José Barcala: ‘You take responsibility when there’s trust’

This Wednesday at the 1900 Clubhouse on the FC Bayern Campus, the focus was not on pressing intensity or opponent analysis. José Barcala, head coach of FC Bayern Women, spoke about how people interact with one another in a high-performance environment and indeed in elite sport. How can high standards be combined with humanity? How is trust built? And how can players consistently take on responsibility? The Spaniard spoke from the experience of a coach who has worked in many different countries. His key message was that performance and respect are not opposites. They are interdependent.

Barcala’s talk was part of the second Mental Health Week at the FC Bayern Campus. This year’s theme is ‘encouragement’. The focus is therefore on how staff and athletes can empower themselves and one another. Appreciation should not be seen as an isolated measure, but as the foundation for mental health, performance and sustained motivation. “Can we really achieve high standards if human connection is lacking? Can we create a genuine high-performance culture without people being connected to one another? To be honest, I don’t think so,” said Barcala.

Clarity breeds confidence

The 45-year-old spoke about his work and how his approach as a coach had changed. Performance, he says, also begins with clarity. A team must know exactly how it wants to play. How are spaces created? How does a player create space for herself and her teammate? “If you describe your playing identity precisely, you can remain consistent over the long term.” However, he added that the game plan is “merely the map, not the route”. The players should be able to make their own decisions and find their own solutions. For him, the principle is: “You take responsibility when there is trust.”

From a controlling coach to a learning mentor

The Spaniard also spoke openly about his own development. When he began his coaching career in the late 1990s, he reflects that he had been rather strict. He used to monitor procedures and, above all, expected his players to follow instructions. Today, he takes a critical view of this approach. “If players are always waiting for an instruction, they simply switch off their brains.” For him, therefore, development isn’t just about implementing something. It also means understanding situations, reflecting on them and developing one’s own solutions. That’s why he doesn’t want to correct every mistake straight away, but rather highlight good moves and emphasise adjustments at the right moment. “I wait for the right move to pause and say: ‘That’s what we’re looking for. That’s what we want.’”

In competitive situations, a clear directive may be necessary. In the learning process, however, there needs to be scope for experience, mistakes and reflection. The players should not constantly be waiting for the next correction but should learn to observe for themselves. For him, this way of acting is also closely linked to appreciation. “It’s not just the doing that’s important, but also the reflecting.” As an example, Barcala cited a documentary about the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant and his then-coach Phil Jackson. Jackson did not make every decision for the players but gave them freedom and responsibility. “When someone is so successful and ambitious, a coach doesn’t need to control every situation. Sometimes he simply has to give them space.”

Barcala was particularly vivid when he spoke about the time when players do not have the ball. They actually spend only a small proportion of a match in possession. The vast majority consists of running patterns, positioning, awareness and tactical decisions. Barcala spoke of around 96 or 97 percent of performance being largely within their control. “Most of what players do is within their control.” However, young players in particular are often reduced to the visible three percent: a shot, a pass, a loss of possession or a mistake. The many invisible contributions, on the other hand, go unnoticed. For him, it is important to recognise and value the effort made beyond those individual situations. 

Listening because you’re genuinely interested in the answer

For him, this appreciation is evident not only on the pitch but, above all, in conversations. In this regard, he distinguishes between questions that are merely part of a conversation guide and genuine interest. “I don’t ask a question because I think I have to. I ask them because I genuinely want to hear and understand the answer.” Players can sense exactly whether they are actually being listened to or whether a conversation is merely following a set script. That is why appreciation is not a one-off discussion, nor is it a method to be used only occasionally. “It’s not just about what you do. It’s about who you are.”

An attitude that starts in everyday life

In the end, Barcala returned to an idea that extends far beyond football. People do not perform in spite of their feelings, but because of them. Anyone wishing to achieve high standards must therefore also create the emotional and social conditions necessary for performance. A culture of appreciation does not arise from isolated actions. It is evident in every conversation, every piece of feedback and every moment in which a person feels that they are being seen. “If you’re not a good person, you can’t be a good coach either,” said the Spaniard when he took up his post in Munich last summer.

On Wednesday afternoon, Barcala got to the heart of Mental Health Week at the FC Bayern Campus. “Encouragement” does not mean downplaying the importance of performance. It means empowering people so that they believe in themselves, take responsibility and remain connected even in difficult times. Perhaps it starts with a small gesture, a sincere conversation or even a mention of a good initiative. Or perhaps with a sentence that is easily overlooked in competitive sport: “You are important, not just because of what you achieve.” 

🎟️ Get your tickets for FC Bayern Women vs. Real Madrid here! You can apply for tickets for the match against Barcelona here!

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