Spanish coach Albert Capellas, now leading the Philippine men's national football team, draws on his experience coaching football legend Andres Iniesta at FC Barcelona B.
Spanish tactician Albert Capellas brings with him vast coaching experience as he leads the Philippine men’s national football team.
Capellas spent a decade with FC Barcelona, where he served as an assistant coach for Barcelona B, Youth Team coordinator, and Deputy Director of the Youth Academy.
He also gained experience as an assistant coach with clubs in Denmark, Germany, Israel, Tel Aviv, and China. From 2019 to 2021, he led Denmark's Under-21 team before taking on the role of head coach at Danish club Midtjylland.
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During his time in Barcelona B, the 57-year-old tactician coached one of the greatest players in football history, Andres Iniesta.
Reflecting on his early days as an assistant coach with the Catalan club, Capellas recalled how Iniesta, at just 15 or 16 years old, already displayed the raw talent and humility that would shape him into a world-class player.
“I was an assistant coach at Barça B, and he was very young. A white face, very shy, very humble. He played his first game, and the coach told me, ‘Albert, this is the best player I’ve ever seen in the youth academy of Barcelona. Please don’t try to make him better. If we don’t make him worse, we’ve done a fantastic job,’” Capellas laughingly shared during the PFF’s press conference on Friday, October 4.
This early promise soon revealed Iniesta’s drive for perfection. Capellas recalled a memorable debut where Barcelona won 5-0, with Iniesta playing a standout game. However, in the dressing room, the future Spanish legend appeared disheartened.
“Andres played fantastic, but I saw him in the dressing room, looking sad. I said, ‘Come on, Andres Iniesta, what happened? You played a fantastic debut, and you’re sad? Be happy.’ He responded, ‘No, I didn’t play well.’ When I asked why, he said, ‘I lost two balls.’”
Iniesta’s relentless pursuit of excellence, even at such a young age, was a defining characteristic of his career. His high standards would later drive him to unprecedented success with Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Now leading the Philippine men’s football team, Capellas brings the same high standards and vision to the squad.
“I love players who have talent, and I feel that they are ready to join us, and they can bring value, and they can help the national team to be part of it,” said Capellas.
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Capellas said he wants to focus on developing the country's young football players, alongside U23 coach Norman Fegidero, who is expected to help the national team rise on the international stage.
“We tell them how we want to play in the national team [so] that they can show us that they are ready to perform for us,” said Capellas.
“That means we will help them [by] giving them information [about] what we expect from them, to accelerate the process that we have a lot of talent, and they can join us as soon as possible,” he added.
(With reports from Xander Cipriano/One Sports Digital)