Rui Borges returns to FC Porto for “dream role” in swimming team | OneFootball

Rui Borges has been announced as the new coach of FC Porto’s swimming section, returning to the club three decades later as the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport, the blue and white emblem announced this Friday.

The new head coach arrives from Clube Fluvial Portuense, which he had been leading since the 2012/13 season, after stints at Sporting de Braga and Leixões, and replaces José Manuel Borges, who will remain on the coaching staff with greater responsibility in open water swimming.

“It’s a dream. This is my dream seat. I was an athlete here for 28 years, I left exactly 30 years ago, but this has always been my club at heart, naturally. I worked at other clubs, I fought against FC Porto – I had to, because that’s the role of a professional – and now it’s a huge pleasure to return to this home,” expressed Rui Borges, in statements released by FC Porto’s media channels.

A record holder for medals with the Porto emblem, Rui Borges accumulated 258 national championship titles over 28 years as a swimmer, retiring in 1995. He represented Portugal at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, and then embarked on a coaching career that now spans 30 years.

“I’m a different Rui Borges from the one who left here as an athlete, I’m Rui Borges the coach. The one who left was the club’s athlete who gave everything in the water for the team and his teammates. I even did my first year as a coach here, with the juniors, as Teresa Figueiras’ assistant, and in the following 29 years I went through SC Braga, Leixões, and Clube Fluvial Portuense. Those were many years of learning. Having been a high-performance swimmer helped a lot, but experience is gained through work,” he stated.

The coach set as goals to reestablish the national dominance of the section and to ensure participation in international competitions, such as World Championships and Olympic Games, with as many athletes as possible.

“We will try to put our club back at the top of national swimming, as a team, and achieve international participation in World Championships and Olympic Games, with the maximum number of athletes possible in those competitions, because we have spectacular training conditions. We need to believe: from now on, we will all believe and work hard for this,” he assured, adding that the management and the club are committed to making the section competitive.

The hiring of Rui Borges means, at 58 years old, the return of one of FC Porto’s most decorated figures, now tasked with forming a new generation of swimmers to compete on the most demanding international stages.

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