Quaresma: “FC Porto show why they were champions, Benfica less so…” | OneFootball

Ricardo Quaresma is eagerly looking ahead to Sunday’s FC Porto-Benfica clash and believes the match could be different from the most recent clásicos, given the positive run both rivals are currently enjoying.

The former winger, who wore the blue-and-white shirt in two spells — between 2004 and 2008 and from 2013 to 2015 — praised FC Porto’s performances, saying they are in keeping with their status as national champions.

“It’s going to be a great game, the kind of clássico we haven’t seen in quite some time. FC Porto are doing well, top of the table, showing why they were champions. Benfica didn’t start that well, but now you can see their confidence levels are very high. Just yesterday [Wednesday] they played a great game against Milan [a 2-0 win],” he said on the sidelines of the presentation of the Ricardo Quaresma 2026 scholarships, in Vila Nova de Gaia, aimed at local youngsters aged 12 to 14 who combine academic achievement with sporting merit.

Although he highlighted Benfica’s improvement, Quaresma again stressed the confidence he has in the Dragons’ squad, recalling that “in this kind of game, anything can happen.” The former Portugal international also underlined the competitive growth of the country’s main clubs.

“Without a doubt [the big three are more competitive]. Sporting have been growing year after year. Benfica had problems last year and FC Porto returned to winning titles. But I think that, without a doubt, we now have the potential to compete with anyone. I know our league is not as strong in terms of visibility as the Italian, English or Spanish leagues, but if we look at the big transfers, many of them come from here,” he noted.

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