Marc Muntané: "Some said that we would go down to Second and we have won the League"

IgualadaMarc Muntané (Igualada, 1989) arrives at the Les Comes pavilion after a busy morning, as the President of the Generalitat has received the Igualada HC squad to celebrate the 2024-25 hockey League title. The club's first League in 29 years. And one of the people most responsible for the achievement is Muntané, a man of the house who always wants to learn. He always has questions. In fact, he returns enthusiastic from the Palau de la Generalitat. "The history hidden there is moving. All Catalan boys and girls should visit it at least once," he says. He is a person who transmits enthusiasm.

The last time Igualada had won the League he was 8 years old. Does he have records of that team that was European champion six times?

— Yes, I remember things about it. Back then I was a boy starting to play hockey. My father was a football fan. He worked at Caprabo, a company that started sponsoring the hockey team at that time. So he decided to go to the hockey games and he liked it. I remember arriving an hour early at Les Comes, because the pavilion would get so full that it was hard to find a place to sit. Many times we would sit on the stairs. It was magical. Titles were won competing head-to-head against all the rivals.

How many hours of your life have you spent at les Comes?

— Hours? Years! I have played here since I was very little. Later I started working as a coordinator for the youth hockey section while I was still playing actively in Piera, right nearby. I would finish work and come here, and I would stay until it was dark. It meant making many sacrifices, hours that you stop spending with your own family. But I like to do things well. And to coordinate a club, you have to be there. I only took a step back once I had my two daughters, but I still dedicate many hours to it.

Igualada has won three titles in three years. Two European titles and the League. Nothing would have been possible without the work done with the youth academy.

— That's how it is. When I arrived to coordinate the youth academy, this was just an empty lot. We had few teams and few coaches. Everything was held together by a thread. And we gradually built it up. Now, we have spent six years in a row finishing in the top three in the junior category in Catalonia. I think not even Barça has managed to stay up there for six years in a row. People value titles a lot, but I am especially proud of doing it with homegrown people.

How does the opportunity to go on to manage the first team come to you?

— A few years ago they dismissed the coach, and while they were looking for a new one they asked me if I could take over. At that moment it commanded a lot of respect from me. Later a new coach came, David Cáceres, who did a very good job. And when he left, I saw it differently. I had already trained many of the players myself, and that gave me confidence. Furthermore, I love challenges; I am extremely competitive. Sometimes too much, I don't take losing well. Our big challenge is that every summer part of our team is dismantled. Teams with bigger budgets arrive and sign our best players. It is a problem, but I take it as a challenge. Winning means the level of demand grows, and right now it is through the roof.

Based on budget, where should Igualada be?

— In the bottom half of the standings. The club is very big, with many children and sections, but if we talk about the exclusive budget of the first team, we have what we have. Most of the players I try to sign tell me no, as they earn more elsewhere. I am sure that there are eight teams that pay more than us. I would like people to be aware of how much the squad that won the first title three years ago cost. Here people work and study. There are only two or three who are dedicated purely to hockey.

Does it bother you that they talk about a miracle and not about a job well done?

— No. I understand the surprise. I am very fond of data. And before the League started, some people analyzed the data and said we would be relegated to the Second Division, after losing so many players. And we have won the League. Every summer it is the same old song, since I joined. Your goalkeeper leaves, players leave for Portugal... But the team competes, the young players step up and we win titles. Now, winning the League really was unexpected for everyone.

The whole season was competed well, but a key moment was eliminating Barça in the semifinals.

— In fact, I think we made a mistake, which is that the moment we eliminated Barça, we let our guard down. It was as if the season was already good. Think about the fact that Barça, in the semifinals, had only been eliminated once in fifteen years, against Reus. If it is already difficult to win one match against them, imagine having to do it three times. So when the first match of the final against Liceo arrives in A Coruña, between the travel, the fatigue... they steamroll over us.

The first two games of the final were lost 8 to 2. It seemed like everything was decided. What did you change?

— Many people have asked me this. In the first game, we were run over. Nothing to say. The second was already different. They called two penalties against us in five minutes, a blue card right away... It was a reality check, it hurt us. And upon returning home, we talked a lot about closing the season in the best way in front of our people. In the third game, we were much superior, and the fourth... things already heated up. Everything would be decided at their home in the fifth and final game.

Having to win the League against a hell of a team like Liceo at their home ground, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in a final... Few can do it.

— And the reception there was warm. The match went our way, because we scored first and that made them nervous. In the end, we won on penalties and we were able to celebrate it normally. In other times, titles could not be celebrated on the rival's court, as they would throw everything at you, but in A Coruña it was not like that. They behaved well and we celebrated it respectfully. I think both sides knew how to behave, despite that crazy finish.

What was going through your mind when the last penalty was needed to be champions?

— I was very calm throughout the whole match. We had made a game plan and it had worked. I was calm, even though if you look at the list of kickers in the penalty shootout... They had five international specialists, and we had youngsters and the absence of our specialist, Roger Valls. It seemed impossible to win, and the first penalty... goal! And their first one, they miss. Everything went our way. When we returned to Igualada, the Town Hall square was full. These are images we will never forget.

In 2023, he gave an interview to the photographer from Igualada, Cesc Eias, who unfortunately passed away recently. He asked him what news he would like to read in the future.

— I remember perfectly that I told him: "An Igualada full of home-grown players wins a title again more than 25 years later, in a Les Comes pavilion packed to the rafters".

He has achieved it.

— It is like a story that has a very happy ending. When the first European title was won in 2024 against the Italian team Follonica at home, the starting team I put on the court was entirely from the club. I had coached all five players in the youth categories. And some had already told me that they had accepted offers to leave at the end of the season, so in the pre-match talk I told them that we would win, as we deserved a perfect ending.

Many players are leaving... Have you not received any offers?

— It is very difficult for me to leave here, because I feel this project is very much my own. I have dedicated many hours to it. Not only that. I live three minutes away, I can take my daughter to do gymnastics at the pavilion next door... Here I have facilities that I would not find anywhere else if I left. It is true that summers here are tough, because you have to keep making signings as people leave. And that there is always demand. People remind you that in the 90s the European Cup was won, as if it were so easy!

He is very much into football. He has even studied to obtain a football coaching license. Does following other sports help to improve training?

— It is true that as a child I hesitated between football and hockey. I try to learn wherever I am and whenever I can, I watch football or basketball matches. I have been to the Nou Congost to watch Bàsquet Manresa to see how they train and how they play. Looking for inspiration. Sometimes I suggest to the players to do an exercise that I have seen Luis Enrique do, and at first they look at me with a look of surprise. I like to keep changing the methods to keep the team activated. In hockey, it is sometimes difficult to change things. When I worked in the youth academy, there was an exercise that the children did in a small space, where they worked on wrist play and technique. It was a hateful training session for the children, they did not want to do it. And I proposed changing it. You should have seen how many parents reacted, it seemed like a heresy to them.

A year ago you joined as a new trusted advisor at the Barcelona Provincial Council, in the Infrastructure and Territory Area, hand in hand with the mayor of Igualada. You, who have this interest in the territory, how do you see the issue of sports infrastructure? In hockey, it can be key to have them in good condition.

— We need a country with good facilities. In hockey, it is key. In Igualada, luckily, we have them very well. The City Council has been helping us a lot for some years now. I believe that for a club to grow, it needs proper facilities and a clear idea of where it wants to go. If the club is a disaster, the children leave. In Igualada, I believe that the foundations of the club are very well marked. The house is taken care of and good people are coming up. This is our future.