Kolkata: Aizwal FC, the defending champions of the I-League has appointed Paulo Menezes as the head coach for the upcoming season.
The 39-year-old Portuguese who was part of the coaching setup that played a major role in guiding the invincible Spanish team to FIFA World Cup in 2010 and back to back Euro glory during it’s golden era (2013-2016), is expected to arrive in Aizwal next week to assume his new role.
The Reds who made the headlines due to their fairy-tale I-League title victory after getting relegated just a season prior to that, were without a head coach after the club had parted ways with the title winning coach Khalid Jamil, who was later roped in by Kolkata Giants East Bengal.
Speaking on the move, Paulo said, “when my representatives, Trebol Sports International informed me about this opportunity, I did not even think twice about it. I have learnt about Indian Football since 4 years ago and I have spoken to many people about it and how much it has grown over the years. I want to be part of this and Aizwal FC is right at the heartbeat of this crescendo of development”.
The Uefa Pro License (Spanish coaching level 3) holder also stressed on the need to adopt to the organisational structure of a European club to reach new heights in Indian Football.
“Clubs must be receptive to the idea of developing many departments-scouting, marketing and the most important thing, a youth academy. I believe that in order to be the best club in the country or this region, it is a must to build a strong academy. From the junior to the senior teams they must adopt the same game model and tactical system, so that there is consistency of play throughout all levels. The assimilation of youth players to a senior level will then become a seamless process,” he said.
The former support staff of the Spanish National team expects his team to play a fearless brand of football. “I will like my players to play the offensive game with a high level of ball possession so that they can create many scoring chances. Depending on the game situation, we will vary the tempo of our attack but the main focus is on ball retention,” he added.
The former World Cup winner also aims at improving the quality of the young players and draft as many players as possible to the national team.
He said, “I will like to help the players improve their skills be it technically or tactically, so they can become more competitive and maintain a strong mentality before and during the game. I believe I can contribute to Indian Football by getting as many of the local players into the national team as possible. I derive an immense sense of pride whenever I see my players put on their national colours”.
After having lost most of their core players and young stars to I-League Giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan and various ISL outfits, the club promoted a number of academy graduates, having also signed former India International Shylo Malsawmtluanga and veterans like Alfred Jaryan, Kareem Nurain and David Larinmuana.
The club is also reportedly in talks with former India internationals Gouramangi Singh and Sandeep Nandy, for the upcoming season.