Duarte Cunha living “a dream that is becoming reality” | OneFootball

At FC Porto’s pre-season camp in England, João Teixeira and Duarte Cunha are among the young players called up to work under the watchful eye of Francesco Farioli. The midfielder and the winger describe a first-team group willing to help integrate the academy players, but also an environment of maximum demands, in line with the message left by André Villas-Boas at the start of training. João Teixeira summed up the mentality in place and assured: “everything we do is to win and give our all.”

At St. George’s Park, pre-season also serves as a setting for bringing generations together. João Teixeira and Duarte Cunha, both academy products, are experiencing up close an opportunity that reflects the responsibility given to the more experienced players: to help the younger ones grow without lowering the competitive bar.

Asked about living alongside the first-team group, João Teixeira highlighted his teammates’ willingness to help and the culture he has found at the camp. In his words, integration is not limited to adaptation: it carries a clear idea of ambition.

“The players are also very easygoing with us, they always try to help us and help us adapt in the best way. The mentality they try to instill in us is that everything we do is to win and give our all.”

The midfielder’s view matches the message that André Villas-Boas addressed to the group on the first day of pre-season. For the FC Porto president, the senior players have a decisive role in shaping the path of the youngsters.

“The senior players have a role to play with the academy. They must help these kids grow, integrate them, because they are the future of our club and each one of you has a greater responsibility in that journey,” the president told the group at the start of pre-season.

Besides João Teixeira and Duarte Cunha, João Afonso, Granaas, Gonçalo Ribeiro, Gabriel Brás, Luís Gomes, Yoan Pereira, Tiago Silva, Mide, André Miranda and Eduardo Ferreira are also taking part in pre-season with the first team. The camp therefore brings together new signings and young players in an environment where every training session can serve as an answer to the demands set by the club’s leadership.

Duarte Cunha reinforced that idea when speaking about the advantages of working every day with more experienced players. The winger pointed to learning as one of the clearest benefits of being part of the group.

“We youngsters, by being here with this very strong group of players, learn a lot more.”

For the young players, contact with the first team comes as a growth opportunity within a more intense environment. And that intensity is also the ground on which João Teixeira is trying to show he is ready.

A 20-year-old midfielder, João Teixeira had the B team as his main competitive stage in 2025/26 and was also crowned U-19 champion. Now, at the camp led by Francesco Farioli, he sees physical preparation as one of the foundations for making the most of the opportunity.

“When the demands are high, as they are in the first team, we are always prepared for whatever may happen during the season. The training sessions we had at the start helped us a lot to arrive here in good physical condition,” he assured.

The midfielder is sharing the experience with other B-team teammates and approaches the step up without getting carried away. The demands are greater, but it is precisely in them that he finds the measure of the preparation required.

Duarte Cunha, an 18-year-old winger, arrives at the camp after being crowned U-19 champion in 2025/26 and making a dozen appearances for the B team. For the youngster, the call-up to the first team fulfills an ambition that had been growing throughout the season.

“Being here with the first team is a dream that is starting to become reality,” he said.

The winger acknowledged that the difference in context is huge, but stressed that he saw the difficulty of the sessions as a natural part of the challenge. Confidence in the path he has taken and in the support of the coaching staff also comes through in his words.

“Throughout the year I kept believing it was possible to be here in pre-season. I knew it was going to be very hard, but I also knew I would be ready,” he said. “The coach also helps a lot, the whole coaching staff helps a lot. And being in this context, which is the highest-level context in Portugal, we always end up benefiting greatly, both physically and mentally.”

Between the ambition of those arriving and the responsibility of those welcoming them, FC Porto’s pre-season is sending a consistent message: academy players are being called on to grow alongside the more experienced ones, but with no shortcuts when it comes to the demands involved.

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