Albert Capellas named as new Philippine Senior Men's National Football Team Head Coach

New gaffer. c/o Philippine Football Federation

The Philippines has a new gaffer, with the introduction of Albert Capellas as the latest man to take the post, as announced by the Philippine Football Federation.

Senior National Teams Director Freddy Gonzalez shares about the appointment, "The priority in our selection process was to find someone who not only shared our philosophy for the National Teams, but also had the capability to transmit that vision to our players quickly. In Albert Capellas, we’ve found an incredibly good fit — a man who embodies our idea of how the game should be played, and who’s had decades of experience successfully implementing this style in various elite performance environments across Europe and in Asia."

The Spaniard brings 33 years of coaching experience to the islands. Toting a UEFA Pro License, around a third of that time was spent in FC Barcelona. Starting out as a team assistant with Barcelona B, he would move up the ranks in the Catalan giant, becoming a Youth Team Coordinator and then Deputy Director of the Youth Academy.

Albert also acted as an assistant in a variety of prominent football clubs worldwide, having served alongside these notable managers Thomas Frank at Denmark’s Brondby, Peter Bosz at Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and Netherlands’ Vitesse, and Jordi Cruyff in Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and China’s Chongqing Dangai.

He has had national team experience, handling the Under-21 team of Denmark from 2019-21, before taking on the role of manager at top Danish side Midtjylland.

In taking on the job, Capellas says, "I’m very proud to be a part of this journey. For me it’s a fantastic feeling to be here, to help the Federation to go to the next level because that’s what they are looking for. When Freddy asked me to join this project and explained to me what they are working on to make the federation better, and to deliver the best for the players, and how he wanted to approach football for the coming years in the Philippine teams, I was aligned and it piqued my attention. We clicked personally, which is very important for me — that you can be around people that you can work with and you can do your job. That’s why I’m here. I think the aspects we want to develop, we can make them happen. It won’t be easy — nothing in football is — but we can promise that we will do our best. I hope they (the fans) will enjoy the way we want to play, and the way we want to perform."

In crafting the future of the Philippines, he notes, "Our vision is built on three values. Honesty - that everything we do in the national team, we can look each other in the eyes all the time. Then it’s about Commitment. Nobody can stay in the national team without commitment to achieve the goals we are looking for. Finally there is Courage, to fight for the aims we want to achieve. We want to achieve a new way of playing, a new way of training and I want to help them to understand better what it means to be a professional. We want to help Filipino players who have the chance to play abroad, that they can find better teams, that they can be better prepared to be scouted and have better football careers."

Interim manager Norman Fegidero Jr will return to his previous role as an assistant, and his introduction of a more proactive and aggressive playing style will be accelerated under the new manager.

Gonzalez shares about the philosophical shift, "Football should be fun and exciting for both the spectators and the players. In order for that to be case, I believe we need to unshackle the players and place them in a system that trusts their talents and challenges them to raise their game. Coaches in the past may not have had the necessary faith in our players to implement our vision. In this new chapter, that will definitely not be a problem. Our players and spectators can look forward to exciting times."

He adds, "Albert came to observe during the Merdeka Cup, and while he wasn’t officially on board yet at the time, he was eager to already start providing his support to Norman before the Tajikistan game. In those few days Albert showed an impressive attention to detail, and an ability to communicate his ideas very clearly. He wanted to make sure that before the King’s Cup, the team would already have a foundation to build on. If you saw that Tajikistan game, it’s safe to say our players are fully embracing the direction we’re heading."

The directive to the new manager is clear: get the Philippines qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Capellas will use the international windows in the next couple of months, as well as the ASEAN Football Championship this coming December, to help get the team ready by the start of next round of Asian Cup Qualification in March next year.

He says about the task ahead, "It won’t be easy. This is a project. It will be a journey, a process. There will be ups and downs. Sometimes we will fail. Our job is to make sure we learn from the fails. We will try to climb the mountain with a safe journey and go as far as possible. I hope the fans will be able to see the changes in October, and in November and December. But it won’t be everything at one time."

"What excites me the most is the game of football. It’s why I have different experiences in youth academy, or as a national team coach, or as an assistant with top coaches in big leagues and in smaller leagues in Europe and Asia. And now the Philippine national team gives me a new opportunity to discover more about the game, and to discover more about different cultures and different mentalities, and different ways to approach the game. Now I have a new challenge, where they can use my expertise to achieve all the things we are looking for."