After being an assistant to, among others, José Peseiro, Alexandre Santos, 49, began his career as head coach at Real SC, with stints also at Alverca.

"It is a great goal of my career that, fortunately, at this moment it was possible to achieve," said the new 'helmsman', who signed a contract valid until the end of the season, in a press conference at the Madeira Stadium, in Funchal.

The replacement for João Gião, who led the team in the first four rounds of the championship, with one win, one draw and two losses, said he was "very satisfied with the opportunity" to now be able to work at a "historic club" and with a "remarkable president" like Rui Alves.

"It's another step in my career, which is already long, but I hadn't yet reached the First Division as head coach. And that's a landmark moment for any coach," he noted.

Credits: Facebook; Author: Clube Desportivo Nacional;

Still under the interim management of the junior team coach, Bruno Abreu, Nacional lost in the last round against Sporting, 2-0, a result that doesn't serve to draw any major conclusions, as playing at the José Alvalade Stadium "isn't easy for anyone," according to Alexandre Santos.

The former assistant to Peseiro will not make any 'revolution' in his first days of work, intending to build a team that knows how to defend in a "very compact block" and, at the same time, is "capable of creating offensive dynamics."

Also present at the ceremony, president Rui Alves lamented that Alexandre Santos' arrival came "five rounds late," at a time when the Madeira team occupies 12th place with four points.

Asked about the reasons for Gião's departure, the leader of the 'black and whites' explained that he simply "did not believe in the work process," adding that he is not "dependent on sporting results to make decisions," he reinforced.