Trionfini, former Unión coordinator, lands role with 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, made his debut 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 held 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. The team fulfilled several objectives of the plan and in others it was clear that the path is being traveled so that they can be achieved soon. Now it’s time to analyze and evaluate, but without a doubt knowing that we are growing and taking 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. At the end of his tenure, a statistical fact that everyone praised emerged: Unión fielded 7 starting players from the 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 the 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 a comprehensive 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, the club’s residence library was founded and priority was given to the 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 transparent. There was no relationship between agents or representatives and the Club’s Coordination, and the ongoing struggle was for each player to have their place in the first team. When he left, on his personal Instagram, Emanuel Britez—then captain of Unión’s professional squad—wrote on a black background: “We let go the best Coordinator in Unión’s history.”

During the Trionfini era, the youngest debut in history occurred with Nico Andereggen, the reserve team revolution emerged with a youth team training alongside the First Division. Three players went to the U15 National Team, Marcos Peano was a starter at the U17 World Cup in Chile, and Mauricio “Caramelo” Martínez went to the Olympics. At that time, the club always qualified for the Championship Zone, where the top four from each group advanced.

The kid’s dream. For any coach, coordinator, or fitness trainer, joining 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 for the Dominican Republic? “In February 2018, I came to the Dominican Republic. It was a project by a private individual, Alexis Pion, a powerful businessman from Santo Domingo, who had the idea of building a football club from scratch, with the standards of other countries: a pitch with synthetic grass and state-of-the-art lighting; gym; rehabilitation rooms; video rooms; store; 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 sports component as its core. That’s where I came in, contacted by an Argentine involved in football and living here (Luis “Tata” Flores), and it 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 up, 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 as it sounds…,” Ale explained to El Litoral.

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