French national football has known a lot of famous Portuguese players, who performed in top Ligue 1 clubs and contributed to the success of these teams. Just remember Pauleta and Joao Alves (PSG) ,Fernando Chalana (Girondins Bordeaux), Paulo Machado and Helder Postiga (ASSE) or Rui Barros (AS Monaco and OM) and so many others …
Now, there is time, at last, for a Lusitanian coach to tread on French pitches, and GeekFM Mag is happy to obtain his first interview !
« Hello Tiago, pleased to meet you and welcome to the Ligue 1. You are the first Portuguese coach among the French elite football and it is a great honour for all of us. A few words about you to start with ? »
« Thank you.It is a pleasure to be here with you and as a non native speaker i feel even more privileged to be a part of our community. »
« Can you tell us about your favorite teams, players and coaches ? Who are your inspirators ? »
« I am from Lisbon, Portugal… My favourite club is FC Porto,my personal favourite is a legend of the club : Lucho Gonzalez. I admire and highly enjoy Guardiola’s high pressure, short football philosophy, but i am also a big admirer of « journeymen » like Trapattoni or Mourinho with their adaptability. »
« What are your feelings about coaching in France and how do you rate the French championship level ? »
« I am enjoying my experience at the club. Growing accustomed to both the club and ligue 1, which both are completely new to me. »
« A few words about your club now: You took over Toulouse FC or « TéFéCé » ,as it is nicknamed in France at the end of the last season...How familiar are you now with your new environment, the players,the president ? What are your ambitions , and on which players do you count to fulfill them ? »
« My ambition for now is securing a place in Europe next season, i believe i have not the strongest group nor world beaters players but have a strong group and with the right direction and motivation is achievable. »
« This year Toulouse wants to, and possibly, has to go to Europe as we’re surrounded by new faces and with a very low wage bill, compared to our competitors. Even if everything is going according to plan by winter, possibly one of our key players will have to go. It is with this in mind i embrace this challenge, the highest
stake gamble team in Ligue 1.
« The financial situation is not optimal from what we know, will you have to sell some of your key-players, in order to settle this ? »
« A big setback at this club is the finances. We have a long payment debt to other clubs. Since my arrival i have been very busy trying to fix this situation. We have sold some players for immediate profit, and only have bought quality players for good prices with good projection to being sold later for higher values. »
« Despite the burden in debt to other clubs in the next 2/3 years is far from lifted (had a slight increase since we had to make indispensable acquisitions), we have very good news since we managed to lower wages for nearly 1 million a month. This is the pivotal point in our strategy. Still, selling one max. two key figures especially in the winter market is still in the calendar. »
« You played a 4-3-3 tactic,for your first season friendly against Auxerre AJ, will you stick to it ? »
« As for tactics, i am a big fan of high pressure with a front three. My prefered tactic will be 4-3-3 especially since Toulouse lacks the wing forward defenders for the 3-4-3/ 5-2-3 ».
« Thanks for taking the time for « GeekFM Mag ». We are very happy to welcome you in France, and hope your career will last and be very successful, like Carlos Queiroz’s or Jose Mourinho’s. »
Long live « GeekFM Network ».