THE Nacional’s new coach, João Henriques, stated today that he immediately accepted the invitation to guide the Portuguese First League football club, expressing his desire to reciprocate with a season “full of sporting success”.
“I would like, first of all, to thank the president (Rui Alves) for the trust shown. It was a simple, quick and frank conversation with the president and, therefore, it was easy to accept the invitation”, revealed the coach, who signed a contract valid until the end of the season.
In a presentation that took place at the Madeira Stadium, in Funchal, Henriques, 53 years old, did not seem worried about being the club’s third coach this season, succeeding João Gião, dismissed after the fourth round, and Alexandre Santos, who joined Petro de Luanda after defeats in the four games played.
The coach, born in Tomar, stressed that this “does not bring any more weight” to the new technical team led by him, having also praised Sunday’s victory against Sporting de Braga, 1-0, under the leadership of interim Bruno Abreu, in a result that allows him to face the next challenges with more confidence.
“The fact that he is Nacional’s third coach this season is a sign that something was not going well. However, the most important thing now is to look to the future with confidence. Let’s hope that the rest of the season is full of success”, he noted.
Asked about the five-man defense that Nacional presented against Sporting de Braga, João Henriques confessed that the ‘4x3x3′ is his preferred model, but made a point of mentioning that “dynamics are more important than any system”, with the most important thing being to provide comfort and “get the best out” of the players’ characteristics to “win games”.
Sitting next to the coach, president Rui Alves also took the opportunity to thank interim Bruno Abreu for the work carried out during the testimonial, ‘crowned’ with a triumph against the Minho team.
The leader of the ‘black and white’ emblem assumed that this is a season “a little different from usual” due to the successive changes of coach, even so, he emphasized that the club will provide the “necessary support for the success” of the new technical team.
João Henriques arrives accompanied by assistants João Correia and Gonçalo Magalhães, physical trainer Alberto Carvalho and João Serrão, goalkeeper coach, while analyst Martim Gonçalves and physiologist Gonçalo Trindade move from the previous technical team.
After nine rounds, Nacional occupies 15th place in the I League, outside the relegation zone, with seven points, as many as Casa Pia, 16th, in the maintenance play-off zone, and Rio Ave, 17th, in the direct relegation zone.
The debut of the new ‘helmsman’ is scheduled for Sunday, in the visit to Arouca, fifth placed, with 17 points, in a match on the 10th round, at the Arouca Municipal Stadium.
