Miguel Coelho happy after Braga win: “Game 4 must match this mentality” | OneFootball

Miguel Coelho left the Dragão Arena pleased to be back at the venue after the 3-0 win over Braga that left FC Porto just one step away from the national women’s volleyball title. Rather than analyzing the match in detail, the coach chose to highlight the team’s response, the atmosphere in the arena and, above all, the need to repeat the same attitude in the next game. At the heart of his message was an unmistakable demand — and the coach assured: “Game 4 cannot be any different.”

As the series moves closer to its conclusion, Miguel Coelho came across with the urgency of someone who knows the advantage only matters if it is confirmed in the following game. The FC Porto coach spoke less about tactical aspects and more about identity, as if he wanted to establish from the outset the idea that must withstand the euphoria of a clear victory.

When asked what he took most from the home win, the coach answered objectively and preferred to emphasize how the team and the crowd experienced this third match, already with their eyes on what comes next.

“We play again in three days, so I’m not going to talk much about the game. If we didn’t like so much the way we approached Game 2, I really liked the way the team and the arena approached this Game 3, seeing the players’ typical aggression and the good aggression from the arena, which helped us win this third set. Those are the positive things I take from it,” he said. “Now we’re already going to prepare for Game 4 and we don’t want to be one team from Game 1 to Game 2 and another from the third to the fourth. This is one step at a time, but in every step we have to have the mentality we had today. The team works very hard and fully deserves all the victories we’ve had throughout the season. We have good people in this team. Game 4 cannot be any different from this one in terms of mentality. We can make mistakes, the game is made up of mistakes, but this way of approaching competition is ours and it has to be ours.”

In Miguel Coelho’s words, it was clear he refused to let the result speak for itself. The coach above all valued continuity: the right aggression, the right atmosphere, the right mentality. And that, more than the 3-0 scoreline, is what he wants to carry into the next chapter of the series.

The coach also stressed the emotional dimension of the moment, openly acknowledging the team’s ambition, while reminding that the desire to win the title only makes sense if it is properly channeled.

“We saw a team that really wanted to win Game 3 to win the championship. That has been the number one objective since we started working. The players share this feeling. We really want to win the championship,” he stressed. “That was the mentality I saw. We deserve for it to be ours and we have to make it happen. Just wanting it is no use if anxiety takes over. We have to turn this desire into something positive and into a few smiles on the court that help us play better. That is what we want for Game 4.”

Between ambition and control, Miguel Coelho thus sketched the picture of what he wants to see when the decision returns to the court. Want it badly, yes, but without rushing; go after the objective, but with the clarity of someone who knows that, in moments like these, the mind matters just as much as technique.

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