1. Your experience when you worked with Churchill Brothers?
Ans: When I arrived at Churchill Brothers at the beginning of the Indian League I didn't have time to choose the players or do good pre-season work. That work was already done during the competitive season. I found many players with little experience in Indian national competitions but with a lot of potential and it was that potential that we worked on and that gave results because we conquered the Professional Goa League, an event that the club hadn't won since 2008 and we managed to valorize several players like Glan Martins, who is currently an Indian international player. In the Indian League, we started the season well, beating Mohun Bagan by 2-4 in their home ground and putting in good performances (we were the only team to beat Mohun Bagan that season).
As the season progressed, some of the more influential players became tired as we often played every 3 days with long trips, as we were competing in the Indian League and Goa League at the same time. We put in a lot of young players who were making their debuts in the Indian League and Goa League. We had a serious injury to Richard Costa which weakened our midfield, many problems with our goalkeepers, and the lack of performance of some foreign players which ended up hurting us. When the Indian League was interrupted by Covid19 in March 2020 we were 3 points off second place which would give us qualification for the AFC CUP and we still had 5 games left to play. As you know Churchill Brothers FC is a family club and managed in a very original way. I enjoyed this experience in this club, in the Indian League, in the Goa League, living in Goa and the Indian culture.
2. What's the difference you see between Indian leagues & other country leagues?
Ans: The biggest difference is the fact that the club that is champion in the Indian League is not promoted to the ISL and there is no relegation of teams from the ISL to the Indian League. Also, the ISL and Indian League have few clubs playing in their championships. An increase in clubs allows for more matches in these competitions and provides for more Indian players to compete at the highest level.
3. Your views on Indian Football?
Ans: I think Indian football has everything to become an Asian power in the future and could become one of the best national teams in Asia. It's a very big country with more and more youngsters practicing football, and certainly, if there is good work in the formation of these youngsters and the clubs, they will have better players and better teams. If you want to accelerate this evolutionary process, I suggest you hire good coaches for the clubs' training and the Indian National Team's younger age groups. In my experience in the Indian League and Goa League, and in the analysis I made to the ISL, I verified that the Indian players if he is motivated for the training and trains correctly, learns easily, and can reach levels of excellence in the future. An example I can give you is my former player Glan Martins who evolved a lot when I trained him and is now an Indian international player.
4. You also coached in other countries, share some experience when you worked there?
Ans: I have had many experiences in many clubs and many countries... the best is to speak in general about what I have done and what I have helped to achieve. I have the know-how, the experience, and the ability to adapt to a new country and a new culture. I have worked in 7 different countries, in 7 Premier Leagues (Portugal, Bahrain, Oman, Tanzania, Maldives, Macau (China), India) and have been successful in all of them. At the beginning of my career, I worked at all youth levels, including in the three best Portuguese academies: SL Benfica, FC Porto, and Sporting CP. I conciliated the work as head coach of the youth teams with the work as Assistant Coach or Physical Coach or Goalkeeper Coach or Scout in the first teams of the professional leagues. I have experience in various roles within the coaching staff which allows me, as Head Coach, to know what I want from my coaching staff members. I worked or did internships with great coaches, which allows me to have a good "know-how" at the level of the best coaches in the world.
5. Are you looking to come again to India?
Ans: I enjoyed working in India and with the Indian players. After coaching Churchill Brothers FC there were a few approaches to return to India but things didn't work out in the end. I am a UEFA PRO license coach, I can coach anywhere in the world but I would welcome a return to India if there are good conditions to do a good job.
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