Farioli: “I’m accused of being too defensive at FC Porto” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli spoke to the BBC ahead of FC Porto’s match against Manchester City, scheduled for 8:00pm this Tuesday at the Estádio do Dragão, in the opening round of the UEFA Champions League league phase.

In the interview, the Italian coach, who also praised André Villas-Boas and the club’s other officials, explained some of the principles that guide the team’s playing model. “At Ajax, I was accused of being too attacking. Now, at FC Porto, I’m accused of being too defensive. I’m probably neither one thing nor the other — it’s a matter of balancing the team,” he began.

Farioli also addressed the defensive consistency shown by the Dragons. “One part that is underestimated is the moment with the ball. You can’t separate the phases. There are several phases within the same cycle. This defensive record also comes a lot from the way we attack, the type of structure we want to have when attacking, and the way we prepare for the moment we lose the ball. Everything is connected.”

The national champions’ coach also detailed his perspective on the game. “A lot of it is related to specific timings and triggers, as well as the players’ ability to read the game depending on the area of the pitch we are in and what the opponent is trying to do. We spend a lot of time working with video, corrections and explanations. You need players who are able to understand and make an extra effort. Their collaboration is key,” Farioli stressed.

The FC Porto manager, who worked with Roberto De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo, also explained the influence of that experience on his approach: “We tried playing with the team very compact. It is a way of making transitions easier and rebalancing yourself when you lose the ball, in order to avoid counter-attacks.”

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