Vitoria on choosing to coach Egypt national team: I needed to enrich my experience
Portuguese coach Rui Vitoria, the head coach of the Egyptian national team, has clarified the reasons behind his decision to lead the Pharaohs, shedding light on why he retired from playing and transitioned into coaching.
As Egypt’s national team prepares for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, set to kick off on January 13 and conclude on February 11, Vitoria shared his insights during an interview with “On Time Sports” channel.
Regarding his retirement from playing football, Vitoria stated, “It was an inevitable point in my life because I concluded my career as a player and transitioned into coaching.
It was a significant change for me; I had no desire to return to playing and preferred to work as a coach.”
Reflecting on the loss of his father and brother, he commented, “It’s a natural thing for any human to feel loss and sadness.
I managed to renew my energy and work in coaching.
I am happy to play this role, but certainly, I wished they were by my side to witness what I have achieved.”
Speaking about the death of his brother, he shared, “Losing my brother was a tough moment. I lost my father and brother; I felt loneliness, and it was a challenging feeling.
But, in football, we are ready.”
He added, “I appreciate the way this event was handled, and I thank the Egyptian people for their welcome and support.”
Addressing why he accepted the coaching position for the Egyptian national team, Vitoria stated, “Throughout these years, I have gained diverse experiences.
I worked in smaller leagues and teams fighting for survival, teams competing for titles, and teams vying for European honors.
After working in Saudi Arabia, I coached in Moscow.
I needed to work with a national team to enrich my experiences.
I have coached big teams, but I saw the Egypt national team as a new experience for a different preparation and a different perspective on football.
Participating in the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup will complete my experiences.”
He emphasized, “Egypt is a very special country in Africa compared to other countries.
You find three clubs here that can pay strong amounts to players and treat the player as the king of the game.
The player’s development conditions here and in Europe are different.
There were good players in Portugal who went to England and France and developed.
The player was able to shine at a very strong competitive level, and this developed him.
We must think about how to apply this in Egypt, and we must improve the internal conditions here and then take advantage of the opportunities for players to go abroad.”
Vitoria concluded, “We went abroad and found good pitches and conditions that help develop the player.
But here, we find different conditions to have a team that can compete at a strong level, and this is not easy.
Therefore, we need these internal conditions that lead to a strong competitive level, and then we move on to the point of preparing the coaches.”
