Domènec Torrent is relishing his first preseason as New York City FC Head Coach.
In a teleconference with journalists from NYCFC’s preseason leg two in Orlando, NYCFC Head Coach Domènec Torrent spoke on his hopes for 2019, the squad’s new acquisitions and potential new moves in the transfer market.
Here’s some of the key quotes from the interview…
On his first preseason…
“It’s very important for me to begin the preseason because it’s the first time for me, I want to speak with the players about what I want to do. If we want to play a little bit different, we have to practice a lot and a lot. I have the possibility right now to train double sessions every single day and put in their mind the best way for me to play. It’s very important to me because I arrive last year – right now it’s very important for me to begin the preseason with the whole team.”
WATCH: Inside Training - From Flight to Field in Orlando
On Youth…
“I’m very comfortable to play with the young players because I’m used to working in that way in Barcelona and many teams. For me it’s very important to play with the homegrown players.
We are a young, young team and a young, young club. The most important thing is to improve every single day every single year. When you play with these young players, you will make a future.”
On Alex Ring (C)…
“Ringy is a very important player for us. The rest of the team have confidence with him. You know how important he is for us. When I decide to play three in the back he can play there, the most important thing for us is we have the right captain and a player who can play in different positions.”
PHOTOS: Leg Two Kicks Off in Orlando
On Alexandru Mitriță…
“It’s not about Mitriță replacing David Villa… we have to replace David with two or three players. Maxi, Jesus, Taty, and Ismael, I think they are able to score many, many goals for us. Mitri can play really well. He has the quality to play in the left side, the number 10, even the false 9. He has quality to play with us and he score many goals last year in Romania.”
On Joe Scally…
“I’m impressed with the last two games. Maybe the people didn’t know that we played the current champions in Denmark and in Sweden. These kind of teams play in the Champions League and the Europa League and Joe played amazing. Joe will be playing in the first team, I’m sure he can help us a lot in this year. He has to improve of course because he is a young player, but he has focus all the time and the most importantly I think, he wants to improve. When a player is motivated to improve it’s much better for everybody.”
On Strikers…
“Taty can play like a striker, even Jesus, but it’s not the typical striker, you know. It’s better for us when we have two different strikers, different qualities. I’m waiting two or three days, then maybe we have the solution. The best option for us is to be persistent and try to find the right players. That is the reason why we are in the moment finding the right player to join with us.”
On James Sands…
“About James I’m very happy. I like this player – he reminds me of the young players that I used to work with in Barcelona. I think about Jimmy, he has more opportunities to play this year, right now he’s much better. He’s a player I like a lot. He can play as a center back but I think he plays much better with us as a double 6 or alone as the holding midfielder. That is our future for, not the next year, not for Dome, but for New York City Football Club.”
On Season 5 and Beyond…
“Everybody knows we have 6 to 7 new players and the club is new in MLS, just 5 years. We decide to sign young players who we want to stay with us and have the desire to play with New York City Football Club. This is the most important thing. The MLS is getting better. We need the players who want to come to play in MLS, not who want to retire here. It’s a big mistake if you think about that. I don’t think about my future. I’d like to stay here many, many years, but in soccer, it’s about the result. I came to MLS and to New York City to try and improve this team and to be happy. I’m happy when we play much better and are getting better, and we are growing up. This is the most important for me. The most important thing is that the club explains to our supporters, and Claudio did it, Claudio did it really well, the difference about the last 2-3 years and this year. Believe me when I say I’m confident this year, I’m happy.”
