In the second part of our interview series finding out more about West Ham United Head Coach Graham Potter’s backroom staff, we hear from Bruno Saltor.
Spaniard Bruno was coming to the end of his playing days at Brighton & Hove Albion as Potter was on the verge of taking his first steps into management in the Premier League.
The former defender, who thrived on traditional, no-nonsense defending with the ability to play progressive, front-footed football, retired as a Brighton player just eight days before Potter’s appointment was confirmed on 20 May 2019, and was regarded as a cult hero at the American Express Stadium, where he played 235 games over seven seasons and captained the Seagulls to promotion from the EFL Championship in 2017.
Bruno's career was characterised by one thing: leadership. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to learn he earned the nickname ‘El Capitan’ during his time on the Sussex coast and was immortalised in paint in recognition of his services in 2019 with a mural that was painted on a wall in the city centre in his honour.
Born in El Masnou, just up the coast from Barcelona, he began his impressive professional playing career at RCD Espanyol around the turn of the 21st century. After graduating through the Barcelona-based club’s academy ranks, Bruno forged a successful career path in his homeland at UE Lleida, UD Almería and Valencia CF, where he featured in the UEFA Champions League with now-Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery at the latter.
But from a very early stage, it was clear that Bruno would move into coaching.
Anticipating the end of his playing days, Bruno had already begun studying for his UEFA B and A coaching badges in Belfast in May 2019, alongside former Barcelona, Liverpool and Spain winger Luis García, at the back end of his career.
Bruno was a player who led by communication and example, and that approach was typified once Potter was appointed and the opportunity was seized to add the former right-back to his backroom team as a senior player development coach ahead of the 2019/20 season.
Fast forward six years, and the Spaniard has foraged his own highly successful coaching career with Potter at Brighton and Chelsea, where he took caretaker charge of the Blues for one match - a goalless draw against Liverpool - and now at West Ham United.
Here he opens up on his journey from player to coach, his passion for improving footballers alongside the rest of the coaching staff and a Potter characteristic that most people don’t see…
Bruno, tell us about your footballing journey from RCD Espanyol to the Premier League…
“I'm from a small village two hours away from Barcelona called El Masnou. I left home when I was 14 years old, and I broke into the RCD Espanyol set-up when I was around 18. From then, I started being involved in the first team but mostly played for RCD Espanyol B in the Segunda División, though I did make one appearance against Rayo Vallecano.
“I also spent three years with UE Lleida in La Liga and then went to Valencia CF for three years, where I worked under Unai Emery. It was a great experience for me to work with him because he's an amazing coach. We had some really special times together and still have a really good relationship.
“He was probably one of the first coaches from modern football that I had, and I'm really grateful for the time that I spent with him.”
You joined Brighton & Hove Albion in 2012 and spent seven successful years there as a player…
“I was looking for an experience to play in England, and Brighton & Hove Albion came in for me. I had a friend, Vicente (Rodríguez), playing there at the time, and he said it was a really good project with good people and a lovely place to live, so we made the brave decision to leave our home country with two young children, but it proved to be the right choice because I spent seven years as a player, and it’s probably one of the best times we had.
“I captained the team to the Premier League in 2017 and was able to play in the top-flight for a few seasons as well, and that was a dream of mine - to play in the Premier League.”
At Brighton, you were nicknamed ‘El Capitan’ - did that sum you up as a natural-born leader?
“Yes, I think so, and I thought for me to be a foreigner and become the captain was really special. It never was my intention. I just tried to do the right things and lead by example, and he (Chris Hughton) saw it as material to be a leader.
“We had so many leaders in the team, so it was a really easy job to lead that team.”
After retiring in 2019, you were quickly taken in as part of Graham Potter’s coaching staff at Brighton and have remained a key figure in his journey ever since. When did you first meet Graham, and was it always part of the plan to stay?
“To be honest, I always thought it was going to be really difficult because I think being a manager or an assistant coach is a difficult job. I always thought it would be challenging. I never thought I would have the energy and the passion to do it. I think you have to be really committed. But when I started working with Graham, from the first day, I really loved it.
“I always wanted to stay [at Brighton], of course, but it happened because I decided to retire the week before the last game of the season, and then the club offered me a role with Graham, probably because he was a new coach.
“I was the captain, and my role included trying to help bring players and staff together and be the link, and it was such a good role for me.
“I thought in life it’s difficult to find one passion, and to find two is rare. But as soon as I started working with Graham, I felt as if this was my new passion.
“Since then, I’ve worked hard to get all of my different UEFA licences and have studied the game as much as possible because it's not just about experience; you have to gain the knowledge as well.”
Looking back at your time at Brighton, you achieved remarkable things, such as developing really good players and achieved a record ninth-place finish in 2021/22…
“I think when Graham arrived [at Brighton], he helped to take the team and the club to the next level and developed players who subsequently moved on to top teams across Europe.
“We played really attractive, aggressive and proactive football, and you can see how much it’s helped Brighton financially and the money they’ve made through those players in recent years.
“I thought Graham’s influence on the club was massive.”
You've worked with Graham for six years now, so can you tell us what he's like to work with?
“I love working with Graham. First and foremost, he's a really good human being and is always ready to help, and after that, he's the type of Head Coach that allows and gives responsibility to his coaching staff and gives them freedom to work. He will be the one guiding the rest.
“I think he's a Head Coach that doesn't just focus on the player as a player but also as a human being because he understands that if the human being is in a good place, then as a player, you're going to be better.
“I think he's a proactive manager with a really aggressive playing style in terms of how he wants to go for the games, and he doesn't want to wait.”
Can you explain your day-to-day role at West Ham United?
“How I see my role is to support Graham the best way I can.
“When you are Head Coach, there are so many decisions that you can make in a day, so I try to be there for him in any capacity that I can do - from designing training sessions to taking training sessions and collaborating with the fitness department to manage the load.
“I would say it's a team effort. It's not just one person. One of the things that we value the most is communication. We try to create those channels of communication where everyone brings their expertise into the equation.
“Graham creates critical thinking within the group and brings and develops ideas together.
“That's the beauty of working with Graham. It's not just you doing your job - it’s about developing and creating a high-performance environment that brings constant development.”
What is Graham like away from football? Can you tell us something about him we may not know?
“He's a family man. He loves music. He loves his exercise, and I think he's a bit of a foodie, but I think his biggest comfort is music.”
How’s your experience of West Ham United been so far?
“I’ve loved every single day. It's a Club that feels like a family. The welcome that we had from everyone - it's been, to be honest, overwhelming. It's just like we've been at home since day one.
“In my case, my family have come from Spain, and they are always quick to highlight just how well-treated and how well looked after they've been.
“As I said, it's an amazing Club, a massive Club, and personally I'm in love with it. I'm really looking forward to next season because I know where West Ham belongs, and our goal is to be as high as possible [in the Premier League table]. But we need to go step by step.
“We want to gain margins and keep improving margins quickly. We have a really good squad. There are a lot of good human beings in this group, and it’s a really humble group too - they are desperate to work.
“They came back in a really good spirit and ready to work hard, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them performing at the highest level in front of our incredible fans.”
