Francesco Farioli: “We’re exactly where we want and deserve to be” | OneFootball

FC Porto’s coach, Francesco Farioli, assures that the Dragons will present themselves as usual in the 21st round, when they host Sporting: Porto fans “can expect the same FC Porto as always, a team with attitude, a strong spirit, and a great desire to step onto the pitch on the right foot.” “The fans will play an important role” in the classic, and the Italian coach admitted to feeling the “responsibility to fire up the Dragão at the right moments.”

In the preview of the match, scheduled for 8:45 pm this Monday (Sport TV), Francesco Farioli mentioned that “the players approached the week of training with the right mentality,” adding, however, that “the most important thing is to show it during the game,” since so far “every point has been earned with a lot of effort and hard work.” For the coach, “We are exactly where we want to be and we are where we deserve to be,” and he emphasized that within the group, “everyone is in sync and on the same page”: “We know where we want to go and who we want to be in the coming months.”

A Porto-like Porto“You can expect the same FC Porto as always, a team with attitude, a strong spirit, and a great desire to step onto the pitch on the right foot. That’s what we’ve done all season and that’s what we’ll continue to do tomorrow. A full stadium is proof of the fans’ desire to support us and give us extra strength. At the end of the last game, the fans left an important message that helped us turn the page and helped us approach this week with the right mentality. The fans will play an important role in tomorrow’s game, so we have the right energy and spirit, always feeling their support at every moment. We have the responsibility to fire up the Dragão at the right times.”

Preparation for the classic“It was a very positive week, after the game against Casa Pia we played a friendly against the B team and, after the day off, we had a clear week to prepare for the classic. The attitude was very good and the intensity as well, even though the weather didn’t help, but the players approached the week of work with the right mentality. The most important thing is to show it during tomorrow’s game, but I have no doubt that they will.”

Sporting the favorite?“More than reading, it’s important to listen to the president’s words, because the context is slightly different and more nuanced. The president spoke about the reality of the two clubs: a Sporting that won the last two championships and has the experience of playing in the Champions League, and us, a team that is rebuilding and working hard to put FC Porto back where the Club deserves to be. That’s where we are. If we rewind to July 15, when we started the season, we would have paid whatever it took to be where we are today. We are in a position to fight for the title, qualified for the Europa League round of 16, and in the running for the Portuguese Cup. We are exactly where we want to be and where we deserve to be, because every point we have was earned with a lot of effort and work from everyone. I have already expressed my gratitude to the Club for the work done in the two transfer windows, which strengthened and made the team very solid, compact, and balanced in all positions. We have all the tools to fight for opportunities in three competitions, knowing that we will face difficulties. We are all in sync and on the same page. We know where we want to go and who we want to be in the coming months.”

Martim, Fofana, and Moffi“Seko (Fofana) and Terem (Moffi) are working to reach their best physical shape, of course it will take some time to reach the level of the other players, but they have been working well with the performance department to maximize every opportunity to speed up that process. They may be part of tomorrow’s game, but it depends on how the match unfolds and the last few hours, which is when I will decide the starting eleven and the squad. Martim (Fernandes) trained with the team, he left Rio Maior with a minor issue that was well managed at the start of the week and today we had the whole group on the pitch to train and prepare for tomorrow’s game.”

Goals conceded in the first 15 minutes“I wouldn’t say the games have started badly, because against Casa Pia we had four or five shots in the first few minutes, but the reality is that our opponents have scored goals the first times they cross midfield. Of course, we are alert to this, we worked during the week to try to solve aspects we can still improve, but sometimes things happen at different moments in the game and the reality is that at this level, when you lose focus even slightly, you can concede a chance and most of the time that results in goals. It’s a matter of maintaining attention, energy, and always being switched on in both offensive and defensive moments.”

The invisible work of the forwards“The numbers tell us we could have scored more goals, but the reality is that football is a team sport. I’ve said it many times, but I’ll repeat: when we praise a team’s defensive performance, we praise the defenders a lot, but we forget the work of the forwards. The most important thing is to be able to create good goal chances and not give opportunities to the opponents. Who puts the ball in the net? In the end, that doesn’t matter, the most important thing is to create and not concede opportunities. I am very grateful for the work Pepê and Borja (Sainz) have done since the start of the season, they have carried a lot of weight on their shoulders and have already played with physical problems. They have always given everything to help the team and I only have words of gratitude for them. I’ll be more than happy to see them score and I hope to celebrate with them.”

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