Montego Bay United hire Spanish coach

Paul Clarke, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

After six months without a full-time coach, Red Stripe Premier League champions Montego Bay United Football Club (MBUFC) has acquired a coach from the land that made famous the tika taka style of football.

They welcome Spanish coach Carlos Aitor Garcia Sanz to Westpow Park, who has had previous coaching stints at the DAV Santa Ana club, from the Madrid League.

"He reached out to the Club and expressed an interest in joining our technical team, and after reviewing his record with DAV Santa Ana, we realised that he was a good fit for our team," said MBU's chief operation officer Sandra Christie.

"Garcia Sanz come with the right combination of experience, grit and knowledge to take the club even further than they have come thus far," Christie added.

Under his direction, the DAV Santa Ana junior players achieved their greatest successes, which included becoming the first local team to score six goals against the Real Madrid youth team. His success resulted in a quick transfer from stage to stage. Starting as the club's Under-17 coach, he was promoted to the Under-19 league in short order, and when he left, he was head coach of DAV Santa Ana's senior team.

"We may be Premier League champions at the moment, but that is just the first stage in our dream for our players and for our club," Christie said in a release.

"Our player turnover rate is less than one per cent, and over the years, we have invested a lot of time and energy in the development of our present team. We want as many of them as possible to transition from the club level to the national and international levels. We are therefore willing to make the sacrifices to take them there," she said.

7 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Garcia Sanz is a Spanish UEFA football coach. He comes to the club with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, a Master's Degree in High Performance and Sports Psychology, and more than seven years' coaching experience. He has been following the club's recent ascent and has been very impressed by what he has seen.

The new coach wants to lift MBU to a new level.

"I intend to raise the bar and bring a different style of play to football in Jamaica. I am really excited to join the club and am anxious to begin working," said Sanz.

MBU have enjoyed tremendous success recently, including lifting the 2013-14 Red Stripe Premier League title, as well as notching a number of other impressive performances at the youth levels thanks to the growth of their youth academy.

Coach Sanz will be supported by the club's director of football Dr Dean Weatherly, the man who ultimately celebrated their Premier League success as interim coach following the resignation of Donovan Duckie and Hugh Solomon.