Portal dos Dragões
·20 January 2026
Alan Varela: "Best manager I've had? Farioli and Sérgio Conceição"

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Yahoo sportsPortal dos Dragões
·20 January 2026

Francesco Farioli has become one of the key figures in Alan Varela’s career. The Argentine midfielder was subjected to a series of questions by the Argentine YouTuber Ezzequiel (see video above), and when asked to choose the best coach, he immediately named two.
“Farioli, the current coach, and [Sérgio] Conceição,” said the number 22, who arrived in Invicta during the last season of the now Al Ittihad coach at the helm of the Dragons.
As for teammates, Varela highlighted Tévez, Pepe, and Diogo Costa as the most influential at club level, and pointed out Nico González—already transferred to Manchester City—and Pepê as his “best partners” on the pitch.
In self-critique and comparison with other midfielders, Varela listed the players he considers superior to his current level: Enzo Pérez, Leandro Paredes, João Neves, Moisés Caicedo, Casemiro, and Kimmich. Enzo Fernández and Vitinha were not included in this survey, although minutes earlier they had been praised by the Porto player; the PSG star (formerly of FC Porto) was even named by the Argentine as the best Portuguese player at present.
When asked to choose between himself and rival Enzo Barrenechea, Varela preferred to remain silent, suggesting he does not consider the Benfica midfielder to be above his level.
Near the end, when choosing the three best national teams at present, Alan Varela named Argentina, Portugal, and Spain.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.









































