A catch-up with Abel - Mozambique, Merseyside and more

Abel Xavier – who made 21 appearances for the club in 2002 – is preparing to take charge of his first game as head coach of the Mozambique national team.

Having taken over the job in January, he will begin his reign with an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana on Thursday.

And the 43-year-old has high hopes he can turn around the fortunes of a team positioned 100th in the FIFA world rankings.

The job he has undertaken is difficult, but one that does not faze Xavier, who is relishing the opportunity to lead the country of his birth.

The defender left Mozambique as a child due to the civil war taking place and when Europe opened its doors, his family made the move to Portugal.

Now he returns to his native home with the skills he picked up representing the likes of Liverpool, Roma, PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Portugal, along with management experience – having taken charge of a number of sides in the Portuguese lower leagues.

“It’s exciting because there is no money you can pay to get back to your born country as a national coach,” Xavier told Liverpoolfc.com.

“I think football gave a solution in my life and for that reason I’m back. It’s a privilege because it is my born country and people are really attached to this cause.

“I’ve been preparing for this [management] for a few years and I’ve played at big clubs and worked with big managers as well, so you take information and personalise it for yourself.

“When you’re a player and you have a successful career, you stay with a lot of information. I think if you have the capacity to communicate properly what you have learned in the process then you’re going to have a great impact on your players.

“This position is well-respected. It’s a big challenge because there are a lot of things to improve – the structure and organisation that needs to be in place.”

Xavier is fully aware of the task on his hands in taking charge of a nation that has never qualified for a World Cup but, despite this, he insists there is the footballing talent within the country to make the team successful.

“This is one of the things that really attracted me to the job,” he continued.

“[African footballers] grow up in very difficult conditions socially but I think if you give them [the] right conditions and the right approach mentally, African players, I believe, can play in any kind of country and in any kind of league.

“We have a lot of examples of recent years that African players are targets of big clubs because genetically they have so many abilities that they respond well to when they have the right information and that is what we are going to try to do.

“We need to help also by doing the right work to get these players towards a better life. I’m developing work that I believe will make my team and Mozambique more competitive.

“When you’re a manager, you need to have a lot of people surrounding you – important people and competent people to make things work. [If] you’re alone in football then you go nowhere and for that reason there is a common view [here] to do things right.”

The Os Mambas currently lie bottom of group H in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification stages, after losing their first two games against Rwanda and Mauritius.

Xavier’s first test will be facing the table-toppers away from home but he feels his side can compete with last year’s runners-up in the tournament.

“Of course, Ghana are one of the good teams in Africa, one of the best, and are well-respected because mainly all their players play in Europe,” he said.

“But I think we have an opportunity to win, [and] for that reason we have our chances.”

The distance between Liverpool and the south of Africa is well over 5,000 miles yet, even still, Xavier is recognised in Mozambique from his days playing for Liverpool.

It would be a similar story over here on Merseyside too, with Scousers spotting the unique bleach-blonde hair they became accustomed to during his spells with both clubs in the city.

Xavier is the most recent player to switch between Liverpool and Everton, after making the brave decision to move across Stanley Park in January 2002, joining the Reds for a small fee as a result of the limited time left on his contract and unsuccessful negotiations in arranging a new deal.

While hesitant at first, Xavier leapt at the opportunity to swap blue for red and his Liverpool career could not have started any better.

Despite not scoring once in his two years with our neighbours, it took just 16 minutes to open his account for the Reds, when he found the back of net on his debut against Ipswich Town.

His time at Anfield was to be short, though, being shipped out by Gerard Houllier just a year after joining. But Xavier retains fond memories of his stay at Anfield.

“It was a great time considering I came in from the rivals,” he said. “You need to have the free mind to make decisions and I did it.

“When I’m back in Liverpool, I’m well-respected by Evertonians and Reds, that is something that doesn’t happen often. It was satisfying in my mind when I played in the derby that I was not booed by the fans.

“I have a lot of respect for Liverpool [FC] because one thing is to be outside and speak about Liverpool and another thing is to have the opportunity to be inside – it’s a huge club.

“Particularly in the moment of Gerard Houllier, I think all that generation of players learned more than just football. We learned so much to play at the top level.

“With Gerard back with the team, the fact that we won titles and I was involved in the squad was very exciting.

“To play in the Champions League at Anfield, [I] miss the crowd singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. It’s something that if you are on the pitch then you will never forget.

“Liverpool, for me, was really special. I’m always following the teams where I’ve played. It’s natural to do because you care and you like these clubs to do well.”