Farioli: We can't match spending, but we'll fight with spirit | OneFootball

FC Porto travels to Nottingham Forest for the third round of the Europa League (Thursday, 8:00 pm) and Francesco Farioli demands “a group with a lot of desire,” “ready to step onto the pitch and compete in the best way possible” against an opponent that “made a big investment in the summer” and that “just last year fought for fourth place in the Premier League and only missed out on the Champions League by one point.”

After “analyzing many scenarios,” the Italian coach states that the team “is prepared for various approaches” and sees this challenge as “a great opportunity to show that FC Porto is on the right path.” “Tomorrow’s game will require a lot of focus, a great effort, and an excellent mentality,” explained the coach in the City Ground press room.

Revitalized after the break“I am very positive about the team. The players who continued training with us during the international break worked very hard. As soon as the others returned, it took a little time to get everything back in place, but the way we approached the Cup match was very positive.”

New coach in Nottingham“We received the news on Saturday and had to prepare for the match against two or three coaching candidates. Since Tuesday morning we have been focused on Sean Dyche, we know he has a strong connection to the club and that tomorrow’s game will have a huge emotional factor for them. At my previous club, I used to use a lot of videos of his work at other clubs, especially for the spirit his teams showed in defense. We analyzed many scenarios, others we will only discover tomorrow, but we have to be prepared for everything.”

The opponent’s current form“Difficult periods are part of football and can arise overnight. It’s not something we pay much attention to. We know the value of this club; just last year they fought for fourth place until the end and lost access to the Champions League by only one point. This year they invested heavily and that’s what matters to us. I believe this new coach can create a strong connection between the club and the city. Tomorrow’s game will require a lot of focus from us. We have to be as prepared as possible and step onto the pitch to compete.”

Ready for anything“We have our way of playing and we try to apply it in every situation, but we have to be flexible. We don’t know what to expect; they might sit deeper or press higher. We can’t control their approach, we can only control our response to their game plan. We are prepared for various approaches and tomorrow we will have a great opportunity to show that we are on the right path. This game will require a great effort and an excellent mentality.”

Premier League“It’s a league that in the last ten years has surpassed all the others and that attracts the best players in the world, and that alone is enough to create a gap compared to other competitions. We can’t compete with their investment power, but we can fight with our spirit and mentality. We want to play as a group with a lot of desire, which is something you can’t lose, especially when things are going well. Tomorrow’s game will have many challenges, duels, and contacts. We have to compete with them, try to impose our football and, if that’s not possible, find another way to try to succeed.”

European journey“Playing in the Europa League demands different things, especially because the level of competition is higher. We are facing very different games from each other; in Salzburg it was very difficult to play our football on that pitch and we suffered more than we wanted until we turned the result in our favor, while against Red Star we took control of the game, but paid dearly for a mistake we made, though it was a more positive game. Tomorrow the scenario will be different, against an opponent of another level. That’s all we know, we are aware of the level of demand for tomorrow’s game, but we want to step onto the pitch and do our best.”

Jan Bednarek“When we decided to sign him, we already knew what to expect, and let me tell you, he managed to exceed expectations. We already had excellent feedback about the role he could play in the locker room, but we found a very special player and what he has done is remarkable, both on and off the pitch. He arrived with a lot of respect for everyone, always fulfilled what we expected of him. His role has been very important from day one.”

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