NEW YORK — Welcome to Barcelona West – otherwise known as New York City FC.
NYCFC head coach Domènec Torrent has announced the completion of his coaching staff, and all four hires have ties to FC Barcelona.
Albert Puig and Jordi Gris are Torrent’s assistant coaches, while Francesc Cos and Ismael Camenforte are director of performance and head of performance, respectively. They join assistant coach Javier Perez and goalkeeping coach Rob Vartughian, who were retained from Patrick Vieira’s staff.
“The head coach is nothing without the staff,” Torrent said. “The most important thing are the players, and the second is the staff – the whole staff. Normally, the head coach is famous, but in many teams the hard work done by the rest of the staff.”
Puig is the former FC Barcelona Youth technical director and spent 11 years with the famed La Masia Academy, working with Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi along the way. He’s served as De Anza Force Soccer Club’s technical director since joining the Bay Area club in the summer of 2016.
“I feel like it will be a terrific experience because we are going with Doménec,” Puig said in a statement released Friday by the club. “He is a terrific coach, and we have shared many experiences throughout our time at Barcelona. I’m also excited because this is a big club that is already building in the same style and image of my experience at La Masia.”
Gris joins New York City FC after serving as assistant coach and director of youth football at Chennai City FC in India. He was a scout at FC Barcelona for the U-12 through U-23 teams and later became an analyst on Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Barcelona B and Manchester City.
Cos was head strength and conditioning coach from 2004 to 2016 at FC Barcelona. He has earned a PhD in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences and a Master’s degree in High Sport Performance from the University of Barcelona, where he has been working as a professor since 1993.
Camenforte, has served as the head physical trainer at Barcelona B for the past six years.
“My first goal is to adapt,” Camenforte said in the statement. “I hope to bring my knowledge of the Barcelona methodology, in which I worked with Domè, and I also hope to bring my knowledge of control and analysis, where I feel I’m an expert.”
Both Puig and Camenforte will be on the sideline for Sunday’s Hudson River Derby against the New York Red Bulls, while Gris and Cos await their visas.
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