From Mourinho to Villas-Boas, Austrians are lucky charms for glory | OneFootball

Although the priority of the season is to reclaim the national championship title – which has eluded the blue and whites for three seasons – FC Porto also aspires to a consistent performance in the Europa League, preserving the international prestige reflected by the seven trophies that fill the club's museum.

Therefore, the Dragons aim to impress in the group stage of UEFA's second club competition and seek, this Thursday (20:00), to kick off the campaign with a victory in Austria against Salzburg. It will be the first clash between the two institutions, with the Portistas aware that encounters with Austrian teams in the past of the UEFA Cup/Europa League have brought them ultimate glory.

In the 2002/03 season, FC Porto, led by José Mourinho – now in charge of rival Benfica – eliminated Austria Vienna in both legs of the second round of the UEFA Cup, to lift the trophy in Seville six months later, in a memorable final against Celtic (3-2). In 2010/11, with André Villas-Boas as coach, it was Rapid Vienna that crossed the Dragons' path. The outcome remained the same: two victories, one of them in the snowfall at the historic Ernst-Happel Stadion (with a hat-trick from Falcao), and another triumph in May, by defeating SC Braga in Dublin.

The most recent clashes with Austrian opponents have followed this trend and helped to preserve the unbeaten record. The last duel dates back to November 26, 2013, when a draw (1-1) was registered against the well-known Austria Vienna, with Paulo Fonseca leading the Portistas in the Champions League group stage.

Two months earlier, also in the Austrian capital and against the same opponent, the Dragons had won 1-0, thanks to a solitary goal from Lucho González, who now forms part of Farioli's technical team.

It is impossible to discuss FC Porto's remarkable European journey without going back to May 27, 1987, in Austria. In Vienna, at the Prater (renamed Ernst-Happel in 1992), the club achieved its first international trophy by defeating the mighty Bayern in the final of the European Champions Cup (2-1), on the night of Madjer's heel.

With this legacy and the positive memories on Austrian soil, Farioli's team intends to start the regular phase of the Europa League on the right foot, transferring to UEFA competitions the quality they have demonstrated domestically in the six matches already played and won.

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