Seabra warns FC Porto: “We’ll be able to compete” | OneFootball

Arouca is preparing for a maximum-difficulty trip to the Estádio do Dragão, where they will face FC Porto this Sunday in the league. Although both teams have won their first two matches, Vasco Seabra gives the favorites tag to the national champions. Even so, the coach wants a brave team, true to its identity and capable of responding to Porto’s intensity. “We will have the conditions to compete, but we have to be at the highest level of demand.”

A winning start to the league campaign has not changed Vasco Seabra’s assessment of the challenge awaiting Arouca. Against Francesco Farioli and an FC Porto side boosted by winning the Super Cup, the Arouca coach wants a team capable of expressing itself with and without the ball, knowing the match will require courage, organization and the ability to match the opponent’s pace.

In his preview, Seabra openly acknowledged the difficulty of visiting the national champions. The reference to the work of Francesco Farioli marked the beginning of an analysis shaped by respect and caution.

“We expect a game of extremely high difficulty, against the national champions, extremely well coached and with Francesco Farioli having more than proven credentials for what he did last season and this one, with the Super Cup win,” the coach began by highlighting.

Recognizing FC Porto’s favoritism does not mean, however, that Arouca will give up its ambition. Seabra sees no reason to change the team’s principles because of the strength of the opponent.

“We have to go in with our usual personality, regardless of the opponent. We have to have our mentality and our way of being and approaching things, so that we have the courage to press, have the ball and challenge ourselves to score,” he said.

The coach also showed confidence in the group’s ability to carry out that strategy.

“We are confident and humble about our team and our identity.”

The intention, therefore, goes far beyond simply trying to avoid defeat. Arouca want to compete in the match, maintaining humility but also the determination to measure themselves against an opponent of the highest demands.

When addressing FC Porto’s main dangers, Vasco Seabra highlighted the Dragons’ intensity and vertical style. The first priority was stated directly:

“It is to stop them from scoring in our goal,” he summed up.

He then explained how he intends to combine pressing with the need to protect the space in behind the defense.

“FC Porto have a style of extremely high intensity, with combinations that are very difficult to stop because of their verticality and the way they try to wear us down. We have to know how to press, without just waiting, and understand the moments when we have to trigger the press and look at FC Porto’s space in behind, without trying to give away certain spaces,” he summarized. “It’s a game of cat and mouse.”

For the Arouca coach, the match will be decided by the ability to read each moment: pressing when possible and protecting space when the context demands it.

Seabra ended his preview by asking for total commitment from his players. Despite the opponent’s individual quality, he believes Arouca have the tools and motivation to compete, as long as they follow the plan with maximum concentration.

“They have excellent players, but we have excellent players too and very motivated people who know they have to give 100 percent of themselves to come out on top.”

In conclusion, he once again reinforced the idea he wants to take to the Dragão:

“We will have the conditions to compete, but we have to be at the highest level of demand.”

It is with this balance between respect for FC Porto’s strength and confidence in their own identity that Arouca approach the match, looking to show that they too can impose their mark on the pitch.

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