Guillem Balague told Sky Sports News about the "magic" that Juande Ramos has brought to Tottenham.
Guillem Balague explained how Juande Ramos' simplistic approach to football guided Tottenham to Carling Cup glory.
The Spaniard took over at Spurs in October when they were struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League, but he has turned their fortunes around and led them to their first domestic trophy in nine years by beating Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday.
Sky Sports pundit Balague is a good friend of the former Sevilla coach and says his success is largely down to the fact that he keeps his instructions and his tactics very uncomplicated.
He told
Sky Sports News: "He keeps it simple. There are three ways of defending and three ways of attacking, or not much more than that.
"He gave them three instructions to beat Chelsea; put pressure on the man on the ball, attack quickly when you have the ball and attack down the wings. Just do that.
"There is responsibility on the players when they have the ball and it's up to the player to be good enough to ride those decisions, but that's all. It's simple tactics put in a very simple way and the rest is left to the players.
"Juande Ramos is the confirmation that football is less complex than some people would lead you to believe."
Balague also said the work Ramos had done to improve the diet and fitness of the Spurs squad paid off at Wembley and suggested he was adept at making crucial decisions during big games.
Fresher
He continued: "If you take kilos off players and make them run faster - and also for longer - then they will have a fresher mind for longer too.
"You could see Jermaine Jenas in the last few minutes of extra-time sprinting 60 metres. This was one man who had a bright mind and had fresh enough legs.
"Once Ramos has given out his instructions then everything is left to the dynamic of the match. But when he sees things that other people don't see, he will intervene.
"The substitution of Pascal Chimbonda was one of the keys to the game. He took off a full-back and put on a central midfielder, but it all made sense. Chimbonda wasn't completely fit and Tom Huddlestone was involved in the penalty incident a few minutes later.
"Is that chance? He's done it before in other finals. He just takes decisions that seem to be key."
Balague spoke to Ramos shortly after the game and revealed he had already turned his thoughts to the next Premier League game and the challenges that lay ahead for his team.
Magic
And he said Ramos' ability to distance himself from the jubilation of a cup victory was part of the "magic" that made him such a good coach.
Commenting on Ramos' mood, Balague said: "It was job done. He was relieved that the things that had been done in training and the way he had improved the side came to effect and they got a title.
"But then his thoughts were 'what's next?' Next up is a Premier League game and the UEFA Cup and there are new targets. That's the sort of reaction you'll get from him.
"You saw more smiles from him on Sunday than you'd normally see, but that's logical because he'd arrived at a club that was in a pretty dismal position.
"I saw some of the players trying to get close to him after the match had finished and trying to wet him with champagne. And he was happy to enjoy it for a little bit and then it was 'that's it!' and he stopped the enjoyment.
"Part of his magic is that he keeps his distance from the public, the press, the fans and the players and that means he can take decisions that benefit the side."
