Luis Fonseca, the new Head of Youth Development at Thai Son Nam, reflects on his time in Qatar and discusses his move to Vietnam.
- You are swapping Qatar for Vietnam. You leave Al-Rayyan after an outstanding season that ended with the league title. How would you assess this past season from a sporting perspective?
From a sporting point of view, it was a very challenging season. Because of the issues caused by the war and the large number of tournaments held in Qatar, our players—who are not full-time professionals—could hardly attend training sessions. We trained much less than the team actually needed. We had plenty of quality, but in the end, the work we were able to do wasn’t as rewarding as we had hoped. Qatar is a wonderful country, but futsal is still developing there.
- Do you believe Luis Fonseca has been able to make a positive contribution and leave his mark on Qatari futsal?
Not only do I believe it—I’m convinced of it. One of the reasons I pushed the players so hard was because they genuinely wanted to become more professional. They wanted to work harder and learn more about the game. Whenever we had the opportunity to do that, they were extremely appreciative.
- After many experiences in different countries, you are now joining Thai Son Nam to lead its Youth Development Division. How are you approaching this new challenge?
I’m approaching it with great enthusiasm and excitement. This is a project I chose because it takes me back to my roots: working with talented young players, helping them develop, and preparing them to progress to the senior teams.
I believe I can do very meaningful work in this country because, if there’s one thing I truly enjoy, it’s coaching and teaching. With medium- and long-term objectives, coaching the youth team while building and organising the club’s development structure makes this project incredibly appealing, enjoyable, and motivating.
- What do you think you can bring to the club?
I will bring my experience and the Spanish methodology for youth development. I want to provide the players with technical and tactical knowledge, as well as insights into international futsal.
Most importantly, I want to teach them how to train, how to compete, and how to perform at the highest level when match day comes—even against older and, potentially, stronger opponents.
- What goals have you set for this new chapter?
My objectives are the same as the ones I had at Boadilla: to build a strong team and develop players for the near future. I want to help create a larger pool of talented players so that Diego Giustozzi, Vietnam’s national team head coach, has an even more difficult task when selecting his final 14 or 16 players.
I want to help young players fight for a place in the national team and make Diego’s selection decisions as competitive as possible. I believe this can be achieved because, in just the two days I’ve been here, I’ve already seen that the players are eager to give everything they have, work hard, run, and compete.
