Christian Méndez, has officially retired as a player, diving into his new position as an assistant coach of the Spanish National team
After 123 matches defending La Roja’s nets, and known for his impeccable behaviour on the sand, 2018 sees Christian Méndez begin a new episode in his life; this time, as a beach soccer coach.
The former goalkeeper has already been coaching the Spanish U21 national side this season, as well as the women’s national team in the Euro Beach Soccer World Cup, but he officially announced that he is hanging up his gloves in the Euro Beach Soccer League Superfinal Alghero 2018.
Christian is already fully focused on his new life on the bench, sitting beside Joaquín Alonso, where we will see him in the coming Huawei Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2018. He knows very well what he can give to the team from this new position: “I will bring tons of motivation, hard-work, ambition and sporting value. I am ready to help whenever and wherever I can”, he states.
His new position, having been a teammate of most of the players still in the squad, is a tricky one, but Christian knows very well what his role is: “I still see myself as one of them, but now, from the other side. I will always be the same, but now I have to push them when they’re on the pitch, and help them in whatever I can when off it”.
His next steps appear to be very well defined in his mind: “In the near future, my objective is to try and learn as much as I can so that I keep on with my development as a coach”, he explains. “In the long term future, I will try to develop all the knowledge that I will have acquired, and hopefully I will be able to pass it on to the players”.
From his freshly concluded era as a beach soccer player, he keeps many fond memories, but the are two in particular that stand out: “Winning the European Qualifiers in 2012 in Moscow, and getting to the final of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Tahiti, in 2013”. If there is one thing he regrets not having done in beach soccer, it is actually “winning that final”. Now, he has the chance to try and win it as a coach.
After seven years, he has had the chance of working with different coaches, and he has accumulated a lot of knowledge from each one: “Every coach is a whole different world, but I have always tried to keep the best part of them to grow both as a beach soccer player, and as a person”.
Best of luck, Christian!
