Farioli explains Rodrigo Mora's Roma move as financial decision | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli began by clarifying Rodrigo Mora’s move to AS Roma before turning to the upcoming match. The FC Porto coach described the transfer as “a financial decision” and said it was “a very good market opportunity that brought in the money a club like FC Porto, which needs to sell, requires.” Looking ahead to Sunday’s home match against FC Arouca, scheduled for 8:30pm at the Estádio do Dragão in the third round of the league, the Italian coach highlighted the quality of the opposition and pointed out that “like us, in their last 10 official matches they have seven wins, two defeats and one draw.” Because of that, “our best version will be needed as always, with even more attention and respect for what they have been doing.” FC Porto, FC Arouca and Marítimo all come into this round on six points after winning their first two matches.

FC Arouca “They have been working with Vasco Seabra for a long time and had a great season last year. They were one of the teams I liked most since I arrived and I remember how they played at Alvalade until they went down to ten men, I liked their mentality. What they did in the second half of last season was remarkable. Like us, in their last 10 official matches they have seven wins, two defeats and one draw. They are in a good moment, they still have not conceded and they have scored one more goal than us, so it will be a game that will demand our best version as always, with even more attention and respect for what they have been doing.”

Alan Varela is back and available “Alan has already trained normally with the team and is an option for tomorrow’s game. Oskar, Martim, Samu and Cláudio are still working separately.”

Rodrigo Mora’s move to AS Roma “The last two weeks have been full of different opinions. A few days ago, I gave some figures about Rodrigo’s playing time and today I brought some notes. First of all, the decision to let Rodrigo leave was a financial one. Fifty million euros is a very high amount for the club, it was the most expensive signing in AS Roma’s history and one of FC Porto’s top five sales. It was definitely a very good market opportunity that brought in the money a club like FC Porto, which needs to sell, requires.”

Rodrigo Mora’s absence against Rio Ave “I truly believe it was a positive season. A season in which, first of all, he leaves the club as a champion. He leaves the club with two more titles on his résumé, with an honest and very fair relationship between me and him. Everything that has been said about me ‘pushing’ him out of the club is absolutely false. I believe I tried to help him in the way I believe football should be and the way I see football. I think Rodrigo today is a more complete player. He is the same talent he was 14 months ago, but today he is a team player. I am absolutely sure that what he learned this year will be very, very good for his career, for the next chapter in Rome and wherever he goes to play. That is my assessment of Rodrigo’s situation. A boy who was lovely with us. A boy who did not play the last match because the negotiation was very close to being completed. A boy whom, before we went to the match in Vila do Conde, I called into the dressing room to say that, unless it was absolutely necessary, I would not use him because of the deal that was almost done. And I asked him to speak in front of the group before we went out onto the pitch. His speech was only about his love for FC Porto. So, once again, a player who is very young, but already with leadership and the ability to take on certain responsibilities. His speech was fantastic, it helped us go onto the pitch and win another match. I think his role and contribution through what he did here at FC Porto were very positive. And again, what I can say for him now is only to wish him great success, because he is a player who truly deserves everything good in his career.”

Rodrigo Mora and Gabri Veiga’s minutes “Regarding Rodrigo’s minutes, especially because I have already heard that he was third choice, he played a total of 1,946 minutes. Gabri Veiga played 2,699. In the league: Rodrigo played 1,177 minutes, Gabri 1,622. In the Europa League, they played exactly the same. I would say there is not that big a gap. As for the starting eleven, 21 times for Rodrigo, 31 for Gabri. Coming off the bench, Rodrigo came on 33 times, Gabri 17. And luckily we only had them injured for two matches. When we have two players at the same level, you have to manage that.”

Is FC Porto looking for an alternative after Rodrigo Mora’s departure? “We will see what the market brings us. At the moment, the reality is that we are going into a match without Rodrigo, so in that sense the team is weaker today than with Rodrigo.”

The words of Rodrigo Mora’s lawyer “Just to finish this subject: this morning I woke up to another response and saw on TV that I was provoking someone. I was only responding. I agree that I should not respond to a lawyer, but it is also true that a lawyer is a lawyer only up to the moment when he acts like a lawyer. The moment someone goes onto a TV program to create an argument, expose certain things and put himself in a different position, as well as writing an editorial in a sports newspaper, then I believe there is a conflict of interest that needs to be addressed. And that is what I did. I believe that everyone involved in this work, and especially people who went to university and studied so much, should also understand the weight of the words we use. Because when people start talking about suffering, sadness and especially ‘Rodrigo Mora being slowly killed by the coach’… then I think that is something that needs to be answered in some way. One of my favourite subjects at university was about the weight of our words and how they shape reality and our minds. I believe we have a very great responsibility here and, if you ask me, I did not like at all how things were handled. There was a lack of professional respect. But with this, we are closing everything on this ‘soap opera’. As for Rodrigo, I will be his first supporter and I truly wish him the best from tomorrow, with the start of Serie A.”

The southern media’s attention on Rodrigo Mora “I appreciate the attention the southern media gave him and the way they protected an FC Porto talent. I did not expect this level of love and attention for our boy. What I did not particularly like were some comments in recent days. There was noise outside, but internally my communication with him was direct and in the last few days we spoke three or four times. We never had any problem, but it was not an easy situation for him or for the team. It is part of the past and we have to move on.”

Seko Fofana remains in people’s minds “There are several possibilities and several names on the table, we will see what happens in the next few days and analyze what is best for us, the type of player profile we want to bring in. We will see. Seko is loved by everyone here and left good memories. I usually speak with him, but he is not with us at the moment. I have already seen several names, but only one will come.”

The second season in charge of FC Porto “This season I have different knowledge from what I had last season, when every game was an opportunity to discover different things. Now we already know more about what to expect, but we have to stay focused on every detail and prepare everything in the best way. If we talk about FC Arouca, in pre-season there were moments when they pressed man-to-man, something that did not happen much last season. They are a team with variability and several options on the ball, strong in set pieces. We are not on autopilot, it is an opponent I like to face.”

The importance of improving every day “We have to raise our level, not only in the Champions League, but above all in the league. The demands will be greater at every level, physical, tactical and in the need to always be at our best in every detail. We know our players and their limits, but we work at the limit in everything and so far the response has always been positive. We are at a moment when things can change, the market is open and the season is only at the beginning. Some players are out because of injury and that requires an adjustment in squad management, but the players have worked very well in these roughly 60 days since we started, always with the desire to improve every day.”

What to expect from the final days of the market “Internally it is clear what we have to do, what we want to do and what we would like to do. We have to act according to our possibilities and in line with what the market wants and demands. For the number 9 position several names have already come up, but I will not comment on anything until it is practically a done deal for us. We have to make some moves, but I do not know whether it will be one, two or more than two. The next few days are going to be busy for everyone.”

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