York United’s new head coach Benjamín Mora met with media for the first time on Tuesday during a press conference held at York Lions Stadium.

Mora, who was joined by York United President Ricardo Pasquel, and Sporting Director Jorge Villalpando, spoke at length about why he took this position, the potential he believes is within this club and roster, how he expects the team to play, developing young Canadian players and plenty more.

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Here are the highlights from his introductory press conference:

Mora on what drew him to take this position

“I knew it was a good environment, a good league that was starting to grow and needed expansion. And of course, I knew there were Mexicans here trying to do something nice for football, with a lot of passion, and that brought me to watch the league even more and study the competition, how it works, how many teams, how they play and of course, having in mind that we are very, very close to MLS, like a good league that has been expanding. I guess the Canadian League is on that way, and I’m happy to be here.”

Ricardo Pasquel on why Mora was the right man for the job

“It was a very long, exhaustive process. It may not have been long days, but many hours. When we decided we needed a change, Jorge led the process. We created a list of things that we needed, a new coach that we were looking for, and it was a long list. And then we started interviewing people, talking to people in the soccer landscape in North America, and I can tell you, Benjamín was at the top of everybody’s list…I can assure you that the first interview we did with Benja, we knew he was the guy. So just a matter of time, conversations and more conversations, and we got him. We’re very happy and very enthusiastic that he’s here with us. And not just good for York United, it’s also very good for the CPL to have a person and a character like him.”

Mora on his footballing philosophy and how he wants the team to play

“The philosophy is, of course, trying to win games based on a game of ball possession. There’s a lot of things that I can say about my philosophy or the philosophy that I would like to implement. I’m starting to get to know the players, their characteristics that we can use…I’m really intense. I like intensity. I like my team to press. We’ll try to press very strong. We’ll try to base our football in possession, in position, in association. We’ll try to have patterns of play that can help us to develop our game and have good functionality in attack and defence.

“I want to control the game. I want my team to control the game. We are going to work very hard to make that possible in every game we play versus whoever we play.”

Ricardo Pasquel on the team’s current roster

“I’ve said this since day one, and I truly believe we have the best roster in the league. I think it’s up to us now, to Benjamín and Jorge to identify those strengths of players and maximize them. Benjamín said something today very true at the locker room, every player needs to play with confidence in order to give their best, and it’s Benjamin’s job to get that out of the players so they feel more comfortable.”

Mora on what it takes to build a winning culture

“A culture is built by habits, by patterns of behaviour. It’s a daily basis work on how you think, how you feel, and how your emotions can dictate your actions. So this is a build-up from the bottom to the top to end up knowing that we need to create the culture of winning, but not only winning games, winning championships and winning a lot of things that I am used to win. I like it, I am looking for trophies everywhere I go now, it’s going to be here, and I’m not going to rest until we make it. We are rich in talent, but we need to make a team that works together, teamwork, all running, all doing their job, putting their service for the team not individually. And when we do that, I think we’re gonna be in the path of a winning team, and that will create that culture that we want. That winning mentality.”

Ricardo Pasquel on Mauro Eustáquio’s future with the club

“Mauro, Camilo and Fabio, they will remain as assistant coaches. We were very clear with Mauro, He was since day one when we told him up to the challenge. When we told him about Benjamín maybe a week or so ago he was very enthusiastic. He’s been speaking daily with Benja about the roster, about what he thinks. We hope to continue that way down the road for the year, and hopefully many years more.”

Mora on developing young talent

“I come from a country where there is culturally a history of development in different clubs, right? So I’m going to try to implement some of the knowledge I have on the development process, having in mind that we need to look into the concepts of play, the principles of play, individual and collective, tactical principles, a lot of things that the players must know before they go into competition. I’ve been a coach since a long time ago, [working] with kids under five, seven or nine, a long time ago. So all that process, I know how to implement it. I am a young coach with experience, and that takes me to a place that I can understand the new generations.”