“We’ll fight to our last drop of sweat to win the Champions League” | OneFootball

The roller hockey team secured a place in the Champions League final after beating OC Barcelos in the semi-finals (3-3, 3-1 on penalties), and Paulo Freitas highlighted “the group’s ability to come back into the game more than once” and to “honour the Club by winning and earning a place in the decisive match”. “We’ll be here, facing it head-on, to fight until the very last drop of our sweat to win the Champions League,” said the coach of a side made up of “outstanding athletes” that “lives everything as a team”.

Match summary“This is the fourth objective achieved in this competition, and now we want to recover and prepare for the final so we can achieve the fifth. It was a semi-final worthy of the Champions League, in which both teams showed each other a lot of respect. We didn’t start well and allowed OC Barcelos to feel comfortable in their game model, waiting for us and breaking in transition. They took the lead, which was something we didn’t want. Our aim was to control the scoreboard, and we knew that if we did, we would face fewer difficulties. Even so, the team showed great ability and enormous quality to get back into the game. We came back more than once, survived two underplays and trusted the process. We understood where they could hurt us, we were fantastic in terms of discipline, and the game remained very balanced, with both teams a little shaky at certain moments. It’s a Champions League semi-final and there’s a lot at stake. Perhaps that’s why those involved can’t always fully express themselves.”

A win for everyone“Clearly, I take enormous satisfaction in being able to count on the quality of outstanding athletes, and of course when we work on our attacking play, one of our goals is to maximise individual talent. But we can’t forget the way we pressed the opposing team, forcing them into mistakes, which then allowed that individual quality to stand out. Gonçalo Alves was the one who made the difference, because Gonçalo is obviously a top-class player, but it could have been anyone else. For me, it would have been exactly the same. What matters is that we kept our composure, held on to the result, honoured the Club and won. FC Porto will be in the Champions League final and tomorrow we’ll be here, facing it head-on, against whoever comes through from the next match, to fight until the very last drop of our sweat to win the Champions League.”

Unity is strength“I’ll say it again: Gonçalo Alves is an outstanding athlete and player, with above-average quality. We know Gonçalo can help us in many moments of the game, sometimes pulling a rabbit out of the hat, as the saying goes. The only thing we have to understand is that we did collective work that allowed individual quality to stand out. Gonçalo was decisive again from set pieces, as were Carlo Di Benedetto and Edu Lamas. This team does not individualise the good things, nor does it single out any mistakes that may arise. We experience everything as a team. Now, of course, it is a pleasure for me to have Gonçalo Alves, Carlo Di Benedetto, Rafa, Hélder Nunes, Telmo Pinto, Máli, Leonardo Pais, Pol Manrubia and Ezequiel Mena. I’m not forgetting anyone.”

The decisive strategy“We needed a different kind of game and we realised that the moves Gonçalo Alves was creating were being defended well by OC Barcelos, who were crowding the central channel and stretching across the flanks. When Gonçalo came on towards the end, I told him exactly that and instructed him to look for the wide channel before moving back inside through the middle, in order to take OC Barcelos out of their comfort zone. We wanted a team with greater mobility, knowing that Gonçalo would be an important player in that dynamic.”

Benfica or Barcelona“I have no preference, and it would be a tremendous lack of respect on my part to choose between the two clubs who are about to face each other, as they are both extremely well-managed teams. May the better team win and, tomorrow, perhaps be a little lower on energy so that we can get a boost from that and win the Champions League. Although there is no such thing as fatigue when it comes to playing a Champions League final. The players recover much more easily. I believe it will be a good match and a great roller hockey spectacle.”

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