CD Nacional has officially appointed Alexandre Santos as the new head coach. The new coach stated that he considers it a 'great privilege' to coach a Portuguese I League club for the first time in his career, and places consolidation as his main goal.
Previously, Santos held the position of assistant coach, notably under José Peixeru. He began his coaching career at Real SC, and later worked with clubs Alverca, Petro Luanda from Angola, CS Sfaxien from Tunisia, FAR Rabat from Morocco, and Kuwait SC, which was his last club.
Replacing João Jiau, who managed the team in the first four rounds of the championship, accumulating four points, Santos expressed 'great satisfaction with the opportunity to work at a 'historic club'.'
He noted: 'This is another step in my already long career, but I have not yet reached the level of a head coach in the I League. And this is an important moment for any coach.'
The former assistant to Peixeru announced that he does not plan to make 'revolutions' in the initial days of his tenure, aiming instead to build a team capable of defending well in a 'compact block' while simultaneously 'creating attacking dynamics.'
President Rui Alves, who attended the ceremony, expressed regret only that Alexandre Santos' arrival comes with 'five game delays.' The head of 'alvinegros' explained that the former coach's departure was not related to results.
Under the guidance of youth team coach Brano Abreu, Nacional lost its last match against Sporting 2-0. The debut of the new manager will be at home against Alverca, who is in 16th place, has only two points, and has not won in the championship. The match is scheduled for next Saturday at 15:30.