João Brandão: “The players’ attitude leaves nothing to be desired” | OneFootball

After the 1-0 victory over Marítimo, João Brandão praised the team’s collective performance, referring to “an extremely difficult, but very fair victory” and highlighting “a very determined team” whose “attitude leaves nothing to be criticized.” “The players gave everything, committed themselves tremendously, they were tireless,” added the coach of the side that “had the clearest opportunities” in the eighth round of the Second League and featured “a blend of players from the under-19s, the B team, and the A team, as well as a team captain [João Costa] who truly embodies the values of the Club and brought a lot of spirit and maturity.” Looking ahead, he made it clear: “The interests of FC Porto are above all else. The priority is and always will be the A team.”

Total Commitment“An extremely difficult, but very fair victory. I think today we were a very determined team, we proved the values we are building internally and it means a lot to finish the game with João Costa, but also with some under-19 players on the pitch. That says a lot about what is being built, about the value of FC Porto, and today the players’ attitude leaves nothing to be criticized. They gave everything, committed themselves tremendously, started the game strong and very aggressive. Even when we dropped the block, it was with the intention of being aggressive and keeping the lines very close so we could create opportunities in offensive transitions, and that’s what happened twice with great danger. In the second half, there was a reaction from an excellent team, Marítimo, who had only won away games so far. We ended up being the first team to defeat Marítimo away from home, which is very significant because the value of the opponent is clear, and my players were tireless in their determination and understanding that, at certain moments, we had to drop back to create opportunities in transition. I also want to say that, although Marítimo had more possession in the second half, we ended up having the clearest chances, which shows the maturity of the team. We hope this will be the first of many victories.”

A Triumph That Feels Insufficient“That’s how football is. We’ve finished many games in this league feeling a sense of injustice, so the most important thing is what we managed to do. We started very strongly in the first half, we managed to break Marítimo’s pressure. Credit to the players, who had the ability to understand the game plan without training. That says a lot about these players’ ability to come together and understand what is required.”

FC Porto Above All“We are just one FC Porto, we have a single objective to honor the badge we wear on our chest with great pride and honor. The interests of FC Porto are above all else. The priority is and always will be the A team, the priority will always be the transfer of players, which makes us proud because that will always be the purpose of the B team, the priority is the A team when it comes to training dynamics during the week. We are here to support all of that and proud to see the A team achieving excellent results, but also to see this blend between players from the under-19s, the B team and the A team, with a team captain [João Costa] who truly embodies the values of the Club and brought us a lot of spirit and maturity.”

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