Tradition keeps André Villas-Boas and Rui Costa apart in the derby | OneFootball

Rui Costa and André Villas-Boas will once again watch the classic match separately, as has been the case since the election of the FC Porto president in April 2024. It is not as tense as the situation between Villas-Boas and Frederico Varandas; according to the Porto leader, it was the opponent himself who determined this situation.

“I was elected president and my first game was a Benfica-FC Porto match, and I was assigned a different seat than I expected. From then on, I reciprocated in the same way. It’s not about any antipathy towards Rui Costa, but after my election, I was assigned the 6th or 7th row at Estádio da Luz, and FC Porto reciprocated with the 3rd row,” explained André Villas-Boas recently, adding that “there is still not total respect” for them to sit side by side.

In recent months, there have been exchanges of barbs between the presidents of Benfica and FC Porto. In October, after the Dragons' leader commented on the Eagles' players' salaries, Rui Costa accused him of lying; about a month later, the Porto leader claimed that the leader of the Reds “has been in Sporting's pocket for a long time.” Rui Costa considered this statement “abnormal” and interpreted it as an attempt by Villas-Boas to “divert attention” from the episode with the camera in Fábio Veríssimo's goal.

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