Álvaro Djaló was one of Sp. Braga's highlights during this season. The player, who has a dual Spanish and Guinean passport, was sold to Athletic Club during this season, for 15 million euros. Sp. Braga may still receive another 5.5 million in objectives, in a sale that is among the top-5 most significant in the club's history.

Djaló arrived at the Minho club in 2017, coming from the modest Begoña, from the Basque Country, and slowly established himself at the club, from the junior team, going through the under-23 team, B, and finally the main team. Gabriel Silva, Trofense's assistant coach, witnessed Djaló's first steps at Braga, as a physical trainer for the juniors, in 2017-18.

"Considering his position, it is not difficult to reach these values. He had some characteristics that set him apart. Players who solve games are better paid," he begins by saying, in an exclusive interview with Desporto ao Minuto.

In addition to Djaló, Vitinha, David Carmo or Francisco Moura were part of that team. "My time there was short because I had the opportunity to go to Boavista with Jorge Simão. But I had the opportunity to train with these players. What I highlight, besides the quality they already showed, were some things that set them apart. A strong personality. They already knew what they wanted. They had a very professional, adult way of being, which led us to believe that they would get to where they got to," explains Gabriel Silva.

Jorge Simão is a confident coach, who delegates trust in his technical teamThe aforementioned invitation from Jorge Simão, who recently returned to Boavista, was a surprise for the young coach, 31 years old. "He knew my work at Sp. Braga, from my work as a student, at the university. He needed someone for specific functions - training control, periodization. He liked my way of being at the time. I wasn't expecting it at all, it was sudden. Then, yes, I had the possibility to take that step towards professional football," he says.  

In the space of a year, Gabriel Silva made a leap from the juniors of Esmoriz, passing through Braga, with the last stop at Bessa, in the I League. He had already been an assistant in the juniors of Lusitânia Lourosa, Leixões and Grijó, now he had other responsibilities.

"It was a possibility to work in a slightly different function, in this case as a periodist, physical recovery, but it was an opportunity to work with a professional structure, with high-level players. That's why I decided to change functions a little but to be closer to what professional football was," he explains.  

The first impact at Bessa was remarkable for Gabriel Silva. "At the time I was 24 years old. I was a physical trainer and, in the first training session I conducted, I still had very little contact with Jorge Simão. With the players, zero. But he gave me complete autonomy to conduct the recovery training with the players who had just beaten Benfica the day before [2-1, at Bessa]," in a game that was marked in the Benfica memory by a 'chicken' from Bruno Varela. 

Therefore, Jorge Simão deserves praise from Gabriel Silva. "Only then, was that impact of realizing what a confident coach is, who delegates trust in his technical team. A way of being different from what we had in training. I have taken that experience to this day," he concludes.

Read Also: Jorge Simão: "I'm returning to Boavista because I'm crazy. Crazy about football" (Portuguese version)