Matéria que saiu no Ulster Gazette (UK)

New management at Holm Park

Thursday, 25 February 2010


A NEW management team has taken over the reins at Armagh City Football Club.
They are the highly-regarded Brazilian Thiago Dernadin and his experienced Costa Rican partner Luis Fernando.
Their appointment has paved the way to several South American and continental players joining the ranks of Armagh City Football Club - currently languishing at the foot of the Ladbrokes.com Division One Championship.
Several foreign players have already arrived in the city and will join up with first-team locals in a bid to avoid the drop this season.
All this is a prelude to a possible amalgamation between the Holm Park club and the Barclelona-based Fundacion Marcet - (Spanish Soccer School).
But, before everything is official, an Emergency Meeting of Armagh City FC members will have to be called to approve the proposed scheme.
The players from abroad have already been registered with the footballing authorities in Northern Ireland and everything is in place for their first league outing this Saturday, February 27, against Banbridge Town at Holm Park, Armagh, kick-off 3pm.
The following statement on the matter was released this week.
It reads, "Armagh City Football Club has agreed to collaborate with the Barcelona-based Fundacion Marcet in a project which will see the Championship One club benefit from the use of overseas coaches - as well as seeing the introduction of overseas players to the local game.
“It is hoped the experience will benefit both the local players, who will receive coaching alongside the more technically gifted overseas players, as well as benefiting the new players, who will be introduced to the more physically demanding style of our local game.
“As a result, Armagh City wishes to announce the appointment of Thiago
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Denardin and Luis Fernando as the new technical staff.
“Thiago is a fully qualified Brazilian coach and has coaching experience with International Porto Alegre, San Jose Porto Alegre, Fluminense, Sport Brasil, Tubarao, Tocantins, Araguaina, as well as the Fundacion Marcet International Programme.
“Luis is a qualified Costa Rican coach with experience with San Jose, Saprissa and the Fundacion Marcet International Programme,
“The club would like to place, on record, our thanks to Ivor McGucken and his assistant Marty Rice for all their hard work throughout this season.
“The lack of financial assistance the club has received meant the management was severely restricted in the progress they might otherwise have made.
“The club has already made a number of overseas signings in intends to make more in the future.
“Armagh City FC believes that this is the right time to take this bold step with Fundacion Marcet," the statement ends.

Matéria que saiu no American Chronicle

Spanish armada to take over at Armagh



A Spanish football invasion is on its way to Armagh.
Championship club Armagh City have tied in to a long term deal with a Barcelona-based coaching academy which will see Brazilian and Spanish players and coaches at Holm Park.

The club have appointed Brazilian Thiago Denardin and his assistant Luis Fernando to take over all football duties from Ivor McGucken and in Tuesday night's Mid-Ulster Cup defeat by Annagh United, gave two young Brazilians a run out.

Armagh officials have been in talks for some time with the Marcet Foundation formed by former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Espanyol player Javier Marcet.

Renowned for his technical prowess, he was known as the 'Teacher' and took his technical skills to Marcet academies throughout the world.

There are no costs involved for City as the players who arrive in the Cathedral City will be paid for and kept by the Foundation, which is now run by Javier's son.

Nine players are expected to join Armagh in the coming weeks and already two have. A few players have already arrived and two have gained international clearance through the Irish FA.

Club secretary and vice-chairman John Hynds spent part of February in Spain with his 13-year-old son Christopher and was very impressed.

"We had a ball and so far they have delivered on everything they have promised. We see the whole programme being very beneficial to Armagh City and with the influx of overseas players combining with our current squad, we stand a chance of avoiding relegation to Championship 2 with 12 matches still to go."

City have not won a league fixture this season but it is the long term future which concerns the club which has struggled financially to keep players on board while at the same time, having a flourishing youth development programme.

"The owner of the Marcet Foundation sent his two daughters to Armagh Royal to learn English and then his son followed," continued John.

"The boy joined his local friends at our coaching programme and one day his father arrived to pick him up and we got chatting.

"There were a few raised eyebrows when he said he owned a foundation in Barcelona and then invited us over. It has all developed from that."

Committee member Aidan Murphy has described the link-up as a working partnership covering a period between six and 10 years.

"It is exciting and not mesmeric in the sense that we have weighed up the pros and cons. The club members have backed the programme and as far as running the club is concerned, everything stays as it is. There is no change in that and I think it is a case of them needing us as much as we need them," said Aidan.

"The big thing for them is giving their players the chance to develop their English and to experience the different nature of the British game.

"The players will be living in rented accommodation, paid for by the foundation and they will train and coach on a full-time basis. Technically the players are very good and they should be effective in helping us to bring our own youngsters through as we seek to build for the future."

City have found the going tough in the Championship since losing senior status with the advent of the 12-team Premiership.

However, there appears, now, to be a silver lining to their cloud.

Chegada em Armagh, Irlanda do Norte...o frio castiga um pouco, mas nada que tire a força para dar o ponta pé inicial para esse novo desafio que é treinar o Armagh City F.C. narrarei aqui os momentos mais importantes durante os quatro meses que ainda restam para o fim do campeonato.

Depois de uma palestra ministrada por Jordy Cruyff na sede da Fundação Marcet em Barcelona...

Em Barcelona, Espanha, início de fevereiro de 2010, Durantes os dias que antecederam a viagem a Irlanda do Norte...