Hey Jude

“Hey, shall we try Jude or what?"

It was almost as if my assistant at Birmingham City, Paco Herrera, and I said that to each other at the same time.

We were losing at home to Stoke City in the sixth fixture of the 2019/20 Championship season. We were really struggling. What’s more, I remember perfectly what Paco said to me: “Pep, they’re stoning our ranch.”

We saw the problem, but not how we could solve it. We thought a right winger, or a player with a similar profile, could help us change the course of the game. But we had neither on the bench.

So, after half an hour, we went for Jude.

Paco was eager to see what the 16-year-old could do, as he played his first minutes in front of his home fans. “If this boy is to be a footballer, he will change the game,” he said. “Because great players are capable of changing games by themselves.”

Before then, Jude had only featured against Portsmouth in the League Cup, and for a few minutes the week before, against Swansea in the Championship. I was calm and very confident of all the good things he could do.

"I see him playing and scoring goals in a Real Madrid shirt, and I still see him as calm and humble as he was then"

However, he exceeded all expectations. He scored the goal that put us 2-1 up and played a leading role in the team’s attacking play. It was amazing.

Back in the dressing room, I looked at Jude. He was calm, as he had been before the game. It was as if he hadn’t done anything special. He was just as calm in the first training session after the Stoke game.

Many times, when a young player has a very good game in his first minutes at the elite level, you can see how his behaviour changes in the following days. Everything that is said about him can go to his head. That didn’t happen with Jude.

Nor did anything change in his demeanour the week after Stoke. He was the same as he had been all season.

Now I see him playing and scoring goals in a Real Madrid shirt, and I still see him as calm and humble as he was then. He’s a very mature lad, as he showed the first time I spoke to him.

It was pre-season, 2019. I had been following him in the youth ranks at Birmingham, and asked the club to promote him to the first team. But I didn’t tell him directly; it came through the club. That was important, because Jude was Birmingham’s asset.

"If I’m honest, I was afraid at some point that we wouldn’t be able to manage a talent as big as Jude’s"

The team directors and I agreed that he would join us for the pre-season, and then we would see what we would do with him. Whether he would stay in the first team or not.

He trained very well that first day of pre-season, at the same level as his teammates. After training, I called him to talk.

“You came with us for the pre-season and, in principle, we told you that you are only going to do the pre-season,” I said. “But it has to be in your head that this year has to be your year.”

He looked at me and said: “Okay, don’t worry coach. You know me, and you know I want to give everything. I’m here to stay.” He was very clear about what he wanted and how he was going to get it.

He worked all pre-season at the same level as the rest of his teammates. If I’m honest, I was afraid at some point that we wouldn’t be able to manage a talent as big as Jude’s. Maybe if we pushed him too hard or wanted to go too fast with him, we could damage him.

Just in case, we had a plan in place to regulate his workload in training. But we didn’t implement it at any point. Jude didn’t miss a single training session during the entire pre-season, and at no time did he need to work at a slower pace than his teammates. After that, he waited for his moment – that incredible game against Stoke.

"I know he didn’t like it, because his desire to play is massive, but he’s also SOMEONE who listens"

From then, he became a regular in the team’s starting 11. At just 16 years of age, he played 41 games in the Championship – a competitive, physical and demanding league. Unbelievable for such a young kid.

He only stopped at Christmas. That was because of a foot problem, although it was not easy to convince him. He wanted to play every game. He also wanted to train every day at the highest level.

But I could see that the discomfort in his foot could lead to something worse – a stress fracture – so I had to intervene.

“We have to unload you a bit,” I told him. “I'm going to rest you this week, because I don’t like the physical symptoms you are showing.”

I know he didn’t like it, because his desire to play is massive, but he’s someone who listens and understands what might be best for him at any given moment. He stopped for a week and a half, and his issues were solved. It also helped a lot when he changed his boots.

It’s very easy to communicate with Jude. He and I talked a lot during the season – especially after every match, to see what he had done well and what he had done wrong. The next game, you would see him immediately correct what he didn’t do well in the previous game.

"He was a very important player on the pitch, but also as a symbol of the club"

That speaks of his very high technical level, but also of a very high capacity for work. These are two virtues as a player, to which he adds an enormous tolerance for withstanding pressure. He feels comfortable under pressure and in teams of maximum demand. Nothing affects him.

When he has the ball, it’s as if he stops and dominates the time. He’s ahead of the defenders.

At Birmingham, Jude took on a lot of pressure. He was a very important player on the pitch, but also as a symbol of the club. Just look at the fact that Birmingham retired his number 22 shirt when he left at the end of the 2019/20 season.

It was seen as crazy at the time, but it was incredible vision by the people at the club to say that Jude is Birmingham. There will be no one like him there.

He also had to handle the pressure of seeing his name in the press every day – especially after Christmas, when the winter transfer window opened. At home he was linked with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. Outside England, it was Bayern Munich and Juventus. He was on the agenda of the best teams in the world. They all wanted to meet him.

That’s not easy to manage, especially when you’re only 16. But that part is taken care of by his family. I used to talk to his father and mother quite a lot, so that Jude felt that we were all on the same page. It was really a joint effort, club and family.

"He always wants to be part of the team and not be seen as a star"

In the midst of all the news, rumours and meetings every day, I was worried about him. I wanted to see how his state of mind was, so I asked him how he was doing. Once again, he was very mature and clear with me.

“Take it easy, coach. I’m not going to leave in the middle of the season to start another adventure. I am very happy here, and I will finish the season.” From then on, I didn’t care what I read constantly in the press. I knew Jude would keep his word.

Furthermore, the family agreed with the Birmingham management that he would play the whole season with us and then take the next step. After that, the club would not interfere in Jude’s final decision.

One of my last moments with him at Birmingham was a dinner at his home with the family. I saw him in his environment, very calm and focused. The whole dinner, we talked about Birmingham: about how much the club meant to him; about the problems the team had at the time, which were mainly financial; about the city and the fans.

I asked Mark, his father, how they would handle the next step. Without telling me he was going to Borussia Dortmund, he did say to me it would be a project where Jude was going to be part of the team.

"The captains thought he was too young to have such a big role in the team"

That defines how Jude Bellingham understands the game.

He always wants to be part of the team, and not be seen as a star. This was always the case at Birmingham.

I still remember today the meeting I organised with the team captains. At that time, Jude had only been with us for a few games. The captains thought he was too young to have such a big role in the team. But I think I made them all see beyond that.

I told them: “From this season onwards, you can tell everyone that you helped Jude Bellingham. That you played with him. And you will see that this will mean a lot, because we are seeing the birth of a great player.”

Everyone now agrees with me. And everyone, like me, is very proud to have been part of those important first steps for Jude.

Author: The Coaches' Voice

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