Amarelle appointed as Trinidad & Tobago coach

The Spanish beach soccer legend’s first major test will come in the World Cup qualifiers in Costa Rica

The FA of Trinidad & Tobago announced on Wednesday that the ex-Barcelona and Spain star, Ramiro Amarelle, will be the new head coach of the national beach soccer team.

Amarelle will be assisted in his new role by Maria Gordo Perdiguero, who worked with him in his previous position as the head coach of China.

Trinidad and Tobago are preparing for the 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championships, which will be staged from May 17-23 in Alajuela, Costa Rica.  Their objective will be simple: qualification for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which is scheduled to take place August 19-29 in Moscow, Russia. Sixteen FIFA Member Associations (two from Concacaf) will participate.

Amarelle captained the Spanish national team to two runners-up titles in the World Championships in 2003 and 2004, as well as winning the 2008 and 2009 Euro Beach Soccer Cup.

But the Caribbean nation faces tough competition, and Amarelle will have to see off teams such as USA, EL Salvador and Mexico if he wants to begin his tenure in the best possible way.

Amarelle and Perdiguero are already in Trinidad and Tobago and are currently quarantining. A second assistant coach and analyst, Jaime Paz, will join them next week.

“I know that the dream of the country and the Federation (TTFA) is to qualify, but higher than that, I am thinking of a process to show the country, the city, the people that we can do more in beach soccer,” Amarelle said.

“Beach soccer must be a challenge for us. Beach soccer must help us to create a process, and create a program, that will show the country and involve them in beach soccer,” he added.

Amarelle is a FIFA instructor and advisor and also holds a UEFA Pro License coaching badge. The rest of the T&T team’s technical staff comprises of Ryan Augustine (Player/Assistant Coach), Dr Jason Pilgrim (Athletic trainer), Dr Oba Gulston (Team Manager) and Yuri Chapman (Assistant Manager/Kitman).

The appointment of Amarelle and his two assistants from Spain went through following a collaboration between the TTFA and the T&T Beach Soccer Association whose officials were instrumental in securing their services based on a relationship dating back to 2016.