With seven countries on his coaching resume, the last of which was in Brazil with Corinthians and Flamengo, this Thursday, Vítor Pereira gave an interview to the Spanish newspaper Marca, where he explained the steps taken since leaving FC Porto in 2013 After winning the second championship, the coach did not reach an agreement to renew and abandoned the Dragons.
“It was an important period in my life, because it marked the beginning of my career at international level. We had a very strong group. We won two Leagues, losing only one game, which indicates that we were a very consistent team. We play dominating and quality football”, he began by saying.
“I left FC Porto by my decision. I decided not to renew, because I had been at the club for eight years, five in the formation and three in the main team. My intention at the time was to go to England to coach Everton, but it didn’t happen and I went to Saudi Arabia, because I wanted to guarantee my family’s future economically”, highlighted the Portuguese coach, without a club since April.
Vítor Pereira’s expectations would end up being disappointed this summer. The Portuguese, now 55 years old, met with Everton’s management, but the British opted for Roberto Martínez, current national coach. At that time, the former Dragons coach moved to Al-Ahli, a club in Saudi Arabia.
Having spent time at Olympiacos, Fenerbahçe, 1860 München and Shanghai Port, where he trained for three years and witnessed the growth and decline of the Chinese league, Vítor Pereira believes that hiring world-renowned players and coaches is not enough to create a competitive league in the long term. .
“If you think that it is enough to hire quality players and coaches to have a strong league in the long term, you are mistaken. For me, this is what failed in China. The objective was the national team and they thought they would create a strong team by naturalizing veteran foreign players, but as the results didn’t appear, they turned off the tap and stopped investing”, he continued.
“I think for Cristiano it was a way to claim himself, to continue to feel important. Players who have had a top career, regardless of their age, need to continue to receive attention. He was very quick, he anticipated the future. He understood that in Saudi he would continue to be important and he regained the joy of playing, including for the national team. I hadn’t seen Cristiano so happy in a long time. Sometimes you need a space where you feel loved and important, that’s what Arabia gave him . In addition to the money, of course”, said the coach, born in Espinho.
With no intention of returning to Brazil, in a league where “there are no projects” and “travel is a problem”, Vítor Pereira welcomes the return to European football but admits “not waiting” for a club from the top five garters knock on the door.
“I’ve never worked in the big leagues and I’m probably a little guilty, I don’t have the patience to wait for the right opportunity to come to me. For me, football is like breathing and when I’m out of breath, I have to get back on the pitch. Now I’m a little calmer, but I know I’ll be back very soon. If a project comes up in a big league, I’ll accept it, but I won’t wait around”, concluded the Portuguese coach, in an interview with Marca.
A lover of the “art of football” and victories with “merit and quality”, still with an uncertain future in the world of football, Vítor Pereira makes no secret of the fact that he received contacts to work in La Liga, a championship in which he would “adapt easily”.
2023-11-09 12:57:00
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