Farioli gives rivals “a lesson” with exemplary management at FC Porto | OneFootball

March was almost flawless for FC Porto. The schedule offered no respite, with hugely demanding matches and a very intense run of fixtures. At stake were the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, top spot in the league, and a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 16. In between, opponents such as Sporting, Benfica, Stuttgart and SC Braga.

All things considered, FC Porto come to the end of this spell with every objective still perfectly within reach — or even strengthened — and in excellent form. The credit goes to Francesco Farioli, who at this point stands out as the month’s big winner and a candidate to take on the role of the season’s leading figure.

The Dragons’ coach has been exemplary in the way he has managed the squad, even teaching the competition a lesson, whether that be Rui Borges or José Mourinho. The Sporting and Benfica managers have had to deal with squad limitations caused by injuries, which on several occasions prevented them from fielding their strongest eleven. Even so, the Italian also had reason to complain, perhaps even more so, since he lost forwards Samu and Luuk de Jong for the rest of the season, precisely the team’s two main scorers. It would be like Rui Borges losing Luis Suárez and Ioannidis, or José Mourinho losing Pavlidis and Ivanovic…

Farioli never complained and instead chose to place total trust in the players he had available. And he did it through actions, not words. In March, FC Porto played six matches — against Sporting, Benfica, Stuttgart, Moreirense, Stuttgart again and SC Braga — in a span of just 20 days. The Italian coach’s response? 20 starters. The only thing left would have been to rest Diogo Costa or throw in one more centre-back, but even there Nehén Pérez was already sidelined with a serious injury.

Yes, for Farioli everyone matters, and that allows him to keep the group fully on side and, at the very least…, the league title practically in his pocket. Before this demanding run, the Dragons’ lead over second place was four points. Now, in the worst-case scenario — with Sporting still having their postponed match against Tondela to play — the gap remains… four points. Remarkable!

This season has everything it takes to stay in Porto fans’ memory. The playing idea is clear, the club’s identity has been restored, and there is perfect alignment with the board. I often say that the hardest thing in football is not to overcomplicate things, and what Farioli and André Villas-Boas are doing is another fine example of that.

The president not only chose the coach, but above all trusted him, giving him the reinforcements needed to put his footballing ideas into practice, both at the start of the season and in January, when the squad was adjusted. Farioli responded with Porto’s trademark irreproachable spirit and perfect resource management.

The result is plain to see: the great FC Porto are back, with one hand on the league title — naturally the top priority — with the Portuguese Cup semi-finals still to be decided at home after the 0-1 in Alvalade, and still dreaming of winning the UEFA Europa League, a competition they have every chance of lifting again, especially if squad management allows them to sort out internal issues before the decisive stage.

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