Getafe’s Garcia unveiled as new Bani Yas coach

Saleh Al Hammadi; Luis Garcia; Ahmed Al Rashid and Mohammed Aida Al Minhaly at the signing of the Bani Yas FC new coach at Crown Plaza, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. — KT photo by Shoaib Anwer

Luis Garcia has been tasked with a top-four finish and a trophy along the way in his first year in charge at Bani Yas, after he was unveiled as their new coach late on Monday night.

The Spaniard penned a two-year deal with the club and was officially presented to the media at the Crowne Plaza at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Garcia joins from La Liga side Getafe, where he spent three seasons. Prior to that, he coached another Spanish side Levante, where he also spent three seasons.

And that is the stability Bani Yas are in search of after seeing nine coaches come and go in the past four seasons of the Arabian Gulf League.

Garcia revealed that he had received an offer from another Spanish club just 24 hours before he was going to put pen to paper to the Bani Yas deal. But he decided on Bani Yas to further his knowledge of football in other parts of the world.

“I’m always interested in new ideas and I want to know about football in different cultures and countries. I felt it was the right time to come here and learn different things and also use my experience gained in Spain, in helping Bani Yas,” Garcia said.

“We have many goals. Generally, we have to know the team and know the players. I want to apply my experience in Spain with the Bani Yas team. My aim is to realise something during this season,” he added.

The 41-year-old urged for patience in his first season with the club and said that he didn’t come with a magic wand.

“I cannot promise because I don’t have a magic wand. We have to be optimistic and look forward. But I will try my best to achieve the ambitions of the club,” he said.

Garcia said his focus will not just be the first team but also the youth team also. “Apart from the first team, I will also be closely watching the reserve team as well as the youth team. If a few of the players do well, we can help them graduate into the first team,” said Garcia.

Bani Yas club Board member Saleh Al Hammadi said that they wanted stability at the club and Garcia offered that. “There were a lot of candidates but what we liked most about him was his stability at every club he coached. He was at Getafe for three seasons and three years at Levante, before that. We found him to be different from the others we were in negotiations with because all the others have had only a season or two with one club,” Saleh Al Hammadi said.

Meanwhile, first team manager Mohammed Aida Al Minhali said that Garcia shared the vision of the club. “He is a young coach who shares our vision. Some of the Bani Yas club members travelled to Spain and sat with Luis and found that he was the most suitable candidate for us. He understands our situation, and we told him our mission. I hope we can help him achieve our targets,” Mohammed Aida Al Minhali said.

“He stayed with Getafe and Levante for three seasons each and he did well against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. So, I think we have found our man. And we want a coach who will stay longer,” he added.

“We told him what was expected of him. We are looking for a top-four finish in the Arabian Gulf League and hopefully a trophy. Also, we have a lot of players from Bani Yas in the National team, the Olympic team and the Youth teams. I first priority is to produce players for the National team,” Al Minhali said.