One of the all-time greatest goalscorers and Pichichi winners in La Liga, Hugo ‘Hugol’ Sánchez has made a return to Spanish football as the new coach of modest UD Almería.
After settling in and conducting his first training session with the struggling Andalucian side, the Mexican took some time off to speak to RNE, Radio Nacional de España.
He covered several topics, including his main coaching objective with his new club while also giving his thoughts on his former team, Real Madrid, and their quest for a 32nd La Liga crown.
“At Almería, I want to instil character and determination in the team so they can achieve their goals. I want the players to have discipline, order and speed in their attack,” he said during the interview.
“As a trainer, I have changed. Now, I am more careful with my statements to the press because when I was the head coach of Mexico, my words were often twisted into lies,” the 50-year-old added.
There has already been speculation that Hugo Sánchez is using his stint at Almería as a stepping stone to take over the hot-seat at the Santiago Bernabéu in the near future.
“I do not rule out the possibility of coaching any team in La Liga. But it would be best if Barcelona did not call for me because I would have to say no to them,” he jibed.
Regarding Los Blancos and Barça in this season’s title race, Hugol analysed: “It will be very difficult for Madrid to win the league. For that to happen, Barcelona will have to slip up a lot.
“At Madrid, they do not lack real men. There’s plenty of quality and talent but perhaps they are missing a few reinforcements. But it is not in my place to talk about that,” he concluded.
Hugo Sánchez is the only player in the league’s history, along with Athletic Bilbao’s mythical Telmo Zarra, to score 38 goals in a single season. He has won the Pichichi trophy on five occasions, behind Zarra’s all-time tally of six, but he holds the joint-record of winning it four times in succession, levelled with Alfredo di Stéfano.
KS Leong, Goal.com
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