Quaresma: “FC Porto v Benfica, the clássico we've not seen for a while” | OneFootball

Ricardo Quaresma is looking ahead with great anticipation to Sunday’s match between FC Porto and Benfica. For the former Dragons player, who had two spells at the club, the derby should be different from the most recent ones, given the strong run of form both rivals are enjoying. The former footballer also highlighted the quality shown by FC Porto, considering that the team’s performances live up to their status as national champions.

“It’s going to be a great game, the kind of derby we haven’t seen in quite some time. FC Porto are doing well, they’re top of the table, showing why they were champions. Benfica didn’t start so well, but now you can see their confidence levels are sky-high. Just yesterday [Wednesday] they played a great game against Milan,” he said, as quoted by Lusa, on the sidelines of the presentation of the Ricardo Quaresma 2026 scholarships in Vila Nova de Gaia. The initiative is aimed at young people from Gaia aged 12 to 14 who combine academic success with sporting merit.

Although he acknowledged Benfica’s improvement, Quaresma once again showed confidence in Porto’s squad, recalling that “in this type of game, anything can happen.” The former Portugal international also stressed the growth in the football played by the country’s leading 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.