The long career of Luis Castro started in the fourth division of Portugal and has seen him rise into one of the most accomplished coaches in world football. Football has taken the Portuguese to four different countries and won trophies in all four.
He was the first man to win the second level of Portugal with a B team, finished sixth with small Chaves and took Vitoria Guimaraes to Europe. Castro then won the title in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk before he started a new adventure in South America.
When he left Botafogo in 2023, the Brazilian club was clearly at the top of the table and he ended that calendar year as a coach with the most victories in world football in the past 12 months – there were 51 of them, four free from Pep Guardiola.
All this is a fairly long -winded way to say that for all this, Castro now knows the first question that comes on its way. That's because his most recent appointment in Saudi Aarabia was with all Nassr. So, what exactly are it like to coach Cristiano Ronaldo?
“Very easy,” Castro tells Sky Sports. “Working with the best in the world is really pleasant. Cristiano has very ingrained routines, a strong training culture and a lot of respect for the exercise and for the game itself. That makes daily work much easier.”
Al Nassr won the Arab club Champions Cup under Castro, the victory that comes after extra time thanks to two goals by you know who. In total, Ronaldo scored 55 goals in 55 games under his management. “We have shared a number of great moments together.”
Does Castro have some special insight into what it is like that Ronaldo remains Pummel goals for club and country, even after he has turned 40? “What distinguished his separately is what happens before and after training – the so -called 'invisible training' that he does,” he explains.
“His behavior is all tailored to sports performance – his diet, his sleep and his recovery. He is a person who is deeply concerned with good food, good sleep and preparing his body well. In my opinion, this is clear where Cristiano's long service life comes from.”
Has it inspired others? “Of course,” he replies. “Every positive example helps us to grow. Our parents, our friends.” Did he also learn from Ronaldo? “Coaches learn from players. Everyone who thinks they know that everything gets stuck. It is a very limiting mindset.”
Given that Erik Ten Hag saw no role for Ronaldo at Manchester United, partly because of the inability of the player or unwillingness to press from the front, they wonders what exactly he makes of that decision. “We look at every player and we adjust things,” he explains.
“We adapt according to their identity. That is exactly what I do – with Cristiano and with everyone else. That is my duty as a leader, as a coach. Our task means that we have to look at the group of players and get the most out of them as a team. I don't doubt it.
“That is why we have to find a system that improves the players we have. I can't stand rigid with a tactical system and refuse to change. I can't just go to the end with my idea, whatever happens, because that would lead to failure and disaster.”
It is interesting to hear a coach of such experience talking about the need to adjust his ideas. At the age of 63, Castro still makes those adjustments – because the game requires it. “Football has evolved and not just the tactical systems,” he acknowledges.
“Science is intertwined with the game. The media are much more active. The representation of the players has changed. Coaching staff has increased considerably in number and their expertise. We all have to adapt to this evolution.
“The intensity has increased, which has forced us to change our training methods and to concentrate more on the recovery of players. We had to evolve in the tools we use and be much more extensive and well informed about everything that surrounds us.
“A coach must now be much more strategic. In the past, coaches can be known for their tactical system. Nowadays I have to give my team the versatility to understand multiple systems, to make faster decisions because there is less and less room for hesitation.
“Nowadays it is about reading the game, solving situations. We make exercises to tackle these tactical changes and to respond to the tactical shifts during a game, to overcome those challenges of the opponent and to bring the opposition into difficulty.”
According to Castro, this means a big change in the way coaches should approach football. “Training sessions are now much richer. There has been a radical shift in how we look at training and how we prepare players for the different phases of a game.”
Some developments that he is not so fond of. He spoke about how young people are more focused on the individual than on the team, but he does not stop suggesting that it is a problem. “It requires constant memories of what teamwork should be,” he says.
“But through good communication, the players always understand the Teampad and as a coach we also follow that the individualistic players remain assets. It is the coach's task to connect them with the team.”
The appetite remains – Castro describes that as “fantastic” – and Portuguese coaches prove better than most. There are currently three of them in the Premier League – Ruben Amorim, Nuno Espirito Santo and Marco Silva.
“The Premier League is the largest showcase in world football. It is the best competition in the world and has the best professionals who work in it, so I have no doubt that if they are there, it is because they are of excellent quality, take a successful way to get there.
“I don't really like to distinguish coaches through nationality, because quality has no nationality. But I can talk about our coaching school because it has been successful to perfectly combine scientific knowledge, academic background and the other experiences of football.
“Many of our Portuguese coaches worked in academies, who helped us to understand younger players – development programs, methods and all factors that form the identity of a player. It's about how we bring individual talent to the team's service.”
A lesson that Luis Castro learned with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sky Sports to show 215 Live PL games next season
From next season, the Premier League coverage of Sky Sports will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games that are exclusively live.
And 80 percent of all Premier League matches broadcast on television will be on Sky Sports next season.