The Philippine Football Federation has announced the appointment of Albert Capellas as the new head coach of the men’s national football team a few days ago.
Capellas, a Spanish UEFA pro license coach, brings with him more than three decades of experience to the national team. He spent more than 10 years at FC Barcelona aside from stops at several high-profile clubs such as Bronby in Denmark, Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel to name a few as an assistant to notable football names. He was also instrumental in the best showing so far of Denmark’s Under-21 from 2019 to 2021.
Team manager and Director of Senior National Team Fredd Gonzalez says Capellas is “an incredibly good fit. A man who embodies our idea of how the game should be played and who’s had decades of experience successfully implementing this style in various elite performance environments across Europe and in Asia.”
A source told The Designated Kit Man that Capellas was highly recommended by PFF contacts in Spain. Moreover, his profile and background were the primary requirements that the PFF has been looking for to lead the men’s national team. It was also revealed that Gonzalez, after meeting Capellas and several conversations later, decided that he was the perfect choice. Capellas “was the top choice,” the source said.
“Of course, it will not be easy. This is a journey. It is a process, and there will be ups and downs. And some moments, they (the team) will fail. Our job is to help them learn from the fails,” Capellas said during his first interview after his appointment.
Capellas will inherit a team which just broke a five-game losing streak, the probable departure of its long-time captain and several issues hounding the team, like the sudden move of former Coach Tom Saintfiet to Mali just days before the start of the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia. And contrary to the earlier announcements of the PFF, Saintfiet claimed that he took the job for lesser money, but not after shading the federation.
“I only can promise to the fans that we will work hard. We know where we are and it is not easy to come from here to here, but we will climb the mountain safely with the same journey that we can arrive as far as possible and I hope the fans can start to see these changes already from October, from November, from December,” Capellas added.
Capellas will have his baptism of fire next month at the King’s Cup in Thailand. While The Designated Kit Man has so many questions in mind, I would rather wait for Capellas to put into action his words of optimism before making any judgment. One of the few things I learned lately when it comes to coaches of the men’s national team is that the ink, literally, announcing their arrival hasn’t dried yet and they are gone due to various, obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. I hope Capellas will be the exemption and not the template. From what I heard, the Catalan was signed into a multi-year contract, but then again, this is not a guarantee that he will not do a Tom Saintfiet on the PFF and the national team. I hope that he will stay and commit to his job as the head coach of the national team.
Speaking of committing, former Azkal Daisuke Sato and Omid Nazari will have a reunion of sorts after the two have been announced by One Taguig FC as the latest additions to the club in the forthcoming tournament of the Philippines Football League.
Sato and Nazari played for the old Global FC when they first arrived in the country and after more than eight years playing for international clubs in Europe and Asia, the two are back at it once more.
For Sato, the choice was easy to make.
“I feel comfortable here with the people I know since coming here. The faces are familiar and they are the people that really care about football. They are the people that really want to get the title, get the win and I have the same ambition,” Sato shared to The Designated Kit Man.
He also added that his daughter’s education also played a crucial role in his decision. Sato’s daughter, Neila, has started going to school.
“She was very happy from her first day of school. That is the most important thing to me as a father, that my daughter comes home with a happy face,” he explained.
Despite several offers that will have him play overseas, Nazari, on the other hand, has chosen to be with his friends and former teammates who work in different capacities in the club.
“I just feel that playing for One Taguig FC this season is the best for me. And this feels home already because I’ll be with people whom I have known since coming from Sweden more than eight years ago, so I’m just literally and figuratively, just coming home,” he explained.
On a personal note, best of luck to our national men’s and women’s teams that are competing in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.
The men’s team, composed of Grandmaster John Paul Gomez and International Masters Jan Emmanuel Garcia, Daniel Quizon and Paulo Bersamina, are ranked 51st out of a record 197 countries competing at the BOK Sports Hall. Board 1 player GM Julio Catalino Sadorra is expected to play in the third round.
The women’s team, on the other hand, will rely on WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, WFM Shania Mae Mendoza, WIM Jodilyn Fronda, youngster Ruelle Canio and WIM Bernadette Galas.
Both teams are looking forward to improving their 32nd and 39th standings in the last chess olympiad held in India two years ago.
Laban, Pilipinas!
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
