Victor Orta says there was no way he could ever turn down the chance to work for Leeds United.
The Whites' director of football came to Elland Road in 2017 shortly after departing his role of head of recruitment Middlesbrough.
He has become a popular figure at the Whites ever since, helping to appoint Marcelo Bielsa and overseeing a successful recruitment strategy.
Yet history could have been different had Orta not received a phone call from Ivan Bravo.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, Orta revealed he had been weighing up a return to his native Spain before the phone call.
He said: "There was a chance, but Ivan Bravo, who was an adviser at Leeds, called me and when I hung up the phone I already knew I was going to say yes.
"For a football obsessive like me, Leeds have a big standing.
"I thought of helping to wake up a sleeping giant in the second tier.
"The first year we competed until January and we realized that we had to change the first project, which was to promote in five years."
Whilst Orta's time at Middlesbrough ended in relegation, with owner Steve Gibson specifically blaming the club's recruitment under Orta for their failure to stay in the Premier League, the Spaniard credits his Riverside stint as setting him up perfectly for life at Elland Road.
Orta also paid tribute to former Boro boss Aitor Karanka, currently at Birmingham City, for teaching him about English football.
He said: "I was in the mood for an experience in England. The season that I arrived we were promoted to the Premier League, I arrived in January with what little merit I have.
"I met Karanka, who was the first to teach me the secrets of English football. I was soaked in everything. The following year we were relegated, but it helped me a lot for this second experience at Leeds.
"I made many mistakes that I have learned from."
