“We want to create a team of high quality players,”
“We need to put more emphasis on the academies,”
“We need to give fair chances to young talents,”
“We want to build a team that has a future.”
Read "philenews" article, about APOEL's new Technical Director:
APOEL to adopt new philosophyAPOEL’s new technical director David Nascimento says work is already underway at the Cypriot title holders to create a modern club that will rely on high quality players and young players of the future.
Nascimento, who arrived last month to help restructure the club as the long process of revamping the club’s aging squad, spoke of the work that lies ahead for APOEL and how he envisions the team further down the line.
“Both myself and the board of the club share the same philosophy,” he told the club’s official website. “We must create a team with our own identity and our own footballing philosophy. It is vital that this philosophy becomes the base for what we want to build for the coming years. We want to enrich the squad with young Cypriot talent but at the same time bring in players who will feel could be sold on to other clubs down the line for a profit. We need to serve both the footballing and financial needs of the team.”
Portuguese national Nascimento, who is a qualified football coach with a UEFA Pro License, has in the past worked as a trainee coach under new Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal when he was head coach at Alkmaar.
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In 2006, he was appointed head coach of Utrecht’s under-18 squad as well as assistant coach to Foeke Booy.
His other roles include coach of Dutch lower league side Sparta Nijkerk, youth coach of South African side Mamelodi Sundowns FC and assistant coach of Mexican side Deportivo Guadalajara.
He currently holds the accolade of being the first Cape Verde-born coach to obtain a UEFA Pro License.
Nascimento believes club harmony – at a coaching level – has been missing at the Nicosia club but is determined to see that change.
“We want to create a team of high quality players,” he said. “We want to create team that will be strong at the back whilst also playing creative, attacking football. This is a style that has been used by APOEL anyway in the last few years but it is my wish that we further improve this style of play.
“It is important that we all work as a unit which is why we also need to put more emphasis on the academies. This is how most teams work abroad and we will try and instill this way of operating into APOEL. This is why it is imperative that the academy coaches who come pursue our own philosophy of football.”
He added: “In order to create this kind of philosophy and make it work, all the coaching staff need to be at one with regards to the way they work. They need to give fair chances to young talents so they can get the opportunities to work in the first team or even be sold on. This is something that we don’t see happening at the moment.”
As a player, Nascimento turned professional at 17 and went on to play for Setubal and Guimaraes as a defender before moving to Holland where he went on to play for Waalwijk – where he was appointed team captain by then boss Martin Jol, Roda and Utrecht. He ended his career at Sparta Rotterdam at the age of 38 having played almost 500 games in his professional career. He has also represented Portugal.
Speaking about the age factor in APOEL’s squad - which has already seen older players like skipper Marinos Satsias, Athos Solomou and Marcelo Oliveira all leave – the 48-year-old said, “We have a squad of 33 players out of which, 15 are over the age of 30-years-old while others are hovering around the 28 or 29 mark. I feel it is important that we have a good blend of experience with young and promising players.
“We want to build a team that has a future but to do that, we cannot have the majority of players over 30. If you want to create a young team, then you need to give young players a chance. For example, the signings of Alex Konstantinou and Nicholas Ioannou is an example of what we are trying to build here. They are part of our philosophy and strategy.”
APOEL got off to a poor start last season as they crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers at the hands of Maribor before then suffering a defeat at the hands of Belgium’s Zulte. They were fortunate enough to pinch a place in the Europa League group stage following a late draw by UEFA when Turkish side Fenerbahce were kicked out of the competition. But their poor form under former Portuguese coach Paulo Sergio continues and the club, which saw former chairman Fivos Erotokritou replaced by Prodromos Petrides, soon replaced him with Greek coach Giorgos Donis. The moved turned out to be a masterstroke as APOEL staged a late surge to pip AEL to the league title on the final day of the season whilst also beating Ermis Aradippou in the Cyprus Cup final to win their first double since 1996. APOEL also secured their first back-to-back title since 1949.
incyprus | philenews.com/en | 05 June 2014 17:53
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