Farioli on Porto v Rio Ave: “We’ve had trouble with strugglers” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli appeared in the Olival press room for the pre-match conference ahead of FC Porto’s game against Rio Ave, for the 23rd round. The Italian coach began his analysis with the team led by Sotiris Silaydopoulos:

“We already had a bad experience with Casa Pia, who also weren’t doing well, and then what happened, happened. But tomorrow, the past doesn’t count and what matters is what we do on the pitch. We expect some changes, after they played with three defenders against Moreirense, as the coach had already done in other experiences in the past. We have prepared for various possibilities and that is the most important thing.”

“Watching FC Porto vs Benfica in Roller Hockey? I had already seen it on television. It’s interesting because of the intensity and tactically it reminds me a bit of futsal. It was important to get to know other realities of the club. I went home still with the sound of the ball in my head and on top of that, it was a very good game.”

“Rio Ave fragile? We don’t make that calculation. In football, it’s not the shirt that wins the game. I’ll state the obvious, but the game starts 0-0 and we’ll have to give our best and show our strength on the pitch.”

“The Gianluca Prestianni and Vinícius Júnior case? These days, I’ve heard many comments and many analyses, as is normal in an international case. For me, something is quite clear and I’ve already coached in six countries, and I know it’s very different being in our own country or not, and notice that in my team we have 7 different passports, so I’m comfortable… What I think is that it’s a great opportunity to live with people from another culture and of another color. For example, for my 3-year-old daughter who is in an international school, it will be very good. What I also feel is that in 2026 it’s sad that someone is still judged by the color of their skin and that has to be removed from football. The image that has been in my mind and is in my thesis is from Carl Sagan, the video is available on YouTube and I believe it’s a great lesson on this topic, especially about our relationship as human beings. It points to the generosity that should move us and not all these bad energies that have nothing good about them.”

“Injuries to Jakub Kiwior and Martim Fernandes? Kiwior is recovering fantastically and training well, but he won’t play because I don’t want to take risks. Martim Fernandes is also progressing. We are working with both for the next game. We also have the situation with Thiago Silva, which will be evaluated in the coming hours.”

“Zaidu’s performance against Nacional and Francisco Moura’s return? Zaidu did very well after being out for a long time and both will have space to play. What matters is that we have a large and experienced squad in which everyone is ready to step in when called upon.”

“FC Porto’s last games with only one goal scored? If you remember, a week ago, we were here talking about what we need to improve and in fact there are some things we have to get better at. The fact is that all teams have come here with a lot of respect and played more conservatively, betting on counterattacks and set pieces. Regarding the last game, we selected 33 moments in which we could have scored, but we missed a better pass or a better shot. In football, scoring one more goal than the opponent is enough. But we know that the important thing is to maintain our consistency, since the schedule doesn’t give us time to think about the past.”

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