João Costa: talisman for the B team, inspiration at FC Porto | OneFootball

João Brandão, coach of the B team, has known the player for over ten years and reminded the squad of the goalkeeper's inspiring speech during his introduction, when he emphasized the need for a “sense of responsibility to represent FC Porto” and assured that he would bring “a culture of work, leadership, and energy,” not forgetting the struggle to overcome two serious injuries to reach his current level. Before the debut against Marítimo, the coach asked Costa to speak to his teammates, in a speech that reinforced the club's behavioral principles. On the field, the benefits are evident: from the technical quality to the experience of number 24, which translates into a more mature game management.

The professionalism, dedication, passion for Porto, and competitiveness of the goalkeeper are recognized and widely respected by everyone at the club—from the youngest to the staff and main team colleagues—developing, in this context, a solid relationship with his fellow sector players, Cláudio Ramos and Diogo Costa, with whom he has already shared training. Number 99 is the starter, and Cláudio Ramos has been an option in cup competitions, but João Costa's performance in training has been high, as recently highlighted by Francesco Farioli, who also considers him one of the group's leaders. In fact, all of João Costa's games for the B team had the presence of the main technical team. In short, this was exactly what André Villas-Boas and Jorge Costa wanted.

From Utrecht to Minho via Chaves

Farioli never left João Costa out of the call-ups, which led the goalkeeper to play with pleasure. In November, he was involved in three matches within 72 hours: he was present in Utrecht for the Europa League on November 6th (Thursday), defended the goal for FC Porto B in Chaves on Saturday, and was called up for the game against Famalicão in the Primeira Liga on Sunday. More recently, he participated in the match at Estádio do Mar, contributing to the 4-2 victory, and immediately joined the main team's training camp before the trip to Tondela.

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