I Have a Disease, But I Am Not Ill: Caparros on Cancer, the National Team, and Coming to Armenia

The head coach of the Armenian national football team, Joaquin Caparros, has significant aspirations connected to our country. In response to a question from the Spanish media outlet Marco about his objectives with the Armenian national team, Caparros answered without hesitation: participating in the World Cup.

“Sevilla is my home, but the coaching bench is my life,” said Caparros. He arrived in Armenia in a state suffering from blood cancer. However, his goal is to defeat the illness.

“I have a disease, but I am not ill. A person must constantly be in motion to live; to live, the mind must live,” he stated.

In recent years, Caparros has worked less and less. One day, his friend and mentor, Jinés Menéndez, called him and invited him to Armenia (Menéndez became the Technical Director of the Football Federation of Armenia). Caparros decided to accept the offer and come to Armenia, supported by his family in this decision.

Although Caparros has not yet mastered the Armenian language, he stated that he has been provided with an excellent translator. One of the players (Norberto Briasco) speaks Spanish, while the others mostly speak Armenian and Russian, but the coach is confident that if a person is sincere, his behavior will convey a thousand times more than any word.

For Armenian football fans, Caparros has already become a national hero. “Call it what you want, but that is our common merit. We have gone through very difficult times together... and football is not just a game; it can influence the psychological state of thousands of people. Now the players have the opportunity to make the people in the country smile,” he said.

Currently, the Armenian national team players are set to be hosted in Macedonia and Germany. According to Caparros, the players are motivated and want to showcase their full potential 100 percent.

“The fans dream of victories. We understand that it will be more difficult, but we have a few months to prepare. We intend to show everything we are capable of,” he added.

65-year-old Caparros has been leading the Armenian national football team since March 2020. Under his guidance, the team has won in the Nations League and advanced to group B. Having won all three matches, the Armenian national team is currently at the top of group J in the World Cup qualifying round.