Farioli: Squad rotation is a must with 50+ games a season | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli launched FC Porto's challenge this Saturday for the Sunday match against Estoril-Praia, related to the 12th round of the Primeira Liga, which will be held at Estádio do Dragão.

The Porto coach praised the canary team, refused to confirm Alan Varela's participation, and also spoke about the progression of players like Gabri Veiga and Tomás Pérez.

Estoril: “Surely a difficult game, they are in good form. They can defend in 3, 4, or 5 different ways, the attack is quite fluid, with quality possession. We try to predict all scenarios, although there isn't much time to work on it, but the best part is that we have a group that is within these dynamics and therefore tomorrow we will face Estoril with the best mentality and hopefully with the right keys for this game.”

Alan Varela available?: “After the game with Nice, we had two or three players with some problems and given the short rest time, it's difficult to recover, but the medical staff is working hard to bring them back. We will assess these situations this afternoon to see if they are available or not.”

Possibility of reaching 100 victories: “It's always good to win, it's important and it's the priority. To continue in the direction we want, yes, tomorrow should be an important day for all of us.”

Penalty offered by Gabri Veiga to Samu: “It's important to share opportunities. We all want our forwards to score… On paper, Samu was the penalty taker, so I think Gabri respected that and gave him the ball to score. Of course, everyone wants to score, but the priority is to be a team. And I think Gabri is also an example of that, not only because of the gesture in the last game but also because of how he has played, how he has contributed offensively, which is more within his characteristics, but especially at the defensive level for the performance of the whole team. I had already said that we have a great example from other players, like Pepê, Rodrigo Mora, Borja… That's fantastic, it's the path we have to follow and it's an important representation of what FC Porto's DNA is. I think they are representing the club very well so far and I hope in the future.”

Gabri Veiga's evolution: “He's getting closer. I think there is still room for improvement, not that he isn't performing at the level I want, but because I believe he has more to give. My expectations are high… It's true that in the last three or four weeks he is a different player, with strong legs and capable of being more decisive. In the end, I don't believe players can be divided into parameters like physical, then technical, etc… In fact, these factors work together. So if you're a little better physically, it gives you more freshness in technical gestures, mentally it keeps you more connected to the game and, yes, he has worked hard to get better every day. Let me tell you that sometimes he is more demanding than I am and I have to calm him down a bit because he always wants to do something more and better. That's the secret of the great moment he is living and, as I said before, I believe he still has room to improve, due to his age, the experience that is increasing, and especially his talent, which is overall, and his profile which is something distinct.”

The traps Villas-Boas talked about: “As you know, traps are things you don't expect, otherwise they wouldn't be traps. This is something that somehow we have to keep our system alert to react and find the right answers. Then there are other things that are quite evident, one is the calendar, which is something I'm getting bored of commenting on every day, but unfortunately, it's a topic that continues. I'm very happy with the fact that we have such a close president, who is so involved in the club's daily activity as he has been. I think he is doing the best for the club, striving and trying to make the competition fairer for everyone. Which is something we all and everyone who loves football should seek.”

Tomás Pérez: “He is well. He needed better conditioning after the World Cup because he played a lot. He is working hard and I am happy with the way he has been striving in the shadows. As you know, for defensive midfielders and defenders, it's harder to have goals, but I'm happy with him and maybe an opportunity is just around the corner. He knows that and is working to be ready when it comes.”

Squad management: “I have already said that when we work at a big club like FC Porto, this is routine. There is nothing to complain about. When we sign, we already know that we will have more than 50 games per season. We have to prepare the players to be exposed to these scenarios and that's what we've been trying to do, the players are responding very well in training and games, we always run more than the opponents by a few kilometers… But of course, in the long run, it's necessary to have fresh minds, fresh legs, so we try to rotate a bit, also because our squad in my opinion is balanced. We have responded well, even to the more serious injuries, of Nehuén Pérez and De Jong, and this is thanks to the players' adaptability. You saw Deniz Gül stepping up, Pablo Rosario as you know gives us five or six positions… So I believe we can continue, although the focus is always on the next game. In January we will see what is possible to do, especially in defense.”

Deniz Gül on the left: “For me, he was good, participating and contributing to some occasions, one of them resulted in the penalty. He was good with and without the ball, so yes I was happy, although of course, he has to keep working. And besides, we do not exclude playing with two forwards, so according to the needs, we will try to find the best solutions.”

The under-17s: “They are quite young, but age is not a limitation. For them, it's an opportunity and I have always given opportunities to young players, even 16-year-olds, to have a professional debut. They are in permanent contact with the club, to provide the best path from training to the main team. In the short term, they may have the opportunity to work with us over the next few months and in the long term, next year some of them will certainly be part of our pre-season, they will have special treatment with some members of the technical team working with them. So at the moment, we are aligning our ideas and trying to maximize the potential of these players, trying to contribute the most to the club both sportingly and then financially.”

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