Who is Jordi Ortola?

Profile

Biography

Jordi Ortola, born 29 June 1991, is a Swiss-Catalan football executive and Head of Scouting at Étoile Carouge FC, combining experience across Spain and Switzerland with a holistic approach to recruitment and player development in Swiss professional football.

Who Is Jordi Ortola? – A 360-Degree Football Profile

Jordi Ortola’s journey into professional football has been shaped by patience, versatility, and a holistic understanding of the game. While studying in Barcelona, he immersed himself in youth and lower-division football, attending UEFA Youth League matches and gradually building a network that led him to collaborate with semi-professional clubs and agents, recommending players and gaining early recruitment experience.

Jordi Ortola’s journey into professional football has been shaped by patience, versatility, and a holistic understanding of the game.

Across Spain and Switzerland, Jordi has held roles as a video analyst, scout, technical coordinator, and youth head coach. These diverse experiences shaped his belief in a 360-degree vision of football, combining coaching, tactical understanding, and recruitment. His coaching experience, particularly at youth level, strengthened his ability to understand and communicate football ideas, while working alongside experienced professionals refined his decision-making and analytical approach.

Now Head of Scouting at Étoile Carouge FC, Jordi plays a central role in the club’s second season in the Swiss second division. In a compact organisational structure, he combines recruitment with opponent analysis, balancing video scouting, live match observation, and close collaboration with the sporting department. The focus has shifted toward consolidation and long-term sustainability at this level.

Jordi views Swiss football as an efficient system that consistently performs above its size. At Étoile Carouge FC, his priority is to build long-term stability by consolidating the club’s position in the league, developing young players with strong game intelligence, and applying a sustainable recruitment model aligned with the club’s resources. The project focuses on coherence, continuity, and gradual growth, aiming to establish Étoile Carouge FC as a club for long-term competitiveness within Swiss professional football. At the same time, he remains committed to his own development, with the long-term ambition of working in the Swiss first division or abroad.

The project focuses on coherence, continuity, and gradual growth, aiming to establish Étoile Carouge FC as a club for long-term competitiveness within Swiss professional football.

Key Insights

• Jordi Ortola combines scouting, analysis, coaching, and recruitment in one holistic football profile.
• His work at Étoile Carouge FC focuses on league consolidation, sustainability, and young player development.
• He believes Swiss football succeeds through organisation, professionalism, and smarter player development.

Our Exclusive Interview with Jordi Ortola

You are currently the Head of Scouting for Étoile Carouge FC. What are your objectives for this season, and what does your day-to-day (week) look like?

This year is our second season in the second division. After an incredible first year, where we finished third — just one spot away from the playoffs — the second season is always the most challenging, and our main objective has always been to stay in the league.

Because we are a small organisation, I also handle opponent analysis. From Monday to Wednesday, I focus on analysing our next opponent, and for the rest of the week I concentrate on recruitment: scouting players on Wyscout, watching live matches, updating our database, meeting with the sporting director, and staying in contact with agents.

Where and how did your football journey begin?

Even though I’ve always been a football fan, from a young age I loved building squads in different video games and learning about as many players as possible. During my studies in Barcelona, I started attending UEFA Youth League matches as well as games in the third and fourth divisions. Little by little, I met people and built my network. From there, I began collaborating with semi-professional clubs and agents, recommending players to them, which eventually led me to where I am today.

Little by little, I met people and built my network.

You’ve held a wide range of positions: video analyst, scout, technical coordinator, and head coach, in both Spain and Switzerland. How have these diverse experiences shaped your vision and understanding of the game?

My goal has always been to work within a scouting or sporting director’s department, and for that it is essential to have a full 360-degree vision. Having experience as a coach — even at youth level — has helped me understand how to convey ideas effectively.

Working as a scout and learning the tactical side alongside top coaches such as Adrian Ursea, and now Pedro Nogueira, as well as my current sporting director, Fabrice Sanches, has allowed me to refine my expertise and make better decisions. As the French philosopher Edgar Morin said, hyper-specialisation is a major risk of modern science: it fragments knowledge and makes it impossible to integrate different forms of understanding to fully grasp the complex problems of life and the world — and the same applies to football.

On top of that, my Catalan roots and my experience working with an agency in Spain, alongside experienced Laliga scouts, have given me a different perspective and a distinct set of beliefs about the game.

You’ve been coaching and scouting for many years now. What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into a professional club’s scouting department?

I became a full-time professional scout this year, which means I spent nearly ten years preparing myself to make a living in this field. I believe determination, resilience, and self-confidence are essential. Surrounding yourself with competent people is the best way to grow, and building and maintaining your network is just as important.

What are your thoughts on the Swiss football system and the new generation of players coming through?

Switzerland is a small footballing country, but it works extremely well in an organised and professional way. The proof is that, despite having far fewer registered players and less infrastructure than the major nations, we still manage to be highly competitive at the international level.

I believe we should help players develop a better understanding of the game, beyond their technical and physical abilities, as this would allow us to reach another level. There are talented players, but I feel that some clubs or coaches are too conservative when it comes to giving them opportunities.

What ambitions or long-term goals do you have for the next seasons?

Our first objective this season is to stay in the league in order to secure the long-term stability of the project. At the moment, the club does not have the infrastructure or the budget to aim higher — we are in the lower range in terms of salaries.

I believe we can find a balance by continuing to develop young players, giving them their debut in the first team, and selling them, as we have done over the past two seasons, while surrounding them with a few more experienced players.

Personally, I would like to continue developing and eventually work in the Swiss first division or abroad.

FAQ

Who is Jordi Ortola?

Jordi Ortola is a Swiss-Catalan football executive and Head of Scouting at Étoile Carouge FC.

What is Jordi Ortola’s role at Étoile Carouge FC?

He leads scouting and also contributes to opponent analysis within the club’s sporting structure.

What is Jordi Ortola’s long-term ambition?

He aims to continue developing professionally and eventually work in the Swiss first division or abroad.