Found an interesting article on Valverde where other players talked about him, what he's like in the dressing room and a person and managing style.
"I am not very aware of that but perhaps I do it to stir consciences," he said. "I find that death is photogenic, I use death as a wake-up call. Look, I don't think too much about death but I think it's normal for children to bury their parents, I have three children, so..."
From then he has lived with his suitcase by the door, the life of a nomad, something reflected in his photographs. He is a measured type, discreet, a pacifist. "Fire is put out with water, not petrol," he said.
Those who shared a dressing room with him in the late 80s and start of the 90s didn't know they were dealing with a future coach. Valverde was a rare type of player. Beyond his passion for photographer, he wasn't a big fan of the "third half" - discussing the game. He was not crazy for football and in the dressing room he preferred listening to speaking.
Even now he is not obsessed with post match detail. When he arrives home he disconnects from football.
Pichi Alonso remembers how well he took being a substitute, even in the most important games. "He never complained, not even when he knew he wouldn't start against Leverkusen (UEFA cup final with Espanyol). He never lost his head, he was more for listening than shouting."
Few reach their players like he does. “His greatest strength is his management of the dressing room,” says the Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera.
“If he has to raise his voice, he will. Most people haven’t seen that character but behind closed doors it’s there. He’ll call a player out for the good of the team, in front of everyone, even if it is a star. He’s calm at difficult moments and doesn’t let the euphoria affect him in good times: in that, he’s a genius. But while ‘Txingu’ has this tranquil image – and that is him – he also has personality.”
Conviction, too. After his first game in charge of Athletic, a defeat against Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona, Valverde insisted he wouldn’t do anything he didn’t believe in.
When he was at Espanyol, Cruyff said: “It’s a pleasure to watch Espanyol play; I am happy there are people like Ernesto who play that way and want people to enjoy it, because that’s what football is for.”
Xavi Hernández, that most determined defender of the Barcelona faith, insisted in 2007: “Valverde’s teams play good football: they like to have the ball, they don’t just boot it.”
But that does not mean rigidity. “There’s variety in his methods. He knows how to train: he makes it fun, a lot of the ball, technical work. He’s not repetitive. He’s not overly obsessed with tiny tactical details, not least because the philosophy is so ingrained at Athletic and Barcelona,” González says.
“One of his strengths is that he adapts,” Herrera says. “We all know what the challenge is: at Barcelona, the obligation is to win every game. But I’m sure he’ll be a success.”