MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo made changes to its squad with a new head coach and additional players ahead of their 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara and AFC Champions League campaigns.
The Iloilo City-based football team announced the hiring of Colum Curtis as their new head coach and he will work alongside former mentor Yu Hoshide, who will serve as one of his assistant coaches.
“It’s fantastic to be here,” Curtis said. “I think that we’re going to fit well together. After my first session with the players, it’s clear to see that they’re hard workers and that they’re up for the challenge—and it’s something that I’m excited about.”
“Kaya being the biggest club in the Philippines, the [AFC] Champions League was a big draw for me to come here,” he added. “Of course, there’s some big hitters for us to come up against, but it’s a challenge that the players and I must relish and will be up for.”
The 33-year-old Curtis said he wants to maintain the winning attitude of Kaya-Iloilo, which recently won the Philippines Football League crown and are the defending champions in the Copa.
“The playing style I like to implement in Kaya-Iloilo is something that’s been ingrained in me since I was young,” said the Belfast-born Curtis. “I like to win. I like to win games with Kaya.”
“Of course, the Champions League is going to prove a bit more difficult than any games I’ve played previously as a player or a coach; but we’re not going to play just to try and survive. We want to give the fans something to get excited about,” he added.
To prepare for their upcoming tournaments here and abroad, Kaya-Iloilo has signed up veteran midfielders Ricardo Sendra and Justin Baas, defender Abou Sy as well as experienced goal keeper Henri Bandeken.
Aside from the four, the squad is set to unveil three more recruits in the upcoming days to make up for the departure of Tamon Horikoshi, Milad Behgandom and Dylan Nobiraki, who is set to play in Cambodia.
“I want my teams to be aggressive in terms of dominating the ball, and also out of possession to win the ball high up the pitch,” Colum said. “We want to win, and we want to do it in a very convincing manner.”/PN
