Bruno Moraes: “Best way to protect Samu is to keep him in” | OneFootball

Samu Aghehowa is going through a difficult period at FC Porto. The Spanish forward, the team's top scorer this season, missed his second consecutive penalty in the draw against Viktoria Plzen (1-1) while wearing the Dragons' shirt, after already missing another penalty in the league match against Vitória SC.

After the final whistle in Viktoria Plzen-FC Porto, Samu was visibly upset and left the pitch with his head down and in tears, his hands and shirt covering his face. His teammates and the coaching staff ended up supporting him on the way back to the locker room. Francesco Farioli also came to the player's defense, assuring that the Spaniard will be responsible for the next penalty the team is awarded.

“Samu is a great player, but he is young. He wants to win everything. He is always competing, even in training, always wants to win it all. He always wants to perform at his best. In the last game he was also unlucky with the penalty, but it happens. The next penalty we have, he will take it again,” emphasized the FC Porto coach in statements to Sport TV.

In an exclusive interview with Portal dos Dragões, Bruno Moraes, former FC Porto forward, highlighted the importance of this vote of confidence given to Samu.

“The coach did well to give him a vote of confidence. As for Samu, he needs to stay calm, keep his head straight, and keep working harder on penalties, with focus, because things will get back on track. I think this is just a phase. It just so happened that he missed these two penalties, but only by having another opportunity will he score again. The coach showed total confidence and that's the way to go. The coach is the one who makes the player feel confident. When you score goals, it's easy to have confidence in the player. It's in these tough moments that the player needs support and someone to protect him. Farioli has done an exceptional job in that regard. And the players see a coach who supports and trusts his athletes,” said the former Brazilian player, before talking about a possible change in penalty taker for the next game.

“The coach has more information than we do, watching from the outside and only seeing the games. He has the training factor and the day-to-day factor, the work, the commitment of the players. And he has more information about the other players' behavior with penalties. If Farioli said what he said after the game, it's because he has total confidence and believes that Samu will score goals again. It's much more about the coach's management in this aspect than anything else. The group will follow whatever the coach decides,” he stressed.

Asked about the possibility of removing Samu from the starting lineup in Monday's game against Gil Vicente as a way to protect him, Bruno Moraes pointed out that such a measure could have undesirable effects.

“The greatest protection the Samu could have from the coach is not to take him out of the games, on the contrary. It's to give him the opportunity and trust him. It would be different if Samu were a youth player from FC Porto's academy. He is a player who is doing well, has scored goals, and has helped the team a lot. The greatest protection is to give the player the chance to keep doing what he's been doing well since the start of the season. Only by continuing to work and score, even if not from penalties, will he gain more confidence for when he gets another penalty,” said the former blue and white player.

Bruno Moraes also suggested that FC Porto should secure the signing of a forward before the end of this winter transfer window, at a time when Samu and Deniz Gul are the options available to Francesco Farioli.

“It makes perfect sense to sign a new forward. FC Porto gained a lot with the arrival of Luuk de Jong, for his experience, his presence in the group, and the competition he brought to Samu and Deniz Gul. Just as the signing of Thiago Silva was an opportunity, I'm sure the club is also watching the market to make another good move and complete the squad to build a strong group to go for the league, the Portuguese Cup, and the Europa League,” said the former player, stressing that any new signing should have a profile similar to Luuk de Jong, who will be out until the end of the season.

“I think he should have a profile more similar to Luuk de Jong. But I also know it's not easy to find such a player in the market, one who is already an international and has many titles. It won't be easy. FC Porto will have to see what's available and decide if it's worth bringing in a player with that profile or, if not, betting on players from the B team. If there isn't a player like Luuk, who connects well with the team, it's necessary to see if they should go for a mid-aged player with similar characteristics. The most important thing is for FC Porto to close the market with a new forward,” he concluded.

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