New system gets fresh upgrades with new NT Head Coach

Photo credits: Philippine Men's National Football Team

Fresh from their Merdeka Pestabola 2024 campaign, the Philippine Men's National Football Team welcomes Albert Capellas as their new head coach on a multi-year contract who's coming in with massive experience under his belt.

The Catalan-born tactician is a Spanish UEFA Pro License Coach who brings 33 years of coaching experience to the Philippines. The Catalan-born tactician spent over a decade of that time in FC Barcelona, where he started as FC Barcelona B assistant, then Youth Team Coordinator, and eventually Deputy Director of Youth Academy.

He was also assistant to top coaches in prominent clubs across the world: Thomas Frank at Denmark’s Brondby, Peter Bosz at Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and Netherlands’ Vitesse, and Jordi Cruyff in Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and China’s Chongqing Dangai. Capellas would later go on to lead the Denmark Under-21 team to their most successful spell from 2019 to 2021, before becoming head coach of Danish club FC Midtjylland.

In a statement released by the PMNFT, Capellas said, “I’m very proud to be a part of this journey. For me it’s a fantastic feeling to be here, to help the Federation to go to the next level because that’s what they are looking for. When Freddy asked me to join this project and explained to me what they are working on to make the federation better, and to deliver the best for the players, and how he wanted to approach football for the coming years in the Philippine teams, I was aligned and it piqued my attention."

Not only does he bring a massive experience to the table, but Capellas also helped shape up three of La Masia XI's players Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, and Pedro. He looks to bring that skillset to raising the level of Filipino talent across the world.

“Our vision is built on three values. Honesty - that everything we do in the national team, we can look each other in the eyes all the time. Then it’s about Commitment. Nobody can stay on the national team without commitment to achieve the goals we are looking for. Finally, there is Courage, to fight for the aims we want to achieve,” said Cappelas.

He added, “We want to achieve a new way of playing, a new way of training and I want to help them to understand better what it means to be a professional. We want to help Filipino players who have the chance to play abroad, that they can find better teams, that they can be better prepared to be scouted and have better football careers.”

PMNFT manager Freddy Gonzales looks to have made the right decision ahead of the country's appearance in the King's Cup this October as well as the November friendlies and the 2024 ASEAN Championship towards the end of the year saying, “Football should be fun and exciting for both the spectators and the players. In order for that to be the case, I believe we need to unshackle the players and place them in a system that trusts their talents and challenges them to raise their game. Coaches in the past may not have had the necessary faith in our players to implement our vision. In this new chapter, that will definitely not be a problem. Our players and spectators can look forward to exciting times,”

Gonzales also said, “Albert came to observe during the Merdeka Cup, and while he wasn’t officially on board yet at the time, he was eager to already start providing his support to Norman before the Tajikistan game. In those few days, Albert showed an impressive attention to detail, and an ability to communicate his ideas very clearly,”

He continued. “He wanted to make sure that before the King’s Cup, the team would already have a foundation to build on. If you saw that Tajikistan game, it’s safe to say our players are fully embracing the direction we’re heading.”

In a month, the Philippines will be debuting in the 2024 King's Cup which would serve as Capellas' litmus test of the preparedness of the squad for the implementation of his ideals.

“It won’t be easy. This is a project. It will be a journey, a process. There will be ups and downs. Sometimes we will fail. Our job is to make sure we learn from the fails,” said Capellas. “We will try to climb the mountain with a safe journey and go as far as possible. I hope the fans will be able to see the changes in October, and in November and December. But it won’t be everything at one time.”

He added, “What excites me the most is the game of football. It’s why I have different experiences in youth academy, or as a national team coach, or as an assistant with top coaches in big leagues and in smaller leagues in Europe and Asia. And now, the Philippine national team gives me a new opportunity to discover more about the game and to discover more about different cultures and different mentalities, and different ways to approach the game. Now I have a new challenge, where they can use my expertise to achieve all the things we are looking for.”