Sérgio Ferreira: “We want to keep our winning identity” | OneFootball

FC Porto’s under-19 team travels to UD Leiria for matchday 12 of the Championship Qualification phase and could be crowned national champions with a win on Saturday at 3pm. Previewing “a challenging game because of the pitch and also the profile of the opposing team,” Sérgio Ferreira spoke of “an immense ambition to get back to winning the three points” and played down the first-leg thrashing: “That 5-0 is in the past and the past is past. We are focused on the present so we can be better in the future.”

Along the same lines, forward Eduardo Ferreira said that “a completely different game from the one at home” will be played with “a single objective, which is to get the three points.” “The games in the second phase of the league are very demanding and require different things from all of us, but we have prepared well, we know what to expect and we are going into the game to win,” said the FC Porto under-19s’ top scorer.

Sérgio Ferreira

Still on the draw in the clássico“We have to keep doing exactly what we have been doing so far. The team gave everything it had; we did not always play in the best way depending on what was happening and at times we were not able to read the game as we should have, but FC Porto’s attitude and values were always present and that has to be highlighted. That was the positive side of the last game: after going 1-0 down through a penalty goal in a bizarre, even slightly crazy incident, the team produced a fantastic response. Once again, we only fell short in the final part, in a small detail where we made another mistake. It is part of learning and development, but it cannot happen again. We always go for the three points and that is exactly where our focus is. Ambition, will, the desire to win and to achieve are what drive us. What drives us is our team, our Club, our values, our achievements and nothing else. That is why we have to stay focused on that, because our ambition is to be better every day, as players and also as an active part of a collective. We are very focused on what we have to do to be better, to nullify as much as possible what the opposing team may do, and we have an immense ambition to get back to winning the three points.”

The sixth-placed side“It is going to be a challenging game because of the pitch and also because of the profile of the opposing team. It is a different profile from the one we have come up against so far, and it becomes a different game because it is played on a synthetic pitch with smaller dimensions. It is up to us to respond to that, and we are prepared for every scenario. We want to adapt as quickly as possible, trying to impose our game, with the idea of hurting the opposing team, and that is what we will be focused on.”

5-0 in the first leg“That result counts for nothing. We have to stay alert in every game, because in this final stage all games are different and always demand different versions of us. We want to maintain a standard, but there are always some details we have to change. That 5-0 is in the past and the past is past. We are focused on the present so we can be better in the future.”

The recipe for success“We have to be ambitious play by play, ball by ball, second by second. We have to be fully committed and very focused on what the game requires; we have to be a very consistent and steady team. Overcoming ourselves and going beyond our limits will have to be present, because it is a game that will take us to that level. It is a challenging game, but we are focused on what we have to produce, fully understanding the competitive side of the game. In addition to being very consistent, we have to be very competitive and be ready to play the full game.”

Eduardo Ferreira

One single objective“We want to finish this game with a win, obviously. We know how important the game is and we know it is going to be very demanding for us, but we are going into it with a single objective, which is to get the three points.”

Maximum demand“The games in the second phase of the league are very demanding and require different things from all of us, but we have prepared well, we know what to expect and we are going into the game to win.”

Extra attention“It is going to be a completely different game from the one at home, also because of the pitch conditions. UD Leiria are an opponent that will demand a lot from us, but I think we are prepared and we have been working well.”

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