Head coach Oscar Garcia admitted that his decision to take the reins at Brighton was swayed by a positive feeling with the club, which stemmed from his playing days.
The 40-year-old revealed that he was the subject of Albion attention during his playing career at Espanyol and since then has felt an attraction to the club.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “I was at Espanyol for four seasons and during that time Brighton tried to sign me. The two clubs started to speak but Espanyol were asking for money and it ended.
“Things like this happen for a reason. I had to know more about Brighton and the football club so it was much easier for me to come to the city, the team and the club when this opportunity came.
“For me the Championship is one of the top four or five leagues in Europe. I’m very happy to be here and for me it’s an honour. I’m proud to be the head coach of Brighton.
“I always wanted to play in England. I had three chances to play here but it didn’t happen, so it was one of my targets to be a coach in England because of the mentality to work. I’m very happy to be here.
“I had many chances to earn a lot of money – much more than here – but I move my life and career by my feelings. I don’t move for money because if I do that I’m not here for the right reasons.”
The former Barcelona youth coach and Maccabi Tel Aviv championship-winning manager outlined his intention to add fresh faces to the Brighton squad before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
“It’s not about the number of players but we are missing four or five players who would normally have a chance to start, through injury. We will have to cover these positions.
“It’s not easy though because we want to choose the correct players, and some want to take their time because some of them have other options. We have a style which the players know and many players or agents have called me because they want to come here. That means we are doing things right.”
Meanwhile, Oscar admitted that his football and coaching philosophy was inspired by his former Barca manager Johan Cruyff, and the Spaniard aspires to have a similar impact on the Albion players.
“For me, Johan was the most important coach to learn about football and with a very clear philosophy. I learned a lot as his player when I played for Barcelona.
“Every day and every training session I learned something new and that is what I want to achieve with the Brighton players. If they learn something new every day we will become a better team.”
Original article
The 40-year-old revealed that he was the subject of Albion attention during his playing career at Espanyol and since then has felt an attraction to the club.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “I was at Espanyol for four seasons and during that time Brighton tried to sign me. The two clubs started to speak but Espanyol were asking for money and it ended.
“Things like this happen for a reason. I had to know more about Brighton and the football club so it was much easier for me to come to the city, the team and the club when this opportunity came.
“For me the Championship is one of the top four or five leagues in Europe. I’m very happy to be here and for me it’s an honour. I’m proud to be the head coach of Brighton.
“I always wanted to play in England. I had three chances to play here but it didn’t happen, so it was one of my targets to be a coach in England because of the mentality to work. I’m very happy to be here.
“I had many chances to earn a lot of money – much more than here – but I move my life and career by my feelings. I don’t move for money because if I do that I’m not here for the right reasons.”
The former Barcelona youth coach and Maccabi Tel Aviv championship-winning manager outlined his intention to add fresh faces to the Brighton squad before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
“It’s not about the number of players but we are missing four or five players who would normally have a chance to start, through injury. We will have to cover these positions.
“It’s not easy though because we want to choose the correct players, and some want to take their time because some of them have other options. We have a style which the players know and many players or agents have called me because they want to come here. That means we are doing things right.”
Meanwhile, Oscar admitted that his football and coaching philosophy was inspired by his former Barca manager Johan Cruyff, and the Spaniard aspires to have a similar impact on the Albion players.
“For me, Johan was the most important coach to learn about football and with a very clear philosophy. I learned a lot as his player when I played for Barcelona.
“Every day and every training session I learned something new and that is what I want to achieve with the Brighton players. If they learn something new every day we will become a better team.”
Original article