“João Afonso could start for FC Poto” | OneFootball

Rádio Renascença published, this Friday, a lengthy interview with Petit, in which the coach addressed several topics, including the departure of João Afonso, the goalkeeper whom ‘his’ Santa Clara transferred to FC Porto for 1.5 million euros, a fee that could rise to two million euros if certain targets are met.

“I see a calm kid, he plays very well with his feet, he is very composed and very reliable in the air, coming off his line, he gives the team peace of mind… He will make his mistakes, as everyone does, but I think he could be a future first-choice goalkeeper for FC Porto,” said the former Portugal international, emphatically.

“Besides working with the ten players on the field, which is my role, we also analyze the goalkeepers’ development very closely, so that the team can also play out from the back. We saw that we had a quality product there, that all we had to do was back him and we could believe he would be a solution for the future,” he continued.

“He had a good game against Nacional [2-0 win], and then the real test also came in the game against FC Porto [0-1 defeat], where he had two great games and ends up deserving it, because he is a quality kid, an Azorean, and I think he has a very bright future ahead of him,” he added.

Petit confirms he will stay at Santa Clara

In the same interview, Petit made it very clear that he intends to remain in charge of Santa Clara next season, 2026/27: “A major transformation is taking place, with a training center that already has two grass pitches and one synthetic pitch. A few more things still need to be put in place, and that is part of our idea, which is to have a calm season, increase the value of our assets, play good football and try to sell players, so that the club can continue to grow.”

“What we have discussed with the board is that there was a four-year cycle of many players who went down, then came back up and stayed here at Santa Clara for three or four years. These days it is not easy to have a squad in which 70% of the players stay for that long,” he reflected.

“We are trying to change things a little, bringing new blood into the team, young and Portuguese players who can also come to the island. We are going to build a young squad, with some experience in other players, for a calm campaign,” he concluded.

“A lot of people say I’m a defensive coach, but…”

On a personal level, the 49-year-old coach recalled that, despite the “difficult challenges” he has taken on, he has always managed to achieve “the final objective, which was survival” and “save teams,” so he downplays the label often attached to him regarding a preference for the defensive side of the game.

“To save teams you also need quality, and a lot of people say I’m a defensive coach, but when you are in last place, there is only one way, which is to win, otherwise you do not get out of that position. There is a label they put on us and that we sometimes try to change. I think I have already changed that label,” he said.

“I keep doing my job, I keep having difficult objectives and challenges, but I reach the end of the season and I manage to achieve them, I manage to increase the value of assets, and that is what satisfies me, that added value, always having work. If I stay idle for three or four months, they are already bothering me to go back to work,” he concluded, laughing.

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