“A story begins with new faces, but the same duty and ambition” | OneFootball

FC Porto B begin their Segunda Liga campaign against Lusitânia de Lourosa at the Estádio Municipal 25 de Abril in Penafiel (Monday, 6pm, Sport TV+), with João Brandão looking ahead to “a new season, a new page, a new story beginning with new characters, but with the same responsibility and the same ambition of those who represent FC Porto.” The Porto coach is sticking to the aim of “developing players while winning” and wants to “create a favourable environment, an environment of victories, of controlling the game and also of great responsibility at all times” from matchday one: “Last season is over, we are, as our president said very well, that team which has nothing and wants everything, and we are going after everything this season.”

A new story to write

“It is a new season, a new page, a new story beginning with new characters, but with the same responsibility and the same ambition of those who represent FC Porto. We want to bring a quality of play that reflects FC Porto’s history and help our players grow, but for that it is essential to create a favourable environment, an environment of victories, of controlling the game and also of great responsibility at all times, including in the more defensive moments and from set pieces, which in this Segunda Liga we know are extremely important.”

The opponent

“Lusitânia de Lourosa have made some changes compared to last season, starting with the coaching staff. They now have a coach I know and whose qualities I recognise, and the players’ profile is also in line with Ricardo Silva’s ideas. It is a more technical team, with greater quality in attack, not least because many of the players who are the pillars of the structure have remained, very experienced players with many minutes in professional football and in the Segunda Liga, such as Fabinho, Arsénio and João Silva. For all these reasons, I believe this will be a Lusitânia de Lourosa side that will always try to stay near the top of the table, and it is a team whose quality we fully recognise and that we have to face as a strong side, capable of causing us problems, but we also have to look at the opportunities we will have.”

Pre-season

“Taking stock of pre-season is also looking ahead to this new season, in which there is a very strong desire on the part of the players and the whole structure to turn dreams into reality. That can only be done through work, and we worked very hard throughout this pre-season. We pushed the players to the limit of their physical and mental capacity. We challenged them to pursue new goals and step out of their comfort zone, and that was achieved during this pre-season. They have a lot of miles in their legs, but also a great deal of energy and a huge desire for this championship to begin, which also reflects our ambitions.”

Objectives for 2026/27

“In the context of the B team, the objectives are very clearly defined: to help our players grow by winning, to develop players while winning, always playing with quality. We know that at certain moments that will be more difficult because of the B-team context – with players not being present in match preparation or during the week – but that does not take away our responsibility. It fills us with pride to see our players present and integrated in the first-team environment; that is what the B team exists for. Now, when the game starts, our ambition is to win and to be better than the opponent at all times with great courage and determination. That runs through the whole season. Last season is over, we are, as our president said very well, that team which has nothing and wants everything, and we are going after everything this season.”

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