Farioli: “We’re starting from scratch, all we’ve done is in the past” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli marked one year in charge of FC Porto. On Tuesday afternoon, the Italian coach spoke to journalists at Olival, ahead of the training session.

“Having worked at FC Porto for a year is an advantage because we know the club and the players, which allows us to speed up processes. Everyone already knows the dynamics and the level of demand. Even so, there is still the challenge of keeping the team performing at high standards in training.”

“The players were away for several weeks and we started by working on the basics,” he began by saying.

Asked to comment on defending the title, Farioli called for humility and focus.

“We start from zero. Everything we did is in the past. It is difficult to make comparisons and guarantee that we can do better. I think we should simply remember the processes that led us to success.”

On the transfer market, the FC Porto coach was ironic when speaking about the future of Diogo Costa: “His games at the 2026 World Cup were not that good. He is our captain and he will remain so.”

“We are paying attention to the squad’s needs in a market that is only just getting started. As the president has already said, it is not easy to invest a lot of money.”

“André Silva is very motivated to return and arrived in good shape. A few days ago he scored a great goal, an overhead kick. He is in tune with the reality of the club. It was one of the easiest negotiations I have ever followed.”

“Eirik Grannas? We are talking about a very young player [16 years old]. We are not going to compare him to Froholdt. He will need time and he will get opportunities. He will get more minutes with the B team, but he can also play with us.”

Finally, Francesco Farioli sounded confident about the recovery of Samu.

“He is recovering well, just like Vasco Sousa. Both are doing physical work and training with the ball. As for Samu, I cannot deny that I am surprised by his recovery.”

The national champions’ first official match is scheduled for 1 August at 8:15 pm, in Coimbra, in the Super Cup, against Torreense.

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