Former Pirates coach bags coaching job with Finland
Former Orlando Pirates assistant coach Sergio Almenara has bagged a coaching gig with the Finland national team, marking an exciting new chapter in his career.
Almenara parted ways with the Buccaneers at the end of the 2023/24 Betway Premiership season after requesting to step down from his position. At the time, he said his family struggled to integrate into the country.
The 44-year-old arrived in South Africa in 2022 with Pirates’ head coach Jose Riveiro to serve as the first assistant coach alongside Mandla Ncikazi.
During his stint with the Soweto giants for two seasons, Almenara won two MTN8 trophies and two Nedbank Cup titles.
In a shocking move shortly after Pirates defeated Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final in June 2024, the club announced that the Spanish coach requested to leave.
In January 2025, Almenara rejoined his former club, FC Inter Turku, in Finland, where he also served as assistant coach to Riveiro before the duo joined Pirates.
SERGIO ALMENARA GIVES DETAILS ON HIS NEW JOB
Almenara was appointed as the Head of Scouting at FC Turku. However, he has now joined Finland after spending only three months with his previous team.
The Finnish senior men’s team announced the arrival of the tactician as the set piece coach to assist head coach Markku Kanerva.
“I didn’t have the same title in my previous clubs – I was an assistant coach responsible for special situations and other things,” Almenara explained.
“It’s just a title. We build the principles and structures of special situations together with the head coach and goalkeeper coach. This way, we can be efficient and quick in implementing special situation-related matters.
“Special situations are often understood to mean mainly corner kicks and free kicks, but in practice, all ‘dead ball’ situations, where the ball is returned to play, fall under this term. The special situation coach has plenty of work to do.
“We are now focusing on attacking and defensive corner kicks and side free kicks, as they can harm both teams the most. We will also focus on side throws, kickoffs, and free kicks from different parts of the field.
“Some coaches consider goal kicks special situations, while others may see it as a game-opening phase. It’s a bit of a grey area, and it depends on the coaching team.”
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