Rosario in line to replace Varela for Rio Ave v FC Porto | OneFootball

After starting in FC Porto’s win over Torreense (1-0), a result that earned the Dragons the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, Pablo Rosario lost his place to Alan Varela for the home game against Alverca on the opening matchday of the league season. However, the midfielder is once again shaping up as a candidate for the blue-and-white starting XI for Saturday’s visit (8:30pm) to Rio Ave. The Dominican international is recovering from a sprain to his right ankle — yesterday he only did treatment and gym work — and is unlikely to be fit in time to play in Vila do Conde.

Given this scenario, the versatile player, a regular backup option in Porto’s squad and one of the men Francesco Farioli trusts most, emerges as the most natural choice to take up the number 6 role, alongside Froholdt and Gabri Veiga in midfield. The possible return of Rosario to the Italian coach’s starting lineup is even more noteworthy because it would happen at a stadium that is particularly special for the midfielder.

It was precisely at the Arcos, on September 19 last year, that Pablo played his third official match for FC Porto. With Alberto Costa and Martim Fernandes injured, he played at right-back and burst into the Rio Ave box to open the scoring in Porto’s 3-0 win. Samu and Gabri Veiga completed the rout. That was the first of the two goals scored by the number 13 since arriving at the Dragão, and also one of the earliest signs of the importance he would go on to have for Farioli. Although he was not an undisputed starter, he finished his debut season as the squad’s eighth most-used player, with close to 3,000 minutes in 40 matches.

With several FC Porto players dealing with physical problems, all signs point to the national champions’ coach having to make changes in more than one area for the second round of the league. Even so, Farioli can approach the defensive midfield position with greater peace of mind. Beginning his second season at the Dragão, Pablo Rosario remains an important part of the coach’s plans, also because of the experience he has built up at the age of 29. The midfielder is among the Porto players with Champions League experience: in 2018/19, he represented PSV Eindhoven in six matches in the old group stage, all as a starter, and even scored in a defeat to Inter. In other seasons, he also took part in the qualifying rounds. In Europe’s top club competition, experience matters — a lot.

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