Trionfini, former Unión coordinator, joins a FIFA national team | OneFootball

Alejandro Trionfini, who served for three years —from 2014 to 2017— as the coach and general coordinator of all the youth divisions of Club Atlético Unión, debuted just a few days ago as part of the technical staff of a FIFA national team: in this case, the Dominican Republic. His debut was against Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay, a South American powerhouse, in a friendly match played in Malaysia.

“A night with a bitter taste because of the result but with good feelings last night at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A team that achieved several objectives of the plan and others where it was clear that the path is being followed so that they will be achieved soon. Now it's time to analyze and evaluate, but without a doubt knowing that we are growing and that these are big steps towards a promising future. Go Dominican Republic,” wrote Alejandro Trionfini himself on his social media. Afterwards, he posted a photo with Marcelo Bielsa, since “El Loco” was the coach of the Uruguay National Team in this international match.

With “El Loco” Bielsa. After the friendly between the Dominican Republic and Uruguay at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Alejandro Trionfini shared a conversation with Marcelo Bielsa.

Without a doubt, a step forward for “Ale” in his football career. Alejandro Trionfini was the general coordinator of youth football at Unión from January 2014 to January 2017. Towards the end of his tenure, a statistical fact that everyone praised emerged: Unión fielded 7 starting players from its youth divisions, and 4 substitutes in the First Division. The club went from being a buyer to being a developer/seller.

In December 2016, the AFA awarded the Fair Play prize to Unión’s youth divisions. In addition, he was the creator and organizer of the Pre AFA Tournament, which allows the three categories prior to AFA to play a tournament, significantly reducing the impact of moving from AFA to the League.

During the Trionfini era, Alejandro personally traveled much of the country, carrying the club’s flag and establishing relationships that made it possible to bring in players, many of whom he personally recruited (such as Calderón, Tablada, Mariano Gómez), frequent friendlies with youth national teams, and praise from national football figures for the work being done in the youth divisions.

During that time —2014 to 2017— the club held annual training sessions for coaches and football staff each year, showcasing the “Unión Model.”

“There was an integrated group that was part of the daily program for each category (each division trained four hours a day), with psychologists, social workers, nutritionists, doctors, double positional training sessions, and a preventive exercise program, something that at that time reduced injuries in the youth divisions by 70 percent,” he recalls in an interview with El Litoral.

In those years, a library was founded in the club’s residence and priority was given to players’ studies: for two years, no player in the residence failed any subjects. Attending First Division matches was part of the training, workshops on the club’s history were held; the relationship with the professional coaching staff was direct and open. There was zero relationship between agents or representatives and the Club’s Coordination, and the ongoing struggle was to ensure each player had their chance in the first team. When he left, on his personal Instagram, Emanuel Britez —captain of Unión’s professional squad at the time— wrote on a black background: “We let go of the best Coordinator in Unión’s history.”

During the Trionfini era, the youngest debut in history took place with Nico Andereggen, the reserve team revolution happened with a youth team training alongside the First Division. Three players went to the U-15 National Team, Marcos Peano was a starter at the U-17 World Cup in Chile, and Mauricio “Caramelo” Martínez went to the Olympics. In those times, the team always qualified for the Championship Zone, where the top four from each group advanced.

A boy’s dream. For any coach, coordinator, or fitness trainer, reaching a FIFA National Team is a dream. For Alejandro Trionfini from Esperanza, that dream came true: he is part of the technical staff of the Dominican Republic National Team.

When and how did Alejandro Trionfini’s exile begin, now part of the FIFA technical staff of the Dominican Republic? “In February 2018, I came to the Dominican Republic. It was a private project, Alexis Pion, a powerful businessman from Santo Domingo, had the idea of creating a football club from scratch, with the demands of other countries: a pitch with synthetic grass and state-of-the-art lighting; gym; rehabilitation rooms; video rooms; shop; cafeteria and dining room; locker rooms, stands… everything top notch. The goal was that those seeking a higher level of facilities wouldn’t have to go to Europe or the United States. That project needed the sporting aspect as its core. That’s where I came in, we were contacted by an Argentine who works in football and lives here (Luis “Tata” Flores), and that ended with the owner of the facilities hiring me in Argentina at the end of 2017. The offer was to build a club, from the youth level, with a work philosophy and style of play. Everything from scratch, my way and with my convictions. Obviously, this appealed to me: in March 2018 we started with just one player… just like that…,” Ale explained to El Litoral.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.