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

After the 1-0 victory over Marítimo, João Brandão praised the team's collective performance, stating it was “an extremely difficult but very fair victory” and highlighting “a very determined team” whose “attitude leaves nothing to be criticized.” “The players gave everything, they committed themselves tremendously, they were outstanding,” added the coach of the team that “had the most evident opportunities” in the eighth round of the Segunda Liga and featured “a symbiosis between players from the under-19s, the B team, and the A team, as well as a team captain [João Costa] who truly reflects the Club's values and brought a lot of spirit and maturity.” For the future, he made it clear: “The interests of FC Porto are above everything. 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 has great significance to finish the game with João Costa, but also with some under-19s on the field. This 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 strong in the game, and were very pressing. Even when we lowered the block, it was with the intention of being aggressive and keeping the lines very close to then create opportunities in offensive transitions, which happened twice with great danger. In the second half, there was a reaction from an excellent team, Marítimo, which had only won away games. We ended up being the first team to defeat Marítimo away, which is significant because the opponent's value is well recognized, and my players were outstanding in their determination and understanding that, at times, 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 most evident opportunities, which shows the team's maturity. We hope this is the first of many victories.”

A Victory That Falls Short“That's how the game is. We have finished many games in this championship with a sense of injustice, so the most important meaning is what we managed to achieve. We had a very strong start 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. This says a lot about these players' ability to unite and understand what is required.”

FC Porto Above Everything“We are just one FC Porto, we have a single objective to honor the badge we wear with great honor and pride. The interests of FC Porto are above everything. 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 in terms of 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 symbiosis between players from the under-19s, the B team, and the A team, with a team captain [João Costa] who truly reflects the Club's values 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.