“You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 7:08 am
Cardiff City Malky Mackay labels £9.5m signing Gary Medel 'one of the best in the world'
“You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
The destructive midfield player signed for City from La Liga outfit Sevilla, and having been involved with Chile this week his exact involvement against West ham today in the club’s Premier League opener is unclear.
Gary Medel may not have been a player known to many Bluebirds fans little more than a week ago, but Malky Mackay insists he rates him as one of the best in the world.
The destructive midfield player signed for City from La Liga outfit Sevilla, and having been involved with Chile this week his exact involvement against West ham today in the club’s Premier League opener is unclear.
But whether Medel features at Upton Park or not, boss Mackay believes it won’t be too long before he makes his presence felt for his new club.
“Gary is probably one of the best in the world at the job he does,” said Mackay. “I believe this signing is a fantastic deal for our football club.
“He is a top, top international. He is highly experienced in the role he plays and there is nothing flash about him on the pitch.
“He has tactical nous, organisational skills, while his reading of the game, his doggedness and defensive nature in that midfield area are immense.
“You can’t teach players some of those skills.”
Medel, 26, agreed a four-year contract with Cardiff last weekend, and representatives shook hands on the transfer from Spanish club Seville as he played against Manchester United at Old Trafford in Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial.
He then completed his medical in South Wales on Saturday and signed his contract with Cardiff at around 8.30pm that evening.
Next day, Medel flew out to join Chile’s squad for their midweek international against Iraq in Denmark and was only able to train with his new City clubmates at their Vale of Glamorgan Resort headquarters yesterday.
Medel doesn’t speak a lot of English, but is being helped by club fitness coach Martyn Pert, who speaks fluent Spanish.
Medel even wanted to play for Cardiff in their pre-season match against Athletic Bilbao, but Mackay firmly rejected the idea.
It was as Mackay and Medel drove to Cardiff from Manchester during the early hours of Saturday morning, that the Santiago-born battler asked if the medical could be rushed through so that he could play that afternoon.
Mackay, City’s head of recruitment Iain Moody and club secretary Nick Alford were at Old Trafford for talks with representatives of Medel and Sevilla.
Talks continued through the match and everything was agreed on a shake of hands at half-time.
“We set off from Manchester at around midnight with everything done,” said Mackay.
“Gary asked if the medical and paperwork could be done in the morning and he could play for Cardiff that afternoon. He wanted to go on for the last 10 minutes or so.
“I loved his enthusiasm and told him that, but the answer was no because we had to protect his body after playing against Manchester United.”
Mackay flew to Spain where he watched Medel in action as City checked out the player and his background.
“When we went to Manchester it wasn’t to check Gary out, it was to do the deal and that’s what we did at half-time,” says Mackay. “He played for around 75 minutes, while we were in talks with representatives of Seville and the player.
“Professor Len Nokes, our club doctor, had specialists ready on Saturday morning to complete his medical, while Iain Moody and Nick Alford did incredibly good work in dealing with the contract work, making sure everything was in order with a work permit and anything else needed.
“They were locked in a room until 8pm that evening and soon after that the contract was signed in the boardroom at our stadium.
“It wasn’t an easy one to do, but we got everything done by Saturday evening.
“We were delighted to complete the signing because there were a couple of other Premier League clubs who were keen and ready to make bids.
Gary Medel in the directors box at the Cardiff City Stadium
“My thanks go to everybody who worked on putting everything in place and to our club owner Tan Sri, who backed my judgement and made the financial commitment.”
Medel, who can play as a defensive midfield player or at centre-back, played for Boca Juniors in Argentina before joining La Liga club Seville two years ago, scoring eight goals in 76 League appearances.
“He has experience of playing in one of the biggest derby matches in the whole world – Boca Juniors v River Plate,” says Mackay. “I have been lucky enough to attend one and it was a phenomenal experience.
“He has made more than 50 international appearances for Chile at the age of 26, while he played in La Liga against Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, competed and felt he should be involved at that level.
“It shows the great strides Cardiff City have made for us to have him in our squad.”
Medel only met and trained with Cardiff players for the first time yesterday, but Mackay said: “He is in the mix for today. He is fit, ready and able to play. Gary is part of our squad at West Ham.”
The Bluebirds then set off yesterday afternoon for an overnight stay in London in preparation for the clash with West Ham at Upton Park.
Medel is ready – and Mackay, it seems, is ready to give him his Premier League baptism.
Mackay has also challenged striker Fraizer Campbell to start the new season with a bang – and regain his place in the England squad.
The former Spurs and Manchester United forward looks certain to lead Cardiff’s attack at West Ham today and Mackay believes he can be the difference up front.
“I’m really excited about Fraizer’s potential this season and beyond,” said Mackay.
“I have challenged him to get back into the England squad and there is no doubt he has the ability to do that.”
Cardiff signed Campbell from Sunderland for £650,000 last January and Mackay describes it as the ‘steal of the century.’
Campbell has one England cap, having played against Holland last year, and it’s clear manager Roy Hodgson is looking for new talent as he plans for next summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
That was underlined when Southampton’s Rickie Lambert was called up to face Scotland this week and netted England’s winner.
“We signed Fraizer for £650,000 and when you look around at fees being paid for top strikers that’s the steal of the century,” added Mackay.
“He is a striker who needed to be playing again, start feeling loved again.
“Fraizer is a top young lad who has a really good nature and is desperate to do well for Cardiff City. I have challenged him to get into the England squad and firmly believe he has the ability to do that.
“He is a centre-forward in his mid-20s, a great age for strikers, and is now playing Premier League football.
“Fraizer had not played a lot of football because of the situation he was in at Sunderland. He needed time to get up to speed and still scored seven goals in nine starts for Cardiff last season.
“He has had an outstanding pre-season, fitness levels have risen again. We have got him leaner and fitter still.
“We are now going to see somebody who is a top-class centre-forward. His runs are clever and we saw that at Hull in the final match of last season.
“The run he made for Kimbo’s pass and the goal he scored were top, top-class moments.
“Last Saturday, against Athletic Bilbao, we saw Fraizer’s power and pace, running away from leading European central defenders from halfway, calmly going round the goalkeeper and scoring.
“That level of ability is difficult to find. He is in a good place in terms of our club, living in the city of Cardiff and feeling he has an important role to play this season.
“Fraizer has everything in place to make his mark at Premier League level and we are delighted he is a Cardiff City player.”
Yorkshireman Campbell, 25, is certainly up for Mackay’s challenge and says: “I loved playing for England and would love to be selected again.
“First, though, I have to hit my best form for Cardiff. I’m feeling fit and sharp.”
If I start the season well who knows what might happen?
“My focus is on hitting form for Cardiff and that’s all that counts right now.”
Sam Allardyce has warned his players not to take “well organised” Cardiff City for granted today.
With the Bluebirds tipped by bookmakers for relegation this term, most money will be on a comfortable home win today, but not that of the West Ham manager.
“Malky has gone and invested in his team and they will come all guns blazing,” said Allardyce.
“Like every other team that gets promoted, particularly the team who wins the league, the enthusiasm carries over into the early part of the Premier League season. Sometimes it then catches up with them.
“From Malky’s point of view it’s going to be a really tough game, so complacency is certainly not what we’re after.
“The perception outside of Cardiff and West Ham fans is that we’re going to turn up and win easily.
“My message to the lads is that there’s no easy game in the Premier League and if we don’t hit the ground running and hit our top form, this will be a very difficult game for us.
“Malky’s got Cardiff organised and structured from the very first day he went in. The players seem to know their responsibilities in the positions that they play.
Malky Mackay takes on Sam Allardyce
“He’ll find out a lot about his team in the first four or five games, but hopefully he’ll be disappointed when he goes home from playing us.”
West Ham’s new signings Stewart Downing and Razvan Rat are both set to make their debuts against Cardiff at Upton Park.
Downing’s arrival from Liverpool leaves Hammers manager Allardyce with a decision to make over who starts on the left wing, with Matt Jarvis also in contention.
It may only be the opening weekend, but for Allardyce today’s clash is now the most important and he is keen to avoid a poor start to the campaign.
The West Ham boss added: “The last thing you want is to start your season playing at home and to lose it.
“Because then you’ve got to go to Newcastle United away from home and try to get a result.
“So straight away pressure would come on you to get points and you don’t really want that.
“So this is the most important game of the season, obviously.”
“You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
The destructive midfield player signed for City from La Liga outfit Sevilla, and having been involved with Chile this week his exact involvement against West ham today in the club’s Premier League opener is unclear.
Gary Medel may not have been a player known to many Bluebirds fans little more than a week ago, but Malky Mackay insists he rates him as one of the best in the world.
The destructive midfield player signed for City from La Liga outfit Sevilla, and having been involved with Chile this week his exact involvement against West ham today in the club’s Premier League opener is unclear.
But whether Medel features at Upton Park or not, boss Mackay believes it won’t be too long before he makes his presence felt for his new club.
“Gary is probably one of the best in the world at the job he does,” said Mackay. “I believe this signing is a fantastic deal for our football club.
“He is a top, top international. He is highly experienced in the role he plays and there is nothing flash about him on the pitch.
“He has tactical nous, organisational skills, while his reading of the game, his doggedness and defensive nature in that midfield area are immense.
“You can’t teach players some of those skills.”
Medel, 26, agreed a four-year contract with Cardiff last weekend, and representatives shook hands on the transfer from Spanish club Seville as he played against Manchester United at Old Trafford in Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial.
He then completed his medical in South Wales on Saturday and signed his contract with Cardiff at around 8.30pm that evening.
Next day, Medel flew out to join Chile’s squad for their midweek international against Iraq in Denmark and was only able to train with his new City clubmates at their Vale of Glamorgan Resort headquarters yesterday.
Medel doesn’t speak a lot of English, but is being helped by club fitness coach Martyn Pert, who speaks fluent Spanish.
Medel even wanted to play for Cardiff in their pre-season match against Athletic Bilbao, but Mackay firmly rejected the idea.
It was as Mackay and Medel drove to Cardiff from Manchester during the early hours of Saturday morning, that the Santiago-born battler asked if the medical could be rushed through so that he could play that afternoon.
Mackay, City’s head of recruitment Iain Moody and club secretary Nick Alford were at Old Trafford for talks with representatives of Medel and Sevilla.
Talks continued through the match and everything was agreed on a shake of hands at half-time.
“We set off from Manchester at around midnight with everything done,” said Mackay.
“Gary asked if the medical and paperwork could be done in the morning and he could play for Cardiff that afternoon. He wanted to go on for the last 10 minutes or so.
“I loved his enthusiasm and told him that, but the answer was no because we had to protect his body after playing against Manchester United.”
Mackay flew to Spain where he watched Medel in action as City checked out the player and his background.
“When we went to Manchester it wasn’t to check Gary out, it was to do the deal and that’s what we did at half-time,” says Mackay. “He played for around 75 minutes, while we were in talks with representatives of Seville and the player.
“Professor Len Nokes, our club doctor, had specialists ready on Saturday morning to complete his medical, while Iain Moody and Nick Alford did incredibly good work in dealing with the contract work, making sure everything was in order with a work permit and anything else needed.
“They were locked in a room until 8pm that evening and soon after that the contract was signed in the boardroom at our stadium.
“It wasn’t an easy one to do, but we got everything done by Saturday evening.
“We were delighted to complete the signing because there were a couple of other Premier League clubs who were keen and ready to make bids.
Gary Medel in the directors box at the Cardiff City Stadium
“My thanks go to everybody who worked on putting everything in place and to our club owner Tan Sri, who backed my judgement and made the financial commitment.”
Medel, who can play as a defensive midfield player or at centre-back, played for Boca Juniors in Argentina before joining La Liga club Seville two years ago, scoring eight goals in 76 League appearances.
“He has experience of playing in one of the biggest derby matches in the whole world – Boca Juniors v River Plate,” says Mackay. “I have been lucky enough to attend one and it was a phenomenal experience.
“He has made more than 50 international appearances for Chile at the age of 26, while he played in La Liga against Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, competed and felt he should be involved at that level.
“It shows the great strides Cardiff City have made for us to have him in our squad.”
Medel only met and trained with Cardiff players for the first time yesterday, but Mackay said: “He is in the mix for today. He is fit, ready and able to play. Gary is part of our squad at West Ham.”
The Bluebirds then set off yesterday afternoon for an overnight stay in London in preparation for the clash with West Ham at Upton Park.
Medel is ready – and Mackay, it seems, is ready to give him his Premier League baptism.
Mackay has also challenged striker Fraizer Campbell to start the new season with a bang – and regain his place in the England squad.
The former Spurs and Manchester United forward looks certain to lead Cardiff’s attack at West Ham today and Mackay believes he can be the difference up front.
“I’m really excited about Fraizer’s potential this season and beyond,” said Mackay.
“I have challenged him to get back into the England squad and there is no doubt he has the ability to do that.”
Cardiff signed Campbell from Sunderland for £650,000 last January and Mackay describes it as the ‘steal of the century.’
Campbell has one England cap, having played against Holland last year, and it’s clear manager Roy Hodgson is looking for new talent as he plans for next summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
That was underlined when Southampton’s Rickie Lambert was called up to face Scotland this week and netted England’s winner.
“We signed Fraizer for £650,000 and when you look around at fees being paid for top strikers that’s the steal of the century,” added Mackay.
“He is a striker who needed to be playing again, start feeling loved again.
“Fraizer is a top young lad who has a really good nature and is desperate to do well for Cardiff City. I have challenged him to get into the England squad and firmly believe he has the ability to do that.
“He is a centre-forward in his mid-20s, a great age for strikers, and is now playing Premier League football.
“Fraizer had not played a lot of football because of the situation he was in at Sunderland. He needed time to get up to speed and still scored seven goals in nine starts for Cardiff last season.
“He has had an outstanding pre-season, fitness levels have risen again. We have got him leaner and fitter still.
“We are now going to see somebody who is a top-class centre-forward. His runs are clever and we saw that at Hull in the final match of last season.
“The run he made for Kimbo’s pass and the goal he scored were top, top-class moments.
“Last Saturday, against Athletic Bilbao, we saw Fraizer’s power and pace, running away from leading European central defenders from halfway, calmly going round the goalkeeper and scoring.
“That level of ability is difficult to find. He is in a good place in terms of our club, living in the city of Cardiff and feeling he has an important role to play this season.
“Fraizer has everything in place to make his mark at Premier League level and we are delighted he is a Cardiff City player.”
Yorkshireman Campbell, 25, is certainly up for Mackay’s challenge and says: “I loved playing for England and would love to be selected again.
“First, though, I have to hit my best form for Cardiff. I’m feeling fit and sharp.”
If I start the season well who knows what might happen?
“My focus is on hitting form for Cardiff and that’s all that counts right now.”
Sam Allardyce has warned his players not to take “well organised” Cardiff City for granted today.
With the Bluebirds tipped by bookmakers for relegation this term, most money will be on a comfortable home win today, but not that of the West Ham manager.
“Malky has gone and invested in his team and they will come all guns blazing,” said Allardyce.
“Like every other team that gets promoted, particularly the team who wins the league, the enthusiasm carries over into the early part of the Premier League season. Sometimes it then catches up with them.
“From Malky’s point of view it’s going to be a really tough game, so complacency is certainly not what we’re after.
“The perception outside of Cardiff and West Ham fans is that we’re going to turn up and win easily.
“My message to the lads is that there’s no easy game in the Premier League and if we don’t hit the ground running and hit our top form, this will be a very difficult game for us.
“Malky’s got Cardiff organised and structured from the very first day he went in. The players seem to know their responsibilities in the positions that they play.
Malky Mackay takes on Sam Allardyce
“He’ll find out a lot about his team in the first four or five games, but hopefully he’ll be disappointed when he goes home from playing us.”
West Ham’s new signings Stewart Downing and Razvan Rat are both set to make their debuts against Cardiff at Upton Park.
Downing’s arrival from Liverpool leaves Hammers manager Allardyce with a decision to make over who starts on the left wing, with Matt Jarvis also in contention.
It may only be the opening weekend, but for Allardyce today’s clash is now the most important and he is keen to avoid a poor start to the campaign.
The West Ham boss added: “The last thing you want is to start your season playing at home and to lose it.
“Because then you’ve got to go to Newcastle United away from home and try to get a result.
“So straight away pressure would come on you to get points and you don’t really want that.
“So this is the most important game of the season, obviously.”
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 7:19 am
Can we rush the medical so i can play against bilbao boss. 
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 8:45 am
Love the attitude of Medel and Campbell - really up for the cause... Great commitment and passion 
That goal Campbell scored last weekend showed he has great confidence, not easy to do at all, let's have one of those today!
That goal Campbell scored last weekend showed he has great confidence, not easy to do at all, let's have one of those today!
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:14 am
Brilliant 
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:41 am
Love the fact he want to play against Bilboa, that is commitment 
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:42 am
Love the fact he want to play against Bilboa, that is commitment
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 11:00 am
He wants to get us champions league football!
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:49 pm
What an interesting football post - thanks for all the interesting info therein,
I would like to know more , if anyone can shed any light on :
1 with perhaps our first S American, do CCFC provide Gary with a minder, a Spanish interpreter, someone to help him adjust to a new country ?
2 Does Gary speak English well ?
2 Do we have any Spanish speaking players or staff, who could perhaps be a mate, when he needs help in the adjustment in coming to Wales??
4 how do other premier clubs handle non English speaking players, when they arrive at their new club ??
5 do clubs generally sign them up with English tutors or language lessons ??
6 where do CCFC find suitable housing for foreign born players with perhaps little experience of English living & language ??
Just curious - we all want Gary to like our city and settle & stay.
Let's go Bluebirds Give W Ham hell today - we are all rooting for our team today ,,,
I would like to know more , if anyone can shed any light on :
1 with perhaps our first S American, do CCFC provide Gary with a minder, a Spanish interpreter, someone to help him adjust to a new country ?
2 Does Gary speak English well ?
2 Do we have any Spanish speaking players or staff, who could perhaps be a mate, when he needs help in the adjustment in coming to Wales??
4 how do other premier clubs handle non English speaking players, when they arrive at their new club ??
5 do clubs generally sign them up with English tutors or language lessons ??
6 where do CCFC find suitable housing for foreign born players with perhaps little experience of English living & language ??
Just curious - we all want Gary to like our city and settle & stay.
Let's go Bluebirds Give W Ham hell today - we are all rooting for our team today ,,,
Re: “You can’t teach players some of those skills.” Malky
Sat Aug 17, 2013 7:29 pm
That's why our spanish players settle in so quickly, the ones that are already here help the new guys. WIll be difficult for him to settle at first as it's a new culture/language etc..