Mário Santos on handball changes: “We’ll build a strong, competitive team” | OneFootball

On the day Carlos Martingo was presented as head coach of FC Porto’s handball team, Mário Santos outlined the start of a new chapter without giving up the club’s usual high standards. The sporting director for the club’s other sports pointed to the national title, explained the logic behind the squad’s renewal, and made it clear that the commitment to youth development must go hand in hand with immediate competitiveness. At the heart of the message was one simple and firm idea: “we are going to build a capable and competitive team.”

This is a moment of change, but not of hesitation. With Carlos Martingo beginning a new cycle in Porto handball, Mário Santos put the focus where the club usually does: winning, renewing, and going after a goal which, he said, has taken too long to return.

Asked about the significance of choosing the new coach, the official framed the decision as the starting point for a different phase, also supported by Carlos Martingo’s deep knowledge of the club’s young players.

“It is a commitment to a new cycle, with a new coach, but always with the same objectives, which is to win,” he said. “We are aware that he is a coach who knows our players well, especially the younger ones, who have been working with him for a longer time. Obviously, one of our strongest commitments is to renew the team with players from FC Porto’s academy.”

There is a clear double intention here: to change without losing identity. The new cycle does not emerge as a break, but as a continuation of a culture of high standards, now with greater room for the academy to take on a leading role.

When the subject turned to the season’s objectives, Mário Santos did not hide behind generalities. He went straight to the point and made the league title the top priority.

“Obviously, the main objective is to win the national title, something we are striving for,” he stressed. “It is with that goal that we are going to prepare our team and our players, because it is a title that has eluded us for some time and we do not want that situation to continue.”

The message left no room for timid interpretations. More than a formal ambition, the national title emerged as a competitive urgency and as the immediate way to measure the strength of this new project.

In building the squad, the official returned to Carlos Martingo’s background and track record in working with young players, but he was keen to broaden the picture. Youth development is a pillar, not a dogma; the decisive criterion will continue to be the ability to represent the Porto badge at the required level.

“Carlos Martingo has that background and track record of working with young players, but we are going to build a capable and competitive team,” he explained. “If possible, with academy players, but above all with players who are at the level needed to represent FC Porto and compete. Fortunately, our academy has produced many results and many players who are able to compete at a high level, also thanks to his work. We will try to bring together players from our academy with other talents from Portuguese handball.”

This sets out a model of balance between identity and performance. FC Porto wants to look inward without closing the door to the best that Portuguese handball has to offer, trying to combine the growth of its young players with the urgency of winning again.

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