25 April 2007, by Marco Pereira

Barreto walks away from Naval

Clash of ideas with board dictates coach’s departure

Mariano Barreto has stepped down as head coach of Naval, becoming the 15th coaching casualty this season. Barreto is the second coach in a week who has left his position vacant after Carlos Brito was sacked last week by Nacional.

Barreto joined the club in the winter transfer window, leaving his post as assistant coach at Dinamo Moscow to take the reins at Naval. The reason for the Portuguese’s resignation stemmed from a difference in ideals between the coach and the club’s board, with Barreto wanting to give home-grown youngsters more of a chance.

Barreto held a press conference explaining his reasons for leaving and it appears that the board interfered with the coach’s selection of the squad.

“I arrived at Naval with 17 points and now I leave with 31 points, with the objective to stay in the top flight achieved with 8 games to go.”

Giving youth a chance

“I continued to think that it was worthwhile selecting Portuguese junior players, and I am not afraid to promote some of them to train with the senior players.”

“I will continue to defend that Portuguese juniors must have priority in relation to those who come from Serie C or from regional leagues in other countries. I believe there should not be any pressures to dissuade me from my convictions.”

Barreto went on to explain that he did not have any bias against players of other nationalities and that he always selected what he considered the best team each week, regardless of nationality. But his persistence at wanting to have a better look at the club’s youth system threatened some players.

The Portuguese tactician confessed that it was a matter of principal. Assistant coach Fernando Mira will take the helm on a temporary basis. Mira was also interim coach before Barreto arrived after Rogerio Goncalves left for Sporting Braga.