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

After a historic season, crowned by winning an unprecedented League and Cup double, FC Porto’s volleyball team is preparing for 2026/27 with nine players carried over from the previous squad. Miguel Coelho ensures that “FC Porto managed to keep its best pieces” and points to “stabilising the core and giving continuity to the work with two experienced signings and three young players” as priorities. The national championship-winning coach also believes that “the team’s 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 highlights 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 a 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 related to the public. All of that 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 top-level sporting structure. After that, to the character of each of them, taking into account the person behind the athlete.”

Do you think 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 something negative, 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 various 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 performances 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 reveal something curious: game 4 at Luz was on a Sunday and, on Saturday, Murek came into the arena unable to walk. We were all caught by surprise, the Club mobilised every possible 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 eliminated us from the title race. I’ve travelled 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 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 was what brought her to FC Porto. Of course, the conditions we offer and our project also mattered, 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 the team? “I always like having two setters with different characteristics. If we had to point to the main difference between the two, it would be Milana’s precision and her ability to raise her level in decisive matches, compared to 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’s very important. We can change a game in several ways, but we need weapons to fight the opponent, and with two setters we can make direct substitutions. There were several examples where we managed to change the game through the double substitution, forcing the opposition to constantly adapt to our play.”

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

Was blocking decisive in winning the Double? “Yes, blocking played a brilliant role in transitions and our two middle blockers were very effective. They only didn’t 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 ended the season with good blocking numbers and helped us a lot in transition by putting pressure on the opposing setters.”

How did you manage to convince two top players to extend their ties with FC Porto? “Under normal conditions, 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 believing in her and backing her, but no coach backs someone who doesn’t have ability. My role was the easiest one, but she had the hardest of all. My bet on her was a natural one, although it may not have seemed so 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 top-level volleyball and moving up a level in reception.”

It was precisely in reception that she proved decisive in the fifth game of the semi-finals. “Without a doubt. Reception was one of the fundamentals in which she improved a lot with the help of her teammates. Bitas works very hard, works well and is very intelligent. As for defence, it goes without saying. She raised the standard for all the liberos who have ever played in Portugal and won over the fans with a little player who shows herself to be very big on the court.”

This season she will face 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 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’s 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 game demands, we may see both of them playing.”

How does a starter 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 the 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’ve produced. Players already know FC Porto, not because of football, but because of the working conditions of 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? “Right now there aren’t that many leagues better than ours, if we take FC Porto’s structure into account. The Italian league continues to be every volleyball player’s favourite, as do the top four or five teams in Turkey, but from there 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 biggest weapon will always be the players who carry over from the previous year, but we tried to make up for the departures carefully. The volume of work we had led us to ensure continuity in the main pieces. Those coming from outside have strong prospects of establishing themselves. With two high-level setters, we need two opposites, and Nataša Čikiriz comes in to compete for a place in the team, replacing Mika Grbavica. High-level opposites all have good physical size and Nataša is 1.93 metres tall; she arrives with blocking presence and the experience of someone who has already played for the Serbian national team and in nine countries. Caylen Alexander comes in as a prospect for both the present and the future, with a profile that is more about attack than reception, like Victória Alves and unlike Natalia Murek and Ana Rui Monteiro. Besides Annie Cesar, whom I’ve 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 both the present and the future. In short, we want to stabilise the core and continue our work with two experienced signings and three young players.”

FC Porto once again kept the hard core of the volleyball team together. What responsibility will the athletes who have been with the project since the beginning 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 previous one was very bad, and that was what gave us this hunger to win. Those players will be the ones ensuring that those coming from outside get information about the Club, the city, the fans, the staff, the coach and the way of working. It falls to the players who have been with us for three years and have deep knowledge of the Club to pass on the 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, was a national team coach and comes in to replace Manuel Loureiro, bringing experience, character and a personality that everyone likes. Then we recruited Lourenço, who is a younger coach and can help in training by attacking and serving to the players, and can help with analysis of the team and the 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 in women’s volleyball began. Opponents build their teams to beat FC Porto, because they know we will strengthen too. So we expect more and more investment from the other teams.”

Who will be the main opponents in 2026/27? “They will be the same as last season. Sporting de Braga will be extremely strong, as will Benfica and Sporting. Leixões never leaves the group of favourites to win titles, and we may see other teams surprise us, 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 domestic competitions? “The team’s 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 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 connects 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 the Champions League is, unquestionably, the best competition in the world. Unlike what happened two years ago, we will have to get through two very 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 the 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 great influences as a coach. The Portuguese and Spanish styles are very similar, so the small details become extremely important. I think we have different weapons to hurt them, whether through serve, attack or block.”

You were elected coach of the year. How important do you consider that kind of individual distinction? “I don’t like talking about individual awards, but I recognise that this one has a lot of value because it was voted on by the other coaches in Portugal. I feel I should thank many people who have played a hugely important role in my career. First of all, the staff, the FC Porto board, the employees who work at Dragão Arena, my family and the families of the staff. This award symbolises 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 day-to-day life is more important than 2028. I want to keep building the foundations so that this club keeps getting better and better, to have ever better market strategies, and to keep spreading the message that FC Porto exists and has one of the best structures in the world. We want this sport to leave a mark in the Museum and I hope that, by 2028, the Club’s values are 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’d like to be remembered like that within FC Porto.”

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