Seen as one of the most stable clubs within the Cambodian Premier League (CPL) the departure of Conor Nestor as coach this year was seen as a bit of a shock. The club though bounced back with the exciting announcement of Barcelona alumni Pep Munoz to take his place. BPVE decided to sit down with him to see how things were going.
To read the exit interview with Conor Nestor click here.
Who is Pep Munoz?
According to the club “Pep, aged 43, is a Spanish UEFA Pro License coach with over 19 years coaching experience. Pep started his coaching career at UE Lleida in Spain before moving to football giants FC Barcelona. Pep spent 4 years at FC Barcelona with the U19 and Barcelona B Team, wining the U19 UEFA Champions League and 2 league titles, before moving to China where he spent 7 years across Huanghai FC, Shandong FC and the Chinese National Team”.
You can read our full story about his appointment here.
Here’s what he had to say to us…
Pep, what made you want to come and coach in Cambodia?
Well, it’s a new step in my career. After many years being an assistant coach I have the chance again to create a project as a Head Coach in a club that has a good environment and is growing and improving fast and in the best way.
How have you settled in so far?
Pretty well. The city is not so big and the country has a lot of places to visit which I hope I can do when I have some free time. I’ve been in Asia for a long time and I’m interested in local culture of the country where I live and I can say it has been a good choice to come to Cambodia
What are your thoughts on the quality of football here? Where would we fit on the Chinese, or Spanish pyramids?
There are quality players here. Locals and foreigners. I think the level of the league is better every year and there are some competitive games in this league. There are also young players pushing to find a place in the Premier League and that’s so good for league and national team development. It’s not easy to compare with other countries because you find different quality level in the same team. When this gap between players will reduce the level will be still better.
To read about the Cambodian Premier League click here.
Conor is a tough act to follow, how has the reaction been so far?
Conor did a fantastic job here. A lot of positive things that I find will be also usable on my football idea. From my arrival in early may I’ve been feeling comfortable with the club, staff, players and facilities. The work environment is pretty good to work and the team is reacting very well to the new concepts I’m including.
Which of your players do we need to look out for next season?
Well, one of my goals is always all the players reach their best level. Everyone needs to contribute with his best and we have to work as a team. It doesn’t matter who scores, who assist, who defend. If everyone give the best the team will be rewarded.
Can you stop Crown making it three in a row?
What we want is to be as much as competitive as we can and reach a level that gives us the chance to win every game. Not only Crown is a good team, all the opponents of the league have their own strength and every game will be difficult. We expect to be competitive and fight for everything.
You can read our club review of PKR Svay Rieng here.
This article is adapted from BPVE, (https://bpve.com/) reported and edited from the great team – Cambodia Sports Review. (https://www.cambodiasportsreview.com/)
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