“FC Porto managed to keep hold of their best players” | OneFootball

After a historic season, crowned by winning an unprecedented domestic double, FC Porto’s volleyball team is preparing for 2026/27 with nine players carrying over from the previous squad. Miguel Coelho says that “FC Porto managed to keep its best pieces” and points to “stabilizing the core and continuing the work with two experienced signings and three young players” as priorities. The National Champion coach also believes that “the team spirit will be the key” and that “only the players’ talent and character will be synonymous with good volleyball.”

In an interview with Dragões magazine, Miguel Coelho stresses that “everyone has to work twice as hard when they play for FC Porto” and identifies “the soul and the hunger to win” as “the weapons” of a group aiming to “leave its mark in the Museum.” “I want to keep building the foundations so that FC Porto keeps getting better and better,” says the coach, aware that “as soon as FC Porto created a team, a revolution began in Portuguese women’s volleyball.”

In May 2024 you said that the day the title was won was the happiest of your career. Did the double force you to redo the ranking? “This season was the happiest of my career, without a shadow of a doubt. Not only because of the titles, but because of what we went through day by day, the way we produced good volleyball, the way we connected with the players, and the way the team connected with the public. All of this meant I had to redo my ranking.”

How do you explain FC Porto’s dominance after a season without national titles? “It comes down to the quality of the players, which is the main piece of any high-level sporting structure. After that, to each of their characters, taking into account the person behind the athlete.”

Do you believe the team’s success became too closely associated with the investment made at the start of the season? “Everyone talks about FC Porto’s investment as if investing were a negative thing, when in fact we even needed more clubs to invest so we could raise the level of the League. Very little was said about the people behind this success and the way FC Porto played with several pieces on and off the court. Any team that wants to be champion has to invest in order to keep producing, but investment is not synonymous with quality of play. Only the players’ talent, character, and work ethic can be synonymous with good volleyball, good spirit, and strong performance throughout the season.”

Was Natalia Murek an example of that ability? “Some of the best memories of overcoming adversity this season were provided by Murek. I have to share something: Game 4 at Luz was on a Sunday and, on Saturday, Murek walked into the arena unable to walk properly. We were all caught by surprise, the Club activated every resource, and the medical department did an unbelievable job, as did Murek, who the next day played five sets and helped us win a match that could have knocked us out of the title race. I’ve been around Europe watching the best players in the world, and I haven’t seen many with Murek’s work ethic. This ability to lead by example was no surprise to us, but even so she still manages to surprise us every day. Murek seems like a very experienced player, but she is only 26, and she brought with her many lessons passed on by her father, who had a high-level career.”

And she also has a special connection to FC Porto. “That story sounds like a joke, but it isn’t. Murek’s father knows FC Porto, likes FC Porto, and that is what brought her to FC Porto. Of course the conditions we offer and our project also carried weight, but the truth is that her father’s wish was very important.”

What differences are there between Milana Božić and Lila Durão, and how can they both contribute to theteam? “I always like having two setters with different characteristics. If we had to point out the main difference between them, it would be Milana’s precision and her ability to raise the level in decisive matches, compared with the speed the offensive system takes on when Lila comes onto the court. We played the whole season with two setters and that was one of our biggest weapons.”

How important is it for a coach to have two high-level setters? “It is very important. We can change a match in several ways, but we need weapons to fight the opponent and, with two setters, we can make like-for-like substitutions. There were several examples where we managed to change the match through the double substitution, forcing the opponent to constantly adapt to our game.”

Was the performance of the middle blockers a consequence of the team’s overall quality? “Exactly, because middle blockers depend on the quality of the first touch in order to be used in attack. The collective work has to be there so that two major offensive weapons can emerge. Saška Đurović and Kelsey Veltman were our great offensive weapons, largely thanks to the work the whole team was doing, and they ended up being important in blocking too, which is a fundamental action.”

Was the block decisive in winning the double? “Yes, the block played a brilliant role in transitions and our two middle blockers were very effective. They only did not finish the season as the best blockers in the championship because we put opponents in difficult positions to attack the ball, which reduced the number of blocks we had to make. Within the opportunities they had, they finished the season with good blocking numbers and helped us a lot in transitions by putting pressure on opposing setters.”

How did you manage to convince two top players to extend their ties with FC Porto? “Under normal circumstances, Kelsey and Saška should not be playing in Portugal. Kelsey, for example, had never stayed more than one year at a club. I’m happy to know that FC Porto will be able to keep its best pieces for the coming years. This is a huge effort by many people, from the board to the staff and the whole structure around the team.”

How do you assess the development of Beatriz Basto, a player you launched at Leixões? “I feel responsible for having believed in her and backed her, but no coach backs someone who does not have ability. My role was the easiest one, but she had the hardest of all. Backing her was a natural decision, maybe it didn’t seem that way because she was 17 and was being thrown into a team that wanted to win titles, but I know her well and I know she trains at the limit every day. Bitas will stay with us and I’m happy to see her enjoying volleyball at the highest level and stepping up in reception.”

It was precisely in reception that she proved decisive in the fifth game of the semi-finals. “Without a doubt. Reception was a fundamental skill in which she improved enormously with the help of her teammates. Bitas works very hard, works well, and is very intelligent. As for defense, there’s no need to say much. She raised the standard of all the liberos who have played in Portugal and won over the fans with a small player who shows herself to be very big on the court.”

This season she will have competition from Annie Cesar. What can the German libero add? “Annie Cesar, at almost 30, has high-level experience. She has just played in the Nations League and is about to begin her participation in the European Championship. She will bring more stability to the reception line and a good defensive level. On top of that, she is also good at setting when the setter takes the first touch. She is one of those players we know will adapt well to FC Porto’s culture because of the joy she feels when playing. She and Bitas can make a good pair and, depending on what the match calls for, we may see both of them playing.”

How does a regular for the German national team end up at FC Porto? “We’ve reached an interesting point in the market. Three years ago, FC Porto was a club with no history in this sport, which raised some doubts, but now players want to come to FC Porto. The message has been spreading from player to player and from agent to agent because of the performances we have delivered. Players already know FC Porto, not because of football, but because of the working conditions offered by the volleyball team. They know that here they will work at a good pace and try to play in the best European competition possible.”

What level is the Portuguese League currently at? “At the moment there are not that many leagues better than ours, if we take FC Porto’s structure into account. The Italian League remains every volleyball player’s favorite, as do the top four or five teams in Turkey, but from that point on we can already compete with clubs from Poland, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The United States market is getting stronger and stronger, but FC Porto presents itself as a stable club and, although our League is not the best in the world, FC Porto’s structure is surely one of the best in the world.”

What impact do you expect from the new signings? “Our great weapon will always be the players who carry over from the previous year, but we tried to make up for the departures carefully. The amount of work we had put in led us to secure the continuity of the main pieces. Those coming from outside have good prospects of establishing themselves. With two high-level setters, we need two opposites, and Nataša Čikiriz is coming to compete for a place in the team, replacing Mika Grbavica. High-level opposites all have strong physical presence, and Nataša is 1.93 meters tall; she arrives with blocking size and with the experience of someone who has already played for the Serbian national team and in nine countries. Caylen Alexander comes as a prospect for the present and the future, with a profile more geared toward attack than reception, as is also the case with Victória Alves and unlike Natalia Murek and Ana Rui Monteiro. Besides Annie Cesar, whom I have already mentioned, we will also have two new middle blockers – Nieko Thomas and Grace Calnan – who are embarking on their first experience as professionals and are prospects for the present and the future. In short, we want to stabilize the core and continue our work with two experienced signings and three young players.”

FC Porto once again kept the core of its volleyball team together. What responsibility will the athletes who have been with the project from the start have? “They have to make sure that the hunger to win did not stay in the previous season. This season was very good, but the one before it was very bad, and that is what gave us this hunger to win. Those players will be the ones to provide information about the Club, the city, the fans, the staff, the coach, and the way of working to those coming from outside. It is up to the players who have been with us for three years and have deep knowledge of the Club to pass on this message that everyone has to work twice as hard when they play for FC Porto.”

Will there be changes to the coaching staff? “Yes, we lost Manuel Loureiro and Tiago Lemos for professional reasons and brought in two people we know very well. Manuel Almeida has already been through high-level environments, he was a national team coach, and he comes in to replace Manuel Loureiro, bringing experience, character, and a personality everyone likes. Then we recruited Lourenço, who is a younger coach, who can help in training by attacking and serving for the players and can help with analysis of the team and opponents, freeing up the other coaches.”

Will rivals strengthen to get closer to FC Porto? “As soon as FC Porto created a volleyball team, a revolution began in women’s volleyball. Opponents build their teams to beat FC Porto, because they know we will strengthen as well. So we expect more and more investment from the other teams.”

Who will be the main rivals in 2026/27? “They will be the same as last season. Sporting de Braga will be very, very strong, as will Benfica and Sporting. Leixões is never out of the group of favorites to win titles, and we may see other teams surprise, such as Colégio Efanor and Clube Kairós, who reinvent themselves every year, Vitória SC, which has shown quality, and Académica de São Mamede, which has strengthened very well with the arrival of the new coach.”

What do you expect from the team in the domestic competitions? “The team spirit will be the key. We have to remember the moments when we were behind and managed to come back, like the third set of the Portuguese Cup final or the deficit in the play-off semi-finals. When I talk about spirit, I mean that spirit that was present last season and that has to be present in the next edition of the League, the Cup, or the Super Cup. This soul and the hunger to win have to be our weapons. Strength work, video, and the game plan are common to all teams, so what can set us apart is working more and better without losing the soul that defines us and increasingly links us to the Club’s values.”

And regarding the Champions League? “We want to be in the best competition in the world, and we know that the Champions League is unquestionably the best competition in the world. Unlike what happened two years ago, we will have to get through two extremely tough qualifying rounds to reach the group stage. We will face the Spanish champions, who have strengthened. We are not seeded, we still have little experience in the Champions League and, if we want to get through these rounds, we will have to win the second match away from home, which adds some difficulty. In any case, if we want to compete in the best competition in the world, we will have to overcome all adversity.”

What is your assessment of Fundación Cajasol Andalucía? “If we look at history, Spanish teams have always had higher quality than Portuguese ones. Nowadays, the Spanish and Portuguese styles are very close, because they follow the Italian style. Italy is dominating the sport in terms of training structure and is also one of my biggest influences as a coach. The Portuguese and Spanish styles are very similar, so the small details become hugely important. I think we have different weapons to hurt them, whether through serving, attacking, or blocking.”

You were named coach of the year. How much importance do you attach to that kind of individual distinction? “I don’t like talking about individual awards, but I recognize that this one has a lot of value because it was voted on by the other coaches in Portugal. I feel I owe thanks to many people who have played a hugely important role in my career. First of all, the staff, the FC Porto board, the staff who work at Dragão Arena, my family, and the families of the staff. This award symbolizes the work of many people and that makes it even more special.”

You extended your contract until 2028. What goals do you still want to achieve? “I have a contract until 2028, but the day to day is more important than 2028. I want to keep building the foundations so that this club keeps getting better and better, have better and better market strategies, and keep spreading the message that FC Porto exists and has one of the best structures in the world. We want this sport to leave its mark in the Museum and I hope that, by 2028, the Club’s values will be even more present in this team. I hope to be someone others enjoy working with and I hope everyone likes the way my teams present themselves. I would like to be remembered within FC Porto that way.”

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