South United Football Club unveils Spaniard Miquel Llado as coach

Bengaluru, October 20: Bengaluru's rising football club, South United Football Club (SUFC), on Saturday unveiled their new head coach, Miquel Llado - on the eve of the BDFA Super Division 2018-19 season.

The 29-year-old Llado arrives with vast experience in spanish football and youth development in Indian football. This marks a progressive step towards South United FC's vision to usher in a revolution in talent development and footballing DNA in India.

The new leadership at the helm of South United FC has embarked on a long-term plan for youth development and footballing excellence in India. Outlining this vision, Sharan Parikh, Director, South United FC, said, "At SUFC, we are trying to build on a solid foundation that our predecessors have left us. Indian football is beginning to see tangible results and we aim to be the catalyst to accelerate it further. Helping young Indian footballers is key and Miquel's role is going to be quite critical.

"His experience, both internationally and domestically, are vital to our club who are focused on youth development. Moreover, he also brings a very exciting playing style and we want to prove that Indian footballers can achieve mastery over it."

South United FC's new head coach has played at multiple levels within a professional set-up at Junior FC in Spain. He made an early jump into coaching with Junior FC's bitter rivals Sant Cugat FC, where he coached the U16 and U19 teams in a period of 3 years. During those years he also acquired a Spanish Level 2 coaching license. In 2014, he arrived in India to create the Anantpur Sports Academy, which he has nurtured into an AIFF accredited 3-star football academy.

Speaking on the eve of his new challenge, Miquel added, "Indian football has been one of the most challenging yet satisfying chapters of my career so far. My experience in youth football in India has made me acutely aware that the gap lies not in footballing potential but the right approach to development and the access to the correct information. I see the right mix of elements in South United Football Club's long-term vision and plan to uplift Indian football, this made it an easy decision to make."

SUFC are putting together a well-rounded team across the management, coaching, and sports science among other areas, in line with their long-term commitment to honing India's next generation of footballers.