All of FC Porto’s staff rallied round Samu after his missed penalty | OneFootball

“The next penalty we get will once again be taken by Samu.” This assurance was given by Francesco Farioli in the press room at Viktoria Plzen’s stadium, just minutes after a match in which the forward ended up drenched in tears and apologizing to the team for missing his second consecutive penalty. If the penalty in Guimarães was made up for by Alan Varela and didn’t compromise the victory, Thursday’s could have significantly changed the scoreline – hence the visible frustration, quickly eased by teammates and the coaching staff, who do not foresee any significant short-term consequences for the striker, keeping him as the main penalty taker. Among his teammates, Samu received strong words of support to help him get through the moment and was “excused” from having to apologize.

Now in his second season with FC Porto, Samu has already experienced moments of frustration after missed shots or less fortunate decisions, an issue that has been worked on since Farioli’s arrival, reducing the frequency of such reactions. Even so, even in training, the Spaniard, who is very demanding of himself, doesn’t always control his nerves, sometimes showing discomfort during warm-up exercises, as the coach explained. This attitude is linked to the high expectations he sets for himself, the great responsibility he feels for the team, and his constant desire to score – a feeling that intensified after Luuk de Jong’s serious injury. This time, it was the entire “Portista family” who lifted the player up, encouraged him, and reminded him of the decisive goals he has scored, part of the 19 he has tallied in 30 games.

Samu has been improving his emotional control on the field and, off it, uses all available means to maintain a high level of performance.

It was surprising to see the forward in Plzen wearing sunglasses during the team’s nighttime walk on the pitch. The same image was seen when he arrived at the stadium before the game. These are not the models that allow you to listen to music or take calls, nor is it just a matter of “style,” but rather glasses with blue-light blocking lenses – which prevent the body from producing melatonin. Prescribed by the doctor, they help reduce fatigue and stress caused by screens and other light sources, also improving the sleep cycle, with positive effects on daily performance in training and matches.

The priority now is to support Samu in his emotional recovery, so that these two misses do not affect him and so that he can respond in the best way possible in the next match, against Gil Vicente.

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