Freshly released from his club duties, César Hernandez, the Spanish coach of the French women’s volleyball team, opened up to RMC Sport about his new daily routine and his goals with the Bleues. Just two months away from the Nations League, he discussed the challenges and progress of an ambitious group, detailing his work method.
César, how are you feeling at the moment?
I’m feeling good, I’m happy to be here in France to attend the French Cup final, and also to organize the summer season with the Federation.
A month ago, you were still the coach of Rzeszow in Poland. How did you manage to balance your role at the club with the one in the French team?
I always say that there are two moments when you share the tasks a bit. When we finish with the French team, we start talking about the club, about the pre-season with the players. The other moment is when we finish with the clubs, we start talking about the season with the French team. So, there are moments when it’s a double work, in a way, because you have to discuss more with the players, the Federation, and the other coaches to organize friendly matches.
I managed it well, I think I’m used to it. It’s more work, but I like it because I like organizing the season, seeing what we can do with the teams, with the players. One of my best qualities is that I am a bit versatile, able to handle multiple tasks at the same time. Doing multiple things at the same time doesn’t make me lose my concentration.
Were you surprised to be fired despite good results at the club?
It’s our job, we can only control the things that are in our hands. I tried to do my best, as always. I think we were achieving good results: we were first in the league, we finished top of our group in the Champions League, and we reached the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, we lost the semi-final match of the Cup, it was an important goal for the club and for me too. It was this defeat that cost me dearly.
On my side, I was working well, I had a good relationship with the players, I felt they were motivated, doing their best, progressing, evolving.
Maintenant, j’ai plus de temps pour préparer l’équipe de France, et me concentrer sur les nouveaux projets et les nouveaux défis qui m’attendent.
“Seeing different things makes you a little better”
As a Spaniard, France is increasingly calling on foreign coaches, like Talant Dujshebaev in handball. What do you think of this situation? Is it a lack of coaches in France, a lack of competence?
No, I don’t think so. The coaches I worked with for two seasons here in France, and the French coaches I faced, were good coaches. They know volleyball and in my staff, I have a lot of French people. When I was in Spain, I worked for many years with the national team as an assistant coach. And in other positions, there were often foreign coaches. I think it’s a good thing because it gives you a different perspective, a different culture, a slightly different one.
This doesn’t mean it’s better or worse, it’s different. Sometimes, seeing different things makes you a little better. Over the past ten years, I’ve been to Turkey, Italy, Poland, and Korea. So, it also gave me a different perspective, other ideas to work on. I don’t think French coaches are not good enough. Laurent Tilly with the men was excellent, he led the French team to Olympic gold. Philippe Blanc is one of my idols.
You are now 100% focused on the French team. Have you noticed a difference since you stopped coaching at the club?
Not really, but now I have more time to talk to the players, I can follow them more, watch other games. I can be more in touch with the Federation. The big positive point for me is that I will be present from the first day, April 13th, when we will start the preparation. I will be able to assess some young players to integrate them into the national team project. I’m really looking forward to starting.
You also have more time to visit France?
Not really. Last season, yes, and when I was in Nantes, I traveled in that region. I really liked it. I also lived a season in Canet, that whole region is really incredible. And all of northern France, I love it. France is a very green country, while in Spain, we may have more sun but less rain, so we are a more yellow country. Last season, we were in Bordeaux and Toulouse, so I also had the opportunity to visit these cities, with my family. My wife speaks French, my daughter also started school in French, so she speaks better French than me, which I really like. It’s a country that I appreciate, and culturally, especially in sports, it’s a very successful country.
“Everything they achieved with the men, we must replicate with the women”
From a more sporty point of view, we have seen a real improvement within this team. What areas have you worked on since taking the reins?
When I arrived, I remember that during many timeouts, I would tell the players: “You have to play volleyball, you have to play volleyball,” and some would reply: “Okay, but what does that mean?” You just have to do simple things, but do them well. That’s the hardest part of this sport. That’s what Italy does, which is now the unbeatable team. You have to anchor these automatic gestures, you have to repeat a lot, understand the situation.
That’s why we worked a lot on it this summer, so that the players can recognize the situation and choose the right response. Sometimes, when I told them: “You have to play volleyball,” it’s because we were starting to do things that didn’t correspond to the volleyball we wanted to play. But there are still many things to improve.
How far can this progression go?
I think it’s limitless, we never stop learning. We live in an environment that is constantly changing, our opponents are getting stronger because everyone works every day. We can never say: “Okay, we’re good, now with this level we can beat everyone.” Italy is the best team in the world, yet they train every day.
We have the impression that the goal will never be achieved, that even by working hard, it will never be enough. But it’s a positive challenge because we always have aspects to improve, whether it’s personal, technical, or tactical.
In the future, will this French team be able to compete with the best teams in the world?
That’s our goal. I told the players that we have the example of French men’s volleyball. The French league is not one of the main leagues and yet, the national team managed to win the Olympics two times in a row. Why can’t we become like the men? Our goal is simple, we have to copy-paste what they have done. I’m really happy that Marc Francastel has joined us because he is one of the coaches who has shaped this men’s team. It’s a good thing that he is now with us because everything they achieved with the men, we must replicate with the women.
You have two months to prepare for the Nations League, what is the goal for this year?
Last season, we started with the official goal of staying in the league. I told the players that when you play once in the Nations League, you want to play there every time. It’s the same in the club: when you play once in the Champions League, you want to play there every time because it’s the best competition. But it’s true that last season, we had already told the players, not officially, that we had to fight to get into the top 8. We finished ninth, so this season, we must try to get into the top 8.
“When I work, I don’t work with women or men, I work with people”
One last topic, a bit more sensitive. Are you aware of the accusations against the coach of the Saint-Dié club? What is your take on this situation? What do you think?
I’m not really aware of what happened. I know that some players were, in one way or another, victims of certain behaviors of the coach. In these moments, we must support the victims. Personally, when I work, I don’t work with women or men, I work with people. Each of them has their own personality, and I try to respect them constantly, to be honest with them, and to create a bond between them and me. I treat them as professional players, who want the best, who want to improve, who want to work hard, who want to achieve great goals.
We cannot disrespect people, whether they are players, staff, the federation, journalists, the people we work with, or who are part of our daily lives. There is a limit not to cross. I’m really sad for the players, for the people who have to face this kind of behavior. We must respect everyone, whether they are women, men, tall, short, blond, non-blond, blue-eyed, or not.
Have you ever encountered this kind of situation?
No. I started in volleyball working with seniors in 2002, and during all those years, I had very good relationships with all the players or the staff. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had difficult moments, but everything has always been done with respect. For my part, now that I am a parent, that I am getting older, I have more experience. When I see that there are players or staff who are losing patience a bit, and who are crossing the limits of respect, I remain calmer, and I say: “Okay, we’ll talk about it later, don’t worry.” I try to put myself more in their shoes, to understand.
When a player is struggling, it’s not because they are doing it on purpose. It’s because there is something behind it, preventing them from being good. We are here to help them, I don’t like punishment, I prefer to support them as much as possible.
Is there a different approach in your way of coaching with women? Is there a difference between coaching a women’s team and a men’s team?
There are differences, of course, but beyond that, what matters to me are the personalities. Myself, I don’t really know, I have always worked with women. I really enjoy working with them, they have a different point of view that makes me reflect on my own way of understanding things. I am surrounded by women in my profession and in my life, with my wife and daughter. They often have a different perspective on life, so I learn a lot from them, it’s easier than with men.
But whether it’s with women or men, I try to be honest, to stay true to myself. So, if I start working with another team, from a different culture, I have to be able to adapt, whether it’s men, women, boys, girls, young, old, military, civilians, it doesn’t matter. We must keep our essence, our ways of doing things, and understand the person in front of us.
