Portugal’s de Matos named new coach

Portugal’s Luis Norton de Matos was appointed head coach of the national team for the Fifa U-17 World Cup, to be hosted by India in October this year.

A former manager with the Benfica Reserve side, de Matos replaced Nicolai Adam, who was forced to resign under controversial circumstances after a revolt from the players due to “physical and verbal abuse”.

The All India Football Federation’s advisory committee, comprising former captains Baichung Bhutia and I.M. Vijayan, gave de Matos the green light, apart from the go-ahead from Sports Authority of India head Injeti Srinivas. He also met AIFF president Praful Patel in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Before becoming a coach, de Matos made five appearances for Portugal as a forward.

“It’s nice to have de Matos on board. His experience of handling youth teams will come in handy for the boys as we wish to leave no stone unturned to field a competitive team in the U-17 World Cup. I expect him to guide our boys to put up a strong performance in the World Cup,” Patel said.

Said the 63-year-old, “My role will be to orchestrate everything wherein the players will be playing their part. I admire AIFF’s vision and the U-17 World Cup will act as a base for development of Football in India. The players need to believe in themselves to do something special for the country. I do have an Indian connection as my great grandfather was born in Goa.

“I will retain the positives of the last two years moving forward.”