daily work, hard work. I think this, little by little, is being visible on the field with the ideas we bring, which are different. Neither better nor worse than those that existed previously. It is part of a process of change in which people adapt to you and you adapt to people. There's not much point in implementing ideas that have to be done like this, yes or yes, if later the player doesn't understand them or is incapable of executing them", he said, praising the club's infrastructure. «The base was one of the aspects that led me to come to SC Braga. It is an elite base and has high-level technical facilities and infrastructure. Furthermore, historically, it is a team that has always bet on the base. Many players who stand out here end up going to big teams in other leagues. Due to my work in England, the possibility of being able to count on young people who are always prepared to take the leap caught my attention", he pointed out, remembering that they are the team with the most games played and the final lost to Vitória de Guimarães. «We are in this process with a high conditional requirement: we are the team from Portugal that has played the most games this season. We started competing on July 24th and we are in the Europa League, we reached the final of the League Cup. I wish we had won the final. I think we did a lot of things well to deserve it, but these things happen in football. If you don't have precision... you won't win", he said, also criticizing the refereeing. «It wasn't easy because we were close. The team entered the field to win the game and, at several moments, we could have increased the advantage and got closer to the goal of winning the match. We had one less day of rest, which we didn't use as an excuse; there was a VAR intervention against us, we had a penalty that would have allowed us to force penalties... It's life and we have to accept it", he added. Guardiola is a “monster” of a coach Carlos Vicens also recalled the time he joined Guardiola's coaching team, after several years in Manchester City's youth system. «I was on vacation when Txiki Begiristain [diretor desportivo] He called me to take on both positions. In addition to being an assistant coach, I was responsible for set pieces. In four years, I went from having professional experience at City to working with one of my teenage idols,” he said, stating that he was not any type of expert. «I had never dedicated myself exclusively to that and, at the beginning, it is a little impressive that all the set pieces depend on you, because the first thing you want is not to disappoint. It is already known that City creates many opportunities without needing set pieces, but what cannot happen is the opposite: that you are somewhat “responsible” for the team not winning or conceding goals. I took on this responsibility and everything went well, in addition to the learning experience of being with that 'monster' of a coach and that level of players", he added, praising Guardiola. «He is demanding, but not because he points the finger. He has a level of detail, of obsession... that makes you not want to miss out. You don't want to disappoint him by seeing how hard he, the boss, works. You demand yourself to live up to him. There were four seasons in which you gained more and more confidence, trying to do your best to help the team. I believe that someone who has worked with the best is highly valued for the knowledge and experience they acquire. It's more of a question for managers, but I understand that they believe there is unique knowledge and experience that people want access to. Furthermore, each of us has our own way of thinking that leads us to lead projects and we have already demonstrated our ability to add value to the places where we work», he concluded.