Villas-Boas: “Hockey brings us nothing but joy” | OneFootball

FC Porto’s roller hockey team, crowned European champions on Sunday, was received by Porto City Hall president Pedro Duarte at the Paços do Concelho.

Led by club president André Villas-Boas, the FC Porto delegation was honored for winning the fourth Champions League title in the club’s history, secured against FC Barcelona (3-1) in a final played in Coimbra.

In his speech, the “blue and white” official expressed his gratitude to the players and coaching staff for the first European title since he took over the presidency on May 7, 2024.

“It is an enormous pride to be at Porto City Hall in the presence of the councillors, the board, and the entire FC Porto roller hockey team, which does nothing but fill us with joy, in a personal, professional and sporting transformation that I myself have experienced intensely,” he said.

Villas-Boas also highlighted the fact that the trophy was won against former FC Porto coach Ricardo Ares, now in charge of the Catalan club, the record-holder for European titles with 22.

“What adds to the glory of this victory is the fact that they achieved it against their former coach, who knows them better than anyone, against a strong team that holds the record for European titles. Ricardo Ares left FC Porto having given us a cup like this one, and it was clear he wanted to beat FC Porto, but Paulo Freitas was the leader of this transformation and won this trophy,” he stressed, praising the current FC Porto coach, whom he challenged to win the Intercontinental Cup.

For his part, after presenting the team with a commemorative gift, Pedro Duarte thanked them for the European triumph and highlighted the city’s connection to roller hockey and FC Porto.

“First of all, I offer my congratulations, and secondly, my thanks. Porto has an affectionate and emotional bond with two things that are very well symbolized here: on the one hand, its connection to roller hockey, a sport that is in all our hearts, and on the other, its emotional bond with FC Porto,” he said.

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