Do you remember your first match as national coach of women’s football?
Yes perfect. It was at the end of 2000, against Italy, in Palermo, and we lost 0-3 in the first leg of the play out qualifying for the European Championship. In the second leg we won 1-0, but it wasn’t enough…
At that time there was a huge difference in women’s football in Portugal compared to what is happening now. What are the main differences that stand out?
When I arrived at the FPF in September 2000 there were about 1000 federated players and now there are about 15 thousand. There was no competition in the youth team and now they exist from the under-13 to the seniors. There was not a single professional player and today all the football players who are part of the A-team are professionals. In the past, the best clubs trained a maximum of three times a week and at very late hours, nowadays that is five to seven times a week. And there was not a single professional coach, while today most elite athletes and even technical teams work full-time in clubs.
Source: DN
