Tiago Nunes paves the way for Brazilian coaches in South America

At the end of November last year, Tiago Nunes took the first step towards a planned career path change.

The coach from Rio Grande do Sul, champion of the South American Championship (2018) and the Copa do Brasil (2019) for athletichit with the Sporting Cristalfrom Peru, surprising at the destination after short trips through Corinthians, Guild It is Ceará.

The idea was to break out of a ‘vicious cycle’ in Brazil, challenge itself and open new markets. And in just over six months in Peruvian football, the 43-year-old coach has approved the experience.

At liberators, led Cristal through two knockout rounds to the group stage. In a key with clear favorites like river plate It is Fluminensekeeps Los Celestes dreaming in the last round – they need a victory against Flu, in Maracanã, to advance.

“The main objective was to reach the last round alive, and we did that, depending on our strength for a classification that hasn’t happened in 27 years. It’s a very important moment, which we’re enjoying and dreaming about. If we don’t get through, we’ll keep fighting for a vacancy for the knockout round of the Sudamericana”, he says.

On the local scene, the team led by the Brazilian ended the Apertura in second place. The team lost only once in the league, but drew too much and was far from Alianza Lima in the standings.

In the middle of the way, he experienced a crisis – six games without winning – and had his departure speculated. “In any part of the world, people exaggerate a lot in their speeches”, minimizes Nunes, who now boasts 11 unbeaten matches.

In an interview with OneTwo Sportshe detailed how his first job outside Brazil has been, spoke of the inspiration in Paulo Author and commented on why few Brazilian professionals explore their neighbors in South America.

How do you summarize this first semester in Peru? How much did you evolve as a professional during this period?

It may have taken some people by surprise, but it was something I had been preparing for a while. I always had a plan to try to be at the highest level, be it in my state, city, country, continent, or maybe even at the highest level in the world. I have been trying to understand the logic of building a career by paying attention to other Brazilian professionals. And one thing that has called my attention is that, in a way, Brazilians have not left Brazil, right? Very much for comfort, it is a country with many clubs, many opportunities, where you pay well, especially Serie A and B. But I had been envisioning leaving to try an international experience, to know what it is like to be outside my country, to be a foreigner working in a position of visibility, of responsibility, and to continue competing in international competitions, such as Libertadores and Sul-Americana. And also being in teams that were a reference, as is the case of Sporting Cristal, which is always fighting to be champion of the country. I have already improved with regard to adaptation, culturally understanding how athletes, people react, what point of view they have in relation to the continuity of the work, what kind of pursuits they have with regard to local and international goals. The language itself and communication, which is not just what we say, but what the other person understands. So it’s been a great, rich cultural experience.

If we are going to talk about results, in the local scenario, Cristal ends the Apertura in 2nd place, with 9 wins, 8 draws and 1 loss. What was missing for the conquest? Was it a bitter taste or does it give more motivation to try to make history with the Clausura conquest?

The local competition is very even. Today I’m sure that the Peruvian is the most difficult tournament I’ve played in my entire career, not only because of technical or sporting issues, but also because of the difficulties in local factors. We face altitude teams, from 2,800 m to 4,000 m in height. There are also jungle teams, very hot regions, where you play at 1 pm in places with a temperature of almost 40ºC. It’s very difficult to play a tournament like that and get regularity. I think we had a good tournament in view of the major overhaul that was made, with the departure of experienced players even before my arrival. It is a club with a project to train young players, our average age is between 22 and 24 years old. We played important matches, including Libertadores, with an average of 22.5 years. Maybe we lacked a little more cast when we had to shoot. And we had a lot of draws, right? Games we should have won, draws we conceded at the last minute. At the very least we should have six more points for that. The tournament here has a particularity that is defined only in November, in a final quadrangular. It’s a long journey, but we have faith in the work and in the group that we have conditions to fight for the title.

There was a moment when there was talk around here that you would leave Cristal after a winless streak. Proceed?

A lot has been speculated, but as in any part of the world, people exaggerate a lot in their speeches. What happened was that we had a sequence of six games without a win, with three defeats and three draws. Since of these three defeats, two were in Libertadores, for Fluminense and for River Plate. This ended up generating instability, a normal pressure from the crowd. But at no time did I see any intention of the management to change the command, always very convinced. Even I saw a part of the press saying that it was difficult to evaluate a job in just six months. But we managed, even with a young group, to get out of that moment, to get back on track in the season and today there are 11 games without losing. I think that, in relation to Brazil, this stability is a point of difference within a project in which the club is very clear what it expects in the medium and long term.

In Libertadores, you led Cristal through two knockout stages and reached the last round of the group stage still alive, in third place in the group, with good chances of qualifying for Sudamericana. What’s your assessment?

Extremely positive assessment for everything we’ve experienced so far. It is something extremely rare for Peruvian football. For Cristal, it was the first time that they left a previous stage and reached the group stage. It was not something we imagined at the beginning, but we were strengthened because we went through two difficult schools, the Paraguayan one, from Nacional, and the Argentinean one, from Huracán. And then we fell into the group of death, with Fluminense, River Plate and The Strongest, which is so feared for its local factor. The main objective was to reach the last round alive and we did it, depending on our strength for a classification that has not happened for 27 years. It is a very important moment, which we are enjoying and dreaming of. If we don’t pass, we’ll keep fighting for a place in the knockout round of the South American Championship.

Will Cristal have to face the “war team” against Fluminense? Can you dream of ranking in Maracanã?

No, there’s nothing like a war team. There was only one war team and it remained in Hurricane history. Each club has its history, its characteristics, its players, its moment, type of management. It is a very difficult task to beat Fluminense at Maracanã, a wonderful moment, a consolidated team that needs the result to rank first in the group. But nothing prevents us from dreaming, from having the ambition and purpose that have guided our work, which is fighting to be champion. To place Peruvian football and Cristal in a respectful showcase of South American football. With great humility, we want to play a great match, think about the game in parts, the first half, the second half, and then try to come out victorious.

What are the main characteristics of the Peruvian player? Can you name some who are qualified, for example, to play in the Brasileirão?

They are players with great technique, good ball control. They are very unconscious players so to speak, maybe they need an evolution in the tactical part, in the collective part. Physically too. Physically they don’t have the same intensity as the Brazilians, but they are players with a lot of potential. It would be unfair to quote someone, we have a team with a low average age, we have at least four or five players with high technical potential and with conditions to play in Brazil. It is something viable, but it has to develop aspects to compete internationally and export athletes more frequently.

Is your goal to be a “new Paulo Autuori”, in the sense of exploring different markets and having a respected name everywhere? Is it a path for your career?

Being placed in any comparison is an honor, Paulo Autuori is an inspiration. Now, being the new Autuori is impossible, there is only one. But I’m on the way to improving myself personally, professionally and acquiring more varied experiences and having the opportunity to always be remembered, not only in the national market, but in the international market as well. Paulo is a world champion coach, who managed national teams. Who knows, maybe I can follow some paths he has already taken, reaffirm that there is a market for the Brazilian coach and, step by step, consolidate my name.

Have you been following Athletico and Brazilian football in general? His name never ceases to be commented on by the fans for an eventual return to the club…

I always follow Brazilian football, whenever possible I watch games, follow the news, but I’m focused here and we end up immersed in another type of market, South American football, which has a lot of influence from Argentine football. But I’ve been watching and I’m always rooting for Athletico to do well, compete and win titles. It is a step that confirms even more what we did back there. I’m a part of this story along with many other professionals who passed through the club and left their mark.

After leaving Corinthians, you mentioned that you would like to explore other markets and were preparing for that. Could your trip to Peru be the mark of an opening of the market for Brazilian coaches?

I hope so, that it can be a milestone, that it can open other doors for Brazilian professionals. We have a lot of good people, who work well, and who sometimes just need an opportunity. What happens is that we rarely waved with this willingness to leave Brazil to compete in the South American markets. And I hope this can be a market opening for so many people. Coaches don’t become international only when they work in Europe or Asia, they do so when they first work in South America. It’s a path I’m trying to follow, competing in important competitions and competing for national titles. It is a journey in which I think we acquire a different experience by competing against different schools. Right here, there are a number of Argentine, Paraguayan, Uruguayan, Chilean coaches who have been here too, the Peruvian coaches themselves. So it’s an opportunity to face other schools and gain experience, winning and losing games.