ian1964 10,409 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 BORN in Spain, but educated by a Scottish legend. When Manolo Jimenez walks through the front door at Ibrox tomorrow night, his thoughts will inevitably drift to career mentor Jock Wallace. Sevilla's young coach credits Rangers icon Wallace with rescuing his entire career. Wallace, who led Gers to two Trebles in the 1970s, transformed Jimenez from promising kid to Spanish international. He taught him the pride and passion which had underpinned his own superb successes with Gers. And Jimenez, 45, still falls back on the tips and advice he gleaned from Wallace as he seeks to guide Sevilla to Champions League and La Liga glory. Jimenez told SunSport: "I am what I am in football because of Jock Wallace. He was a legend. "I had many coaches during my playing career, but the man who taught me the most was definitely Jock. "He used to say he couldn't change my nationality and make me a Scot. But he could put a little bit of Scotland into my play. "He changed my style, changed my character and he turned me into an international footballer. "I'll always remember him shouting at the players 'I want champions to play for me. Champions, champions'. "Jock used the word so often he made us feel like champions. "He turned my career around. I became a very powerful and physical left-back with a bad temper, just like the coach! I fought for every ball. "I played football with the same passion Jock had. I guess he passed that Scottish passion on to me." Wallace headed for Sevilla after his second stint as Gers boss ended and Graeme Souness and Walter Smith swept into Ibrox in 1986. He took Ted McMinn to La Liga and became a firm favourite with Sevilla players and fans alike. Jimenez recalled: "Jock arrived here in the 1986-87 season and we had a very young squad at the time. "Some of the players, like myself, had been promoted from the youth team, but Jock wasn't scared to use us. "He made me vice-captain under Antonio Alvarez and I went on to captain Sevilla for ten years. "Jock's spell in Sevilla speaks for itself. Some coaches would never have had the same faith in the young home-grown players. But he stuck with us, he gave us confidence and became so influential in so many of our careers. Seven of the young players, including myself, went on to become Sevilla legends and play for Spain. "The respect we earned throughout the years playing for Sevilla was all thanks to Jock. "People still look at us as legends here and everybody knows that Jock was the man who made us believe in ourselves." Advertisement Click here Jimenez ensured his personal debt to Wallace did not go unrewarded when he made his Spain debut. Rather than swapping his red shirt with an opponent, he hid it away and gifted it to the former Gers boss. He added: "Sometimes Jock was a very authoritarian person with rules. He always made it clear he was the boss. "He was a very impatient person on the bench and used to shout at us a lot and tell us not to lose our concentration during the match. "But as a person outside of the pitch, Jock was a friend for us and I remembered him very fondly. "He came to see my debut for Spain in Sevilla against Argentina in 1988. It was a very special game for me because it was my international debut in front of all the Sevilla fans. "I remember it very well because Jock had bought a house in Fuengirola and he had travelled back to Sevilla to watch me playing with Spain. I was honoured. "Usually at the end of the game, players exchange jerseys with the opponents, but I didn't want to swap my jersey with an Argentinian player. "I decided the jersey should go to Jock, so I sprinted to the dressing room to avoid any embarrassing moments with an Argentinian player. "I knew Jock was in the stands at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium and I wanted badly to give my shirt to him. "It was a symbolic gesture towards him, but for me it was simply a very humble way to thank him for all the confidence and time he took to help me as a footballer. "I still remember that moment with goosebumps and I'll always remember what Jock did for me." Not all of Jimenez's memories of his former gaffer are as fond as that emotional night in Sevilla. Like so many stars, he fell foul of the legendary Wallace temper after breaking a late-night curfew. He said: "I remember Jock at his best when he were away on a pre-season trip to a small village called Estella outside of Pamplona. "It was the day of the annual festival in Estella and Jock gave us the afternoon off to relax. "A few of us went down to join the celebrations and Jock had laid on a bus to bring us home at 11pm. "Of course, four players - myself, Rafa Paz, Ramon Vazquez and Jesus Choya - missed the bus. "We had strayed about eight kilometres away and basically had to jog and walk all the way back to the team hotel. "We tried to sneak in a back door, but Jock was hiding behind a big chair in the lobby and he caught us. "He chased after us through the lobby and was shouting at us and trying to hit us. He was furious. "We all knew we had let him down. We learned our lesson and we never did anything so stupid again. "Now I can't wait for this game against Rangers at Ibrox because of my own special association with Jock." http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/2657064/Ive-got-the-passion-of-a-Scot.html 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union City Blue 0 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 That's brilliant 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 (edited) I wish we more at our club with the same passion as Jock Wallace did. True Gers legend and that was a great read...... Edited September 28, 2009 by johnnyk 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Some of the players, like myself, had been promoted from the youth team, but Jock wasn't scared to use us. hope Walter reads this 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Some of the players, like myself, had been promoted from the youth team, but Jock wasn't scared to use us. hope Walter reads this we all know Walter won't change. The only chance we have of playing youngsters is with a new manager in charge. I like WS but the football is not going to get any better under him and at present there is actually no need for us to have murray park. hopefully we can get a new manager who would use it to our advantage sooner rather than later......... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 we all know Walter won't change. The only chance we have of playing youngsters is with a new manager in charge. I like WS but the football is not going to get any better under him and at present there is actually no need for us to have murray park. hopefully we can get a new manager who would use it to our advantage sooner rather than later......... Should we just train on the Ibrox car park? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Should we just train on the Ibrox car park? might as well for all the good we get out of the place. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 (edited) Should we just train on the Ibrox car park? ok i said that wrong, but i thought murray park was meant to be mainly a conveyer belt for some of the countries best youngsters to eventually break into the first team. what's the point if they are hardly going to get a chance, I think even youngsters now know they are better off elsewhere such as Motherwell, Hibs, Hearts.......... As for the training side they don't seem to be busting a gut everyweek during the game, maybe they need more training sessions or dare I say staying back in their own time to improve their game in any way they can!!! They have the best facilities available to them but nothing that I can see is improving us as a team...... Edited September 28, 2009 by johnnyk 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union City Blue 0 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 �£25m we've spent on Murray Park. It's hard to evaluate whether that's well spent or not. On the face of it, it seems questionable IMHO. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy steel 0 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 There isn't the slightest question about it in my mind. Every penny spent will be recouped many times over in the next 15 years, until we have to re-invest and build again, lest we be left behind by the ever improving world of sports science. At the moment we have a manager who, unfortunately, knows us all too well. While you have 25,000 calling for the young players to be given a chance, you have another 25,000 who will crucify them at a moment's notice. Smith has the responsibility to decide whether player A or player B has the mental toughness (some might say, uncharitably, the mental thickness) to cope with the lack of support he'll get from us - and you can rest assured, it will happen! This is more than just a throwaway decision, like you or I can make when having a pint and talking football. This is a decision that impacts on the team, the club, and a young man's entire career prospects. I trust Walter to make the right decision, and if he is resisting playing some young players at the moment I believe there is a good reason for it. The questioning of Murray Park is a favourite theme of cretins like Traynor, who convieniently ignore McGregor, Hutton, Smith, Wilson, Ness, Adam, Fleck, Little, Shinnie, Burke, and so on. Not world beaters I agree - but is the measure of success for Murray Park to be the ability to produce world class players? That's setting the bar too high for me. A steady stream of players, some of whom will make it and some of whom won't, but can be sold for some amount - like Adam, like Burke - or who can be cashed in on when times are tough - like Hutton - seems reasonable to me. Murray Park is worth it's weight in gold to me. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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