Portuguese coach Roy Vitoria, coach of the Egyptian national team, sent several messages a few days before the start of his first camp with the “Pharaohs” during the coming period.
Roy Vitoria took over as coach of the Egyptian national team last July, succeeding Ehab Galal, who was sacked due to poor results.
Roy Vitoria announced the first list of Egypt’s national team, which included local players, in preparation for its first camp, which will start from 13 to 27 September 2022.
Vitoria held a press conference to announce the details of the upcoming camp and listen to journalists’ questions and inquiries about everything related to the Egyptian national team during the next stage.
A congratulatory message
Vitoria began the press conference with a congratulatory message to the Egyptian League clubs, after the end of the competition in the 2021-2022 season, on Tuesday evening.
Vitoria said: “I congratulate all the Egyptian teams that participated in the Egyptian league, which ended yesterday, and I congratulate the clubs for the effort and goals that have been achieved.”
He added, “I congratulate the clubs promoted to the Premier League in the new season, and I wish the best luck to the teams that have been relegated to the lower division.”
Egypt national team camp details
The Portuguese coach added: “We divided the camp into two periods, the first from 13 to 17 September, and the second from 19 to 27 September.”
He continued, “During the first camp, we will rely only on local players, and we were not able to call up professionals or participate in the African championships for local clubs.”
He continued, “For professional players outside Egypt, we will write to their clubs on September 4, and the names of the players participating with their clubs in the African Championships will be announced on the 17th of the same month.”
egypt vs argentina match
On the other hand, Roy Vitoria confirmed that Egypt will not face its Argentine counterpart in a friendly match, in order to play with teams at the same level.
The Portuguese coach said that Egypt will play two friendlies against Niger and Liberia on September 23 and 27.
He continued, “We were already planning to face Argentina, but it was important to choose teams from Africa, especially as we are targeting teams that are similar to the challenge period, because we will participate in the qualifiers for the African Nations in the next stage.”
The goal of the Egyptian national team camp
On the goal of the camp, Vitoria explained: “The purpose of the camp is to communicate and harmonize between the players and the technical staff and to get to know the players, because the player in the club is different from the national team.”
He continued, “We seek to give the players the necessary experiences to participate with the national team so that they are ready to be called up at any time, and we follow the players of all Egyptian clubs, and there is an opportunity for all players to show their capabilities.”
Mohamed Salah
And about the position of Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, for the Egyptian national team, Vitoria replied, saying: “All indications confirm that Mohamed Salah is close to the national team, there is nothing to prevent him from joining.”
And he continued: “The list started with 85 players and reached 45 players, before the final number reached 23 players. The radar for selecting players is the players’ technical and physical readiness.”
He stressed: “The door of the national team is not closed to anyone, every player has the opportunity to join the team.”
untapped capabilities
He continued: “Through my visit to the clubs, the Egyptian player has energy, but these abilities are not used optimally, and if they are used, we will find a better performance to show his abilities and capabilities.”
He stressed: “We have great potential and it is possible to appear better than the current situation. If we think that we are better, we can appear better, and this is what makes the players show less capabilities than they have.”
He stressed, “We did not include players because of their brilliance only, but our goal is to show their best.”
The Egyptian coach
Vitoria moved to talk about the position of the Egyptian coach in his assistant apparatus, saying: “I will not use an Egyptian or foreign coach just because I will bring him to the apparatus to comfort the audience.”
He added: “One of the most important qualities of the coach is the necessity of providing the addition to the national team, and that is the priority for us.”
He continued, “The most important criterion is the personal qualities of the coach, who I will work with, and the door is open to everyone, and we will discuss this with the Football Association in the coming period.”
Al-Ahly players
Vitoria revealed the reason for hiring the main Al-Ahly players, despite their distance from participating by a decision of the board of directors, saying: “Al-Ahly players have experience and played in the Egyptian national team during the last period.”
He added, “The last period was considered a period of recuperation and relaxation after their exhaustion in the season, and there should have been some kind of harmony between all the players, especially since some of them participate with the national team for the first time.”
And he concluded: “I hope you will help them at the level they were at and above, and I want to stand on the level and performance of all players, whether old or new.”