Thursday , March 28 2024

I-League champions Aizawl FC appoint Jorge Menezes of Portugal as new head coach!

In a somewhat surprise move, reigning I-League champions Aizawl FC have appointed Paul Jorge Coelho Menezes of Portugal as their new head coach for the 2017/18 season.

After the departure of I-League winning coach Khalid Jamil to East Bengal, a number of Indian and foreign coaches were linked to the vacant Aizawl FC hot seat. Now the decision has been taken by the club to appoint 39 year old Jorge Menezes in what will be challenging season for the Mizoram-based side with rising expectations after the success of last season.

Jorge Menezes has experience of having coached not only in his home country of Portugal, but also in Spain, Panama and Laos. He also had worked for the Spain National Team at part of their ‘Planning and Analysis’ department.

Starting out his football career as a player in 1996, Paul played for various clubs in the Portuguese 3rd and 2nd Division leagues.

The Portuguese Coach is a UEFA Pro License (Spanish Level 3 coaching license) holder plus an University degree holder of ‘Sports Science Training Methodology, Football High Performance and Physical Education’, while he also speaks five different languages in English, Spanish, Italian, French and of course his mother tongue Portuguese.

The club in a release said, “Aizawl FC is delighted to sign a smart and highly profiled coach with a great tactical skills. We wish his knowledge and experiences will lead us high in the upcoming season. Welcome Coach Paul to the People’s Club.”

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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