Hwang finally meets Farioli: ‘I’ll now work with a coach I admire’ | OneFootball

Hwang was unveiled as FC Porto’s new signing after leaving Feyenoord, and now faces the challenge of adapting to a new league and to life in Portugal. The 29-year-old South Korean spoke about the bond he built with Francesco Farioli, his conversation with the president, and the long-standing respect he has had for Porto’s coach. Faced with this new challenge, he assured: “I felt very proud that they were interested in me.”

With a contract until 2029, plus an option for one more season, Hwang joins the blue-and-white world with positive references to both the country and the club. In his comments, he conveyed an overall message: the move to FC Porto is seen as a professional opportunity, but also as a step he wants to experience with family closeness and trust in the project.

Asked about the weight of his international experience in his move to Portugal, Hwang appeared calm in the face of this new reality. The midfielder acknowledged that he will have to adapt to the club, the league, and the city, but started from a favorable impression of the Portuguese.

“It will help me adapt to the club, to a new league, and to a different country. I’ve never lived here, but I’ve only met good people from Portugal,” he said. “My agents are Portuguese, and Paulo Bento, who was my national team coach, had a lot of faith in me. I have a very good impression of Portuguese people, and I hope to keep it that way at FC Porto, with everyone, my teammates, the coaching staff, and everyone who works at this club.”

For Hwang, adaptation is not limited to the pitch. His remarks point to an integration built in everyday life, between the dressing room, the club structure, and life outside it.

It was, however, the conversation before the transfer that cemented his decision. Hwang explained that he already knew FC Porto’s stature, but that direct contact with Francesco Farioli and the president allowed him to better understand the reasons behind Porto’s interest.

“I found out that he was interested in signing me. Everyone knows, even in South Korea, that FC Porto are a big club, so I didn’t need to ask many questions about the club, because I already knew it’s a huge club with a lot of history. I felt very proud that they were interested in me,” he stressed. “It was a good conversation, they explained why they wanted to sign me, and I only asked them a few questions. After that conversation, I spoke to my wife for the first time. I hadn’t spoken to her before because I knew she would go crazy about the possibility, so I wanted her to stay calm. She was very happy because she really likes the city and port wine. Once I adapt to the city and the club, my wife and daughter will come to support me and be with me. I think it’s very important for players to spend quality time with their families.”

In the way he describes the decision, there is room both for the sporting project and for personal stability. His family’s arrival is planned for after the initial adaptation period, a sign that Hwang sees this spell at FC Porto as more than just an immediate change of shirt.

His connection with Farioli, moreover, did not begin in this video call. Hwang recalled previous attempts by the coach to sign him and revealed that, despite the rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord, he had already been following the coach’s career with admiration.

“Here I have to be careful with what I say, because Ajax and Feyenoord are big rivals. In the video call with the boss, I remembered the moment when we no longer had any chance of becoming champions while PSV and Ajax were fighting for the title. At that time I was rooting for boss Farioli, but not for Ajax, because I’ve known him since 2020 or 2021, when he was at Alanyaspor and wanted to take me to Turkey, but at the time I chose to sign for Olympiacos. Then he went to Nice and also tried to sign me, but once again things didn’t happen. At Ajax he also tried to sign me, but Feyenoord moved first,” he explained. “Now I will finally have the opportunity to work with him. He is a coach I admire a lot. That’s why I was very happy, even though I wasn’t an FC Porto player, when he won the Portuguese league. I have great respect for him, he never gave up, he won a special trophy for the Club, and I can’t wait to work with him every day.”

The reunion at FC Porto thus comes after several approaches that never materialized. Hwang arrives with openly stated admiration for the coach and with the expectation of turning that long-standing connection into daily work.

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