From his childhood in Lisbon, to moving to the Midlands, Carlos De Azevedo has embedded himself as part of the Wolves staff, joining over six years ago.
He began his coaching with the boys’ under-13 team, progressing with them, as well as providing individual coaching. He has since worked with all age groups, before stepping up to work with the women’s team.
Midway through this season, Carlos was approached to become Dan McNamara’s assistant manager. Initially brought in for a few weeks, he adapted to the role well and has since remained with the women’s side.
“My role is to support Dan, but also be an extra voice for the management staff,” notes Carlos.
“Obviously I really enjoyed it, and the girls did as well. The feedback was positive, otherwise I probably wouldn’t still be doing the job!
“To be honest it is fantastic, and the level we play at is really good. The group of girls we have are really bright, and there is a good cohesion with the club.”
Prior to working with Wolves, Carlos was the assistant coach at Sutton Coldfield Town FC. He stayed at the club for just over four years and spent time developing the younger players to reach the first-team squad. His ability to coach all age groups allowed Carlos to adapt his personality, as he explains:
“Coaching men’s senior teams allowed me to be a little more stern, compared to dealing with development teams.
“Working with a first-team, you can drill in how important it is to get the three points, rather than brushing off a loss with less pressure. There are different levels to apply yourself to, but with the girls I can only speak highly of them.”
Both Carlos and Dan have a close working relationship, and tend to bounce ideas off each other, whilst also adhering to the club’s philosophy. Their playing style is the same, and they both stay aligned with the same values and goals.
“I think he is absolutely brilliant,” explains Carlos.
“I’d never worked with Dan before so I didn’t know what to expect, but I had only heard good things about him. He is really open with everything, and we have gelled really well. He’s a passionate person, and we both want the girls to benefit from what we do. The feedback we get is good, and that we all work together as a team.”
There have been plenty of highlight moments this season for players, staff, and fans to reflect on so far. Most notably for Carlos was the FA Cup fourth round tie against Reading, where goals from Beth Merrick and Destiney Toussaint set up the match against WSL side Brighton & Hove Albion last month.
“It showed how much we’ve grown as a team.” he reflects. “It wasn’t just about winning the game, but winning the way we did. And then in the next round to hold Brighton, a WSL team, until the 88th minute and nearly force extra-time. That in itself was a great moment to be a part of even though the result ended in a loss.
“I’m not sure if all of our girls knew but they had World Cup winners in that team, and you don’t play against those sorts of players and think you will brush them aside.
“We gave it everything that afternoon, and anyone there could sense that we’re improving over time.
“We are now developing a project on unit specifics for each position, and we are developing this to reach the top level. Hopefully soon we can reach those heights.”
