Gonçalo Alves on three missed pens: ‘30 years at this… I’m sorry’ | OneFootball

Gonçalo Alves faced up to a bitter night, with the elimination still fresh and the weight of three missed set pieces marking every word. The player spoke to the fans, took individual responsibility and framed the defeat with a promise to come back stronger. At the heart of it all was one direct and disarming sentence: “I also want to apologise to my team.”

Looking back on a home farewell that was far from what had been wanted, Gonçalo Alves left a message of frustration, but also of commitment to the future. It was the speech of someone who did not hide behind the context of the tie or the quality of the opposition, preferring instead to expose the wound and look the next season straight in the eye. There was accepted blame, recognition of the support from the stands and the conviction that the return will have to live up to the club.

When he turned his attention to the fans, the tone mixed gratitude and disappointment. Gonçalo Alves wanted to speak directly to those who had pushed the team on throughout the season and did not hide his sorrow at the outcome of the tie.

“They were tireless throughout the whole year, they helped us in so many moments. We didn’t want this outcome, we absolutely didn’t want to go out with a home defeat, we didn’t want to lose this tie,” he said. “We didn’t start the tie well, and today wasn’t a good day either. Now unfortunately we’re going to have to rest, but next year we’ll be back and we’ll be back to win titles, because every day we walk into this club it is to work well, to win. Next year we’ll win again, I’m sure of it, we have an excellent team and I’m sure we’ll win again.”

More than a reaction in the heat of the moment, the statement laid bare the internal demand of someone who measures everything by victory. In his words, the home defeat and the exit from the tie appear as a collective failure that is hard to accept, but not as the end. The idea of starting again appeared immediately, tied to the obligation to win again.

On what he found on the other side, Gonçalo Alves was clear and acknowledged the value of the opposing goalkeeper, without using that as a shield for his own team’s performance. His reading of the match and the tie was blunt, with the sense that FC Porto were always chasing the game.

“Xano Edo is a great goalkeeper. We didn’t play a good match,” he said. “The first game comes down to two minutes of inferiority and it’s cruel. Today we were always chasing the game and couldn’t do any more. We tried everything, we gave everything on the court.”

There is a clear attempt here to explain the outcome without easing internal responsibility. Gonçalo Alves acknowledged the opponent’s merit, but placed the main focus on Porto’s inability to control the tie and turn the match around. It was an admission of insufficiency, not an escape into external excuses.

In the most exposed moment of his comments, the player spoke about the missed set pieces and took on the weight of a night that went against him. At that point, the statement took on an almost confessional tone, with the experience of many years colliding head-on with a day when nothing went as expected.

“Unfortunately, from three set pieces I couldn’t score a single goal. I’ve been practising this every day for 30 years and it just wasn’t a good day,” he admitted. “I also want to apologise to my team, who weren’t able to play in the best way. Now it’s about cooling our heads and looking at next season, because we’re going to fight again, come back stronger and next year there will be titles for us to win.”

It was the harshest line and, at the same time, the most revealing. Gonçalo Alves did not take refuge in statistics, bad luck or the noise of the moment: he apologised and immediately looked ahead. Between the wound of elimination and the promise to return, what remained was the picture of responsibility assumed out loud.

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