Newly appointed PMNFT Head Coach Albert Capellas is all about building a team that will attack. Here’s how he hopes this will play out for the men’s side.
The Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) has been through the wringer this year. There was the difficult 5-0 loss to Iraq in Rizal Memorial, along with losses to Vietnam and Indonesia that knocked the team out of World Cup contention, and a winless run in the recent Mederka Cup. On top of all of this, the team is also still undergoing big changes after the departure of former Head Coach Tom Saintfiet and the recent arrival of his replacement, Albert Capellas.
However, despite the ups and downs they have thus far endured, optimism is brimming among the team’s officials.
To mark the lead-up to a busy schedule for the men’s team, the newly appointed PMNFT Head Coach spoke to the media in a press conference earlier today to reveal more about his vision for the team. He was joined by PFF President John Gutierrez, Women’s Team Head Coach Mark Torasco, and Director of Senior National Teams Freddy Gonzales, and there was a hopeful mood (and big smiles) all around.
Of course, the highlight was Capellas, who was making his first official appearance as the Head Coach of the men’s side ahead of a busy schedule.
This month, the Philippines will be competing in a series of friendlies in the King’s Cup, kicking off on October 8 in Thailand. With a new leader onboard, this will be a huge part of the team’s preparations for their biggest goal of the coming months: a positive performance in the Mitsubishi Electric Cup taking place in December.
There is a big need for the team to deliver in their upcoming matches, especially come December. Yet despite the pressure, Capellas and the other officials view these as exciting opportunities to introduce a refreshed identity for the national team, which centers around a new style of play they believe the players can see through.
What can we expect?
Put simply, Freddy Gonzales shared, “The one thing I’m gonna promise fans is that we’re going to play exciting, attacking, up-tempo football, and that’s really the way the Filipinos should play moving forward.
“We have the players and the talent to do it, I believe in the players, we all believe in the players that they can do it, and that’s the most important — the belief that they have in themselves and that we have in them to be able to do what we want them to do.”
Let’s dive deeper into what this means for the Philippine Men’s National Football Team moving forward.
A new style of play
When asked to elaborate on the new style of play he will be implementing as Head Coach of the PMNFT, Capellas went into great detail about what he expects from his players.
He revealed, “We want to play more form the back, to build up the game. We want to avoid long balls without sense, we want to have better composition. We want the opposition to run more…We also want to create more chances, we want to win the ball back as quick as possible when we lose the ball. That means we need to press forward and press high to pick up the ball and closer to the opponent’s goal.”
In addition to this, he also added, “I want to create as many chances as possible but that has to be a balance between attack and defense, that everyone has to work on attack and everyone has to work on defense. That is something I can bring to help them to control more how to play the games. Because the talent and quality is there.”
This was the short, summarized version of what he plans to implement behind the scenes. In essence, Capellas wants to see a team that has the ability to create chances to score, which ultimately leads to wins.
A simple statement, difficult to put into action. But the former assistant coach for Barcelona B added that its implementation will hinge upon the minute details of the game, down to the intentionality of every pass in a game, the speed of the team’s transition, and how the players can take control of the game in any given situation — among others.
With a more energetic style of play he hopes to see from the team, he will also need the right players to deliver, and he is very specific about what he is looking for.
“Players who play dynamic football, move the ball fast with few touches, and wait for the moments to do the special things, because close to the box, I allow players to have more freedom when the creativity is there,” he added.
Capellas is big on the attack, that much is certain. He was bold to note, “If you think I will play defensively, then they have to fire me because it’s not me.” Ultimately, he is looking for a style of football that will entertain Filipino fans, as he believes that this team has the power to bring joy to their community with energetic football.
Although it may take some time for the Philippine Men’s National Football Team to turn this into results, Capellas is positive that it won’t take too much time to put it all together. Having witnessed the team play in the Mederka Cup, he already picked up on the potential to do so.
“When I saw the game against Tajikistan, I already [started] to [see] a lot of things that are aligned with the way we want to play. That means we have much more courage to press forward, we have much more courage to face control, to try and win the ball back as quick as possible, we have a lot more possession, he noted.
“I saw the faces of the players at the end of the game and they were happy, they were smiling, and they were proud in the way that they played the game, and that gives me a lot of hope.”
Consistency is key
Of course, without a consistent set of players implementing the specific style of play that Albert Capellas is determined to see through, it will ultimately lead the men’s national team back to square one eventually.
Luckily, however, Freddy Gonzales is placing a larger emphasis on the team’s consistency this time around.
“We’re slowly building the core of the men’s. You can see there are more familiar faces every window, and some new players coming in, some older players who haven’t played in the last four to five years are coming back, and then you’re going to see new faces on both sides, men’s and women’s as well, as we bring in younger, newer players. Our job is really to look for the best possible players for both men’s and women’s and that’s what we’re trying to do each and every window,” Gonzales explained.
“Moving forward you’re definitely going to see more of a consistent core on both sides and that’s something we’re really going to make sure to keep moving forward for the next few years. That’s why we’re building this younger group that’s gonna be with each other for [several years] together, right? So by the time these guys hit 25, 26, you’ll really see a fleshed-out team and how great they’ll be playing together.”
Another cog in making this system work is developing young talent, which thankfully, Capellas has significant experience in. As the former assistant coach for Barcelona B, for instance, he recalls coaching and developing big talents such as the star Spanish footballer Andrés Iniesta.
For Capellas, focusing on young, emergent talents is equally as important as fostering the talents of more experienced players.
“In a team, you need older players, players who [are in] the best stage to play football, that is 28, 29, 30 [years old] zone. But also you always need young players, and that is about the talent because there are players who are ready at 17, 18, and 19 years old already to perform at a high level,” he said.
Capellas also noted that he plans to work closely with the country’s youth teams to follow the careers of budding players and create a more streamlined pathway to the national team. As he explained, this will entail involving youth coaches in the new, more aggressive style of play that Capellas is planning to implement with the senior team.
“Giving the information of what we can expect from [the coaches and players] will accelerate the process,” he elaborated.
With players to get to know, a whole system to introduce, and big matches on the calendar, Capellas has a busy schedule up ahead. However, he remains hopeful and optimistic for what is to come.
“I am a coach that will never lose a game before the game,” he stated. “Maybe after, but I always think that before the game, I always have the chance to win the next game.”
Banner image from AFP.