“Organize to Win” is the name of the book written by Tiago Guadalupe from Loulé and Luís Estrela, launched last Tuesday at the Black Box in the Almancil Multipurpose Pavilion.
This is, according to the authors, “a work that promises to be a reference in the paradigm shift of leadership in sports organizations, not only in Portugal but throughout the world”.
Written by both authors, “Organizing to Win” is a manual of good practices, which proposes to equip sports organizations, in various modalities, taking into account parameters such as human resources, logistics, accounting, exercise books, leadership, communication, forms of procedures, transition plans, among others.
“Portugal has immense added value in terms of structure and technical skills, but from our perspective, in the areas of management and procedures, it has several gaps. This is the answer in terms of structure, methodology, logistics, technical and tactical development, individual and collective”, considered Luís Estrela, one of the authors of the book, former football and futsal player and coach, having served as technical coordinator of Benfica’s Futsal team.
Luís Estrela’s experience as an athlete and coordinator was combined with the professional know-how of the young Loulé native Tiago Guadalupe in terms of sports organization to embrace this project.
Sports technician for the Municipality of Loulé, Tiago has already published some works on these subjects, such as “Liderator – Excellence in Sport” (co-authored with Luís Lourenço), in addition to extensive experience in contact with international clubs and leading figures in football.
The undergraduate theses “Communication theories: José Mourinho, case study”, and the master’s theses, “Profile of
Psychological Performance and Cognitive Orientations – case study with international 11-a-side football players from Chelsea FC and SL Benfica”, allowed him, according to the Municipality of Loulé, to have contact with reference realities.
The author highlights the practical component and the participation of some “stars” in this work, such as Cafú, considered by many to be the best right-back in the history of football, Jesus Navas, captain of Sevilla FC, Diego Carlos, central defender of Aston Villa, Panny Varela, international Futsal player, Nuno Gomes, former player of Benfica, Fiorentina or Blackburn Rovers, among others, former captain of the national team and current director of the reds, who gave their testimony in this work.
“There’s nothing better than listening to experts. There’s a section of the book where we describe the technical, tactical and physical characteristics that a player must have to be successful, both in football and futsal. I thought it would be interesting to include this discourse in the book. It gives the book a practical feel and helps the reader in terms of reading”, stresses Tiago Guadalupe.
For the author, this was the opportunity to “question, research and learn a little more” about this subject, although initially, when this challenge was presented to him, he hesitated, as he has several works and projects in hand”.
Present at the book presentation session was the mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, who highlighted the added value of the book in terms of knowledge.
“This work proposes organizational plans, all of which are knowledge. Portugal has created so many football academies, for example, where everything is studied rigorously, with scientific support. Where there is no knowledge, there is no progress, no prosperity and no efficiency. I am certain that this is a very useful work tool. It is no coincidence that it has been translated into English, which is a very positive sign,” he said.
IPDJ director Custódio Moreno believes that the launch of “Organize to Win” came “at the right time.”
“The problem with sport is not with the athletes, it is not with the coaches, it is with the organisation. Sport needs to have leaders. Sport moves at two speeds: the technical side has evolved in recent years, but the leaders… We need to give skills to the people who are in charge of the clubs and that is what we have here in this project”, stated this official. On behalf of the Algarve Football Association, Albertino Galvão was present at the launch and mentioned that the delivery of this project to universities could be an added value for the Academy. “This is a very important tool for any project and for any club”, he declared.
“Organize to Win” will be on sale early next year.