The Portuguese newspaper “Record” published an extensive article about the coach of Legia Warsaw, Gonçalo Viejo, with the coach's statements after the match against Rakov Czestochova.
In Portugal, the information that a Portuguese had become coach of the largest club in Poland, Legia Warsaw, was received with interest, but not with surprise. The country is accustomed to the fact that many coaches are spread across five continents and from Oceania to South America you can easily find specialists from the University of Lisbon or the Sports University of Porto on the coaching benches. As “Record” journalists emphasize, few coaches have followed such an “unobvious” path as Gonçalo Viowho for a week was the coach of a club that is considered the biggest and most recognized sports brand in Poland, and is a sixteen-time winner of the Ekstraklasa, the equivalent of the Betclic League in Portugal.
Feiu studied sports sciences at the University of Lisbon and decided to participate in the Erasmus program in the Polish capital, where he met Jacek MazurekThen director of Legia Academy. He was his lecturer in one of his courses. Erasmus is a European program that aims to promote the personal and professional development of all EU citizens in order to strengthen European identity, sustainable growth, social cohesion and people's employment. The program is available to higher education students from 33 European countries and provides students with the opportunity to complete a period of study or training at an academically recognized European university or company.
– “I went to the director of the Legia Academy and told him that I would spend six months in Warsaw. I asked him to give me the opportunity to see what it is like to work in the best academy in Poland, and he opened the door for me. I offered to help, I spent two months there as a volunteer and after those two months I was offered a contract which was renewed when I had to return to Portugal at the end of the semester.” – Vio describes his experiences. – “I worked for five years with the youth of Legia and two or three years (as an analyst and observer) in the first team, where I was part of the coaching staff of the Norwegian Henning Berg. Then I had the opportunity to work at another big club in Poland, Wisła Kraków– says the coach, who spent short spells as a player in the youth teams Belenenses and Benfica – “Nothing particularly important“, as he himself confirms.
Phio's career then continued in the Greek League where he worked as an assistant Kiko Martinez In Zante. The experience gained in Legia, Wisła Kraków and Zante made him a special person in Polish football. His ability to develop young players, the way he forms teams, his knowledge of the game, and his coaching and leadership skills have become invaluable. Thanks to this, he can become an assistant coach When Babazona In Raków Częstochowa – the team that faced Sporting in the Europa League this season. Through his work, Feio contributed to Raków winning two Cups and two Polish Super Cups. Then he began another but independent challenge – to restore the greatness of Motor Lublin, a club with a 75-year history, which, despite good conditions for development and a valuable fan base, was in the Polish Second League – the equivalent of Liga 3 in Portugal. Until the start of the 2022/23 season, Feio had never worked in the top flight. But that did not prevent him from going to Lublin and taking over the leadership of the team that, after the 11th round, was in last place in the table, with only one win and 7 points.
– “I took over coaching the team in the twelfth round and we still managed to advance to the first league. Not because I revolutionized the team, but by developing the players already at the club” – says proudly current coach Legia Warsaw, whose contract with Motor Lublin was renewed after promotion to Extraklassa. – “There, as a recently promoted team, we finished the first stage, before the winter break, in third place and when I left, we were in fourth place, in a position to secure the qualifying stage for promotion to the Ekstraklasa.” – reveals the coach. This progress sparked Legia's interest in returning to his “homeland”, that is, to the field in Warsaw.
In his first match as Legia Warsaw coach, Gonçalo Feiu faced one of the teams he had previously coached as an assistant – a 1-1 draw away to Rakov, leaving Legia in sixth place in the First League table, with the same number of matches to play. Points like Raków which ranks fifth. Both teams have 46 points.
When asked by Record journalists if he is already preparing the team for next season, Feio disagrees with this approach to the topic. – “At the club I'm at, you always have to win, there's always a lot of work. The Polish championship is not lost yet, and there are no places guaranteed to play in the European Cups. We have many goals for the rest of the season – Feio explains, admitting that some aspects will have to change in order to become a Legia.”Top club“, at the European level.
Without directly admitting it, Feio takes into account organizational aspects, because in terms of working conditions, Legia already offers the best conditions at European level – we read in the “Reocrd” daily.
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