Duarte Cunha living “a dream that’s becoming reality” | OneFootball

At FC Porto’s pre-season camp in England, João Teixeira and Duarte Cunha are among the young players called up to work under the watchful eye of Francesco Farioli. The midfielder and the winger describe a first-team group ready to help them settle in, but also an environment of maximum demands, in line with the message delivered by André Villas-Boas at the start of training. João Teixeira summed up the mindset in place and assured: “everything we do is to win and give our all.”

At St. George’s Park, pre-season is also serving as a meeting point between generations. João Teixeira and Duarte Cunha, both products of the academy, are experiencing up close an opportunity that reflects the responsibility given to the more experienced players: to help the younger ones grow without lowering the competitive bar.

Asked about life with the first-team group, João Teixeira highlighted his teammates’ willingness to help and the culture he has found at the camp. In his words, integration is not just about adapting: it carries a clear sense of ambition.

“The players are also relaxed with us, they always try to help us and help us adapt in the best way. The mentality they try to instill in us is that everything we do is to win and give our all.”

The midfielder’s view matches the message that André Villas-Boas gave the group on the first day of pre-season. For the FC Porto president, the senior players have a decisive role in shaping the path of the younger ones.

“The senior players have a role to play with the academy. They must help these kids grow, help integrate them, because they are the future of our club and each of you has a greater responsibility in that journey,” the president told the group at the start of pre-season.

Alongside João Teixeira and Duarte Cunha, João Afonso, Granaas, Gonçalo Ribeiro, Gabriel Brás, Luís Gomes, Yoan Pereira, Tiago Silva, Mide, André Miranda and Eduardo Ferreira are also doing pre-season with the first team. The camp therefore brings together new signings and young players in an environment where every training session can count as an answer to the demands set by the club structure.

Duarte Cunha reinforced that idea when speaking about the advantages of working every day with more experienced players. The winger pointed to learning as one of the clearest benefits of being part of the group.

“We youngsters, by being here with this very strong group of players, learn a lot more.”

For the young players, contact with the first team comes as an opportunity for growth within a more intense environment. And that intensity is also the ground on which João Teixeira is trying to show he is ready.

A 20-year-old midfielder, João Teixeira had the B team as his main competitive stage in 2025/26 and also became an under-19 champion. Now, at the camp led by Francesco Farioli, he sees physical preparation as one of the foundations for making the most of the opportunity.

“When the demands are high, as they are in the first team, we are always prepared for whatever may happen during the season. The training sessions we had at the start helped us a lot to arrive here in good physical condition,” he said.

The midfielder is sharing the experience with other B-team teammates and is approaching the step up without getting carried away. The demands are greater, but that is precisely where he finds the measure of the preparation required.

Duarte Cunha, an 18-year-old winger, arrived at the camp after becoming an under-19 champion in 2025/26 and making a dozen appearances for the B team. For the youngster, the call-up to the first team makes real an ambition that had been growing throughout the season.

“Being here with the first team is a dream that is starting to become reality,” he said.

The winger acknowledged that the difference in context is huge, but stressed that he saw the toughness of the work as a natural part of the challenge. His confidence in the path he has taken and in the support of the coaching staff comes through clearly.

“Throughout the year I kept believing it was possible to be here in pre-season. I knew it was going to be very tough, but I also knew I was going to be ready,” he said. “The coach also helps a lot, the entire coaching staff helps a lot. And being in this context, which is the highest-level context in Portugal, we always end up benefiting greatly, both physically and mentally.”

Between the ambition of those arriving and the responsibility of those welcoming them, FC Porto’s pre-season is sending a consistent message: academy players are being called on to grow alongside the more experienced ones, but without shortcuts when it comes to the demands involved.

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