IN keeping with the vision of national men’s football team manager Freddy Gonzales, newly hired national coach Tom Saintfiet of Belgium intends to incorporate more locally-based players into the team for international play.
“I would like to add more and more of your local players to play for the national team without sacrificing our goals to succeed,” Saintfiet said yesterday when he was announced as the new coach of the national men’s side.
A former developmental coach, he said he is a firm believer in nurturing local talent for the Philippine squad, disclosing that he has already spotted some potential during his two-week stay in the country.
Gonzales said he hopes that with Saintfielt handling the PH squad, “his methods will trickle down to our youth squads like the Under-16, Under-19 and Under-22 sides.”
He added this is possible since the reputable Belgian mentor has signed a four-year deal with the PFF, and possibly beyond if all goes well.
“We want all of our national squads to have a common identity, which is the reason for keeping Tom for the next four years; for consistency and stability of our teams down the line,” Gonzales, himself a former national standout, explained.
This, he said, is also the rationale for hiring former national player turned coach Norman Fegidero as Saintfiet’s deputy.
“When Tom said that he wanted only one assistant coach, I recommended coach Norman, whom I believe is among the best there is,” said Gonzales, who used to be handled by Fegidero while he suited up for football club Pachanga.
“I learned a lot from coach Nonoy (Fegidero’s nickname) as a player, and I adopted even some of his moves for myself,” declared the national team manager.
