“You can’t take everything from the players”

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Together with the heiress to the empire of Mino Raiola († 54), Rafaela Pimenta, she is one of the most renowned agents in the male domain of professional football. Raquel Rosa (42) advises summer teammate Dayot Upamecano (24), Chelsea star Reece James (23) and Champions League finalist Hakan Calhanoglu (29). And she leads the UEFA Player Advisor program launched last year, the “Uefa Player Agent Program”. She has been hard of hearing since childhood, speaks six languages ​​and has a degree in economics.

“It all started at TSG Hoffenheim,” says the Brazilian in an interview with the “tz” from Munich. “I received my trainer’s license from the Baden Football Association. And when Hoffenheim was looking for someone who spoke Portuguese and understood tactics, I got in touch.”

After that it all went very quickly, also because she is linguistically gifted, she was included in the contract negotiations by the then sports director to learn the trade. During the time at the negotiating table, Rosa felt the desire to switch sides.

For the polyglot, the reason for switching sides lies in the fact that “without all the information players can’t make the ideal decisions”, which is exactly what they wanted to do better. Successfully.

Because there are no guidelines for player advisors, the “Uefa Player Agent Program” has been created. Before that, “everyone did their job to the best of their knowledge and belief, there were no instructions,” says Rosa. The most important thing for them is to develop the player’s career, especially in sports. You must be able to trust and respect each other. Every player needs something different: “Some want an opera singer so they can be heard better on the field, others need a chef. But you can’t take everything from a player, otherwise they won’t even be able to have one of their own after their career. order pizza.”

According to the broker, the main pillars for advisors are knowledge of English, knowledge of human nature and negotiation skills, as well as knowledge of all the rules and clauses of the different leagues. Because working without guidelines, “mistakes can easily happen in the drafting of the contract, not because the consultants are malicious, but because they simply have no idea about the laws and clauses in the countries”.

In addition to the above points, the Brazilian also says that a good and large network is very important to be able to react if something does not go according to plan. But you build this up over years, it doesn’t happen overnight.

About prejudice and special treatment

When asked about gender discrimination, Rosa replied: «I can’t remember a situation where I was treated differently because of my gender. I think you are mainly measured by your behavior and your expertise – that is more important for the players and the club officials. »

But she also admits that men sometimes have it easier. Because management positions are often filled by men, they could recognize themselves in up-and-coming employees and subsequently promote them. It is more difficult for employees.

For Rosa, it’s part of fighting through it – as a woman, you still have to fight for higher salaries or positions. It’s something completely normal for her anyway: “Ever since I was little, I’ve always had to fight hard to achieve my goals because of my hearing loss. I don’t let myself be limited.” (nsa)

Source : Blick