André Villas-Boas: Porto still battling rumours and fake stories | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas took an aggressive stance in his criticisms and simultaneously defended FC Porto at the end of February, emphasizing that the blue and white identity "had to speak louder than the noise with which they try to condition FC Porto in the fight for its goals."

In his column in the latest edition of the magazine Dragões, the president criticized commentators and opinions that, in his view, lack the "rigor and ethics that should guide those who inform, interpret, and comment on the sports phenomenon."

"Off the field, FC Porto continues to have to fight, daily, a battle against a succession of insinuations and fabricated narratives, which often stray from the impartiality, rigor, and ethics that should guide those who inform, interpret, and comment on the sports phenomenon. Phrases like: ‘That reaction from Francisco Moura when he saw it was a penalty is worth…’; ‘Maybe Francisco Moura also wants to be a ball boy’; ‘FC Porto seems like a 4th Division team playing on Real Madrid’s field and wasting time’; are symptoms of a culture that normalizes disrespect, promotes mockery, and tries to dehumanize those who represent FC Porto. All of this is said with a levity that is neither innocent nor accidental. It is part of a pattern: a pattern that seeks to create a disruptive environment, condition perceptions, fabricate suspicions, and reduce FC Porto to the caricature that seems convenient to them," Villas-Boas states, pointing to recent cases linked to rivals Sporting and Benfica.

"And it is precisely because we are aware of this dimension that FC Porto does not remain silent, preferring to point the finger and expose the opportunists, the false moralists, the hypocrites, and their media-sponsored agendas," he adds, before casting a look at the sports aspect and the dragons' response to the defeat against Casa Pia.

"In this journey, which we wish to be glorious, there will always be obstacles and there will always be moments when the margin for error is minimal. The slip against Casa Pia was one of those moments. However, the most important lesson to take from that slip was the response, and it was immediate: unity, work, and a sense of responsibility. The team reacted as teams that want to be champions do: without drama, without excuses, without hysteria, but with the cold determination of those who know that the season is won by correcting, growing, and responding on the field, ignoring the noise and focusing on the essential," AVB emphasizes, also touching on the draw (1-1) with Sporting at the Estádio do Dragão for the championship.

"In the classic with Sporting, in a tense game full of details, the draw ended up coming from mere misfortune in the move that resulted in the penalty in the last minute. Football is made up of episodes that change games, but never the spirit that embraces this team, something that was confirmed with the victory in Madeira, dedicated to Samu, to whom we wish a speedy recovery. The victories against Rio Ave and Arouca were yet another expression of that competitive response, that ability to once again accumulate, with merit and conviction, the necessary points to maintain the point gap with our rivals, recognizing the importance of our audience in pushing us forward to victory," he concludes.

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