Luís Pinto admits challenges: “Only at our very best can we beat FC Porto” | OneFootball

Luís Pinto discussed the preview of the clash with FC Porto, related to the 18th round of the League. The match will take place at 8:30 PM this Sunday at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques and will be the first home game for the Vitorianos after the historic conquest of the League Cup.

Was it easy to focus on the game against FC Porto after the celebration? “Yes, it ends up being easy because we had some time to prepare for the match, something we hadn’t had for a while. We were able to celebrate what needed to be celebrated, a historic achievement. It has a lot to do with what we want to be as people and professionals, which is the ability to achieve success but then immediately focus on the future. Our future is in the league, where we want to be competent in the next game. It’s a match that will demand a lot from us; if we want to be winners, we must have the ability to win and then immediately refocus. The signs we have are that we will be able to do it, and on match day we’ll see if we’re truly focused on the present.”

What specific challenges do you foresee for this match? “The challenges will be very high due to the quality that FC Porto presents. We will have to have a competitive attitude and above-average concentration. We want to be consistent, to show that we are capable of having a responsible but very courageous approach. We have been able to do this in recent weeks, and we want to be able to do it again in a different competition against a stronger opponent. The consistency of our team is one of the biggest challenges we will face.”

Do you think FC Porto is the most suitable opponent at this stage? “To be able to beat FC Porto at home, we have to surpass ourselves and have a very, very high work rate. FC Porto has this work ethic in its DNA, they bring an intense, physical aspect to the game. But they are a team with quality; it seems you can understand their playing style, but they have added a lot of quality to their process. We have to be able to match their physical level in the games, but also have a very high level of concentration because they have been the most consistent team of the season. Only at a very high level can we beat FC Porto.”

What lessons from the League Cup victory can be applied? “There is something, like belief, the way we approach the game. We believe we can win. In that aspect, we must have the same belief and enter with the focus on wanting to win. Then, in more strategic matters, there are things we can take away. We analyze the game to see what happened, and there are aspects we can use. But we will have to do things differently; there is no recipe that will always give the same result. The way we want to prepare to play the game has to be present so we can start in the best possible way. We have to dedicate ourselves a lot, something we managed to do almost entirely in the game against them. It’s a different moment, many months have passed, each game has its own story. We can’t be stuck to what happened in that first game.”

Did winning the League Cup boost the squad’s confidence? “I believe this achievement may have served to increase that sense of capability, the confidence the players must have in their value. There is quality, which is starting to be noticed by more people. There is one thing that doesn’t change: we still have the same youth in the squad. We have to have the hunger to win, to keep growing, to keep working to be better. Our big challenge is to be able to turn the page with the ambition to continue doing things we can be proud of. The squad will be up to the task of responding. Confidence is higher, but we must have confidence and humility in the right doses to be competent. Confidence goes up by the stairs and down by the elevator, as Wenger said, so our growth has to be sustained by daily work.”

Do Charles’ performances in the League Cup make your choice more difficult? “We are pleased when any of the players perform well. Naturally, it has an impact on our ideas. The decision has been made and you will see what it is.”

What impact will the absences of Nélson Oliveira and João Mendes have? “Lamenting those who are absent is not our way; we never want to have that kind of attitude. It’s something natural, which gives other players the opportunity to step in. I truly believe we have a group capable of responding to the absence of two players who have always been used.”

Is Opara already an option? “Opara still needs his time to adapt. He arrived with the goal of helping. Fortunately, we have players for the position who are more adapted to the idea and the club. The goal is to give him time to grow and adapt to the club.”

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