“In Vietnam, I have players who joined the Academy when they were 7 years old and signed a contract until they were 25. It’s difficult for football to evolve like that”

In 2018/19 he went to train in Vietnam. How did it end up there?
In China I met Philippe Troussier, who was a coach for Japan, South Africa and Nigeria. He came to visit the club, liked my work, we exchanged contacts. Later, after leaving Taiwan, I returned to Portugal, I was in Lisbon without working for a few months and he called me to ask if I wanted to go to Vietnam. He had an offer to come head the PVF and invited me to come work with him.

Didn’t you hesitate?
I didn’t hesitate when I saw the working conditions I would have. They were the best ever. In Asia, they not only pay well, they give you housing, transport, everything, you just have to worry about working and getting results. The infrastructures where I work are world-class. I did some research and realized that Vietnam is a country with one hundred million inhabitants, practically all of whom are passionate about football. They want to develop, they have talent, there is street football, something I had never seen in China, for example.

What specifically did Philippe Troussier invite you to do?
To be head coach of the under 19s. He came as technical director of the PVF and as technical advisor to the Vietnamese football federation.

You arrived in Vietnam in 2018. Had you already been a father?
No, my two daughters were both made in Vietnam. The oldest was born in São Miguel, by our choice, she will be five years old in August. The youngest was born here, in Vietnam.