Sérgio Ferreira: “I’d be ungrateful not to value all FC Porto gave me” | OneFootball

Alverca coach Sérgio Ferreira said on Saturday that his team will be ambitious and fearless when they visit FC Porto on Sunday for the opening round of the Primeira Liga at the Estádio do Dragão.

The coach, who last season led Porto’s under-19s to the national title, admits that returning to the Estádio do Dragão will carry special meaning. Even so, he insists the Ribatejo side is ready to try to surprise the national champions. “It would be ungrateful and unfair not to be thankful for everything that club gave me, but I am now fully focused on Alverca, and it is with that sense of mission that we are here to take the club to another level,” he stressed at a press conference.

Pleased and with a “full heart” at the chance to develop Alverca in the top tier of Portuguese football, Sérgio Ferreira hopes to see a bold side against the Dragons. “We feel the team is doing well. The players have really bought into our ideas, and the team grew a lot during pre-season. I believe we have enough weapons and the quality to be competitive,” he said.

In the coach’s view, Alverca will have to show great balance if they are to fight for points at the Dragão. “FC Porto are an extremely aggressive team both on and off the ball. It will be important for us to have our timing clearly defined collectively so that when we speed up the circulation of the ball, we know how to take advantage of the opponent’s pressure and sharpness to create advantages,” he said.

Sérgio Ferreira believes FC Porto stand out both for their collective strength and the individual quality of their players, which is why Alverca will have to stay true to their identity. “As a coaching staff, we greatly respected what was already there, and the challenge now is to transform our level of play. The most important thing is to stay true to our idea, to how we want to defend and attack,” he added.

Alverca begin their Primeira Liga campaign against champions FC Porto at the Estádio do Dragão on Sunday, August 9, at 18:00. The opening-round match will be refereed by Luís Godinho of the Évora Football Association.

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