Farioli: “Diogo Costa’s new deal is a big step forward for the club” | OneFootball

“Regarding Diogo’s contract renewal, I think it was a big step for the club and for the team as well. His renewal was celebrated with great enthusiasm by all the players. We don’t even need to talk about his quality at this level, but particularly about what he’s been doing in terms of leadership, charisma, and the way he’s worn the armband is, in my opinion, unique. So, I’m very happy to work with him and to have him as our team captain. We have a great relationship, we respect each other, we like each other, and we’re also in sync when it comes to our ambition and desire to maintain the right standards of behavior. From there, we keep evolving through our daily work, which is the most important thing.”

Alan Varela experienced a dip in performance after Pablo Rosario’s integration

“About Alan, I think he’s one of the players with the most minutes on the team, so it’s normal and human that it’s harder to always maintain a high level, even though in the last match, besides the goal, his performance was very positive, on a pitch that was very difficult to play on. He started to struggle from the 60th minute, also because the pitch was heavy, but I think he’s given us a lot. He’s a key player for us. There was talk of competition between the two, but the truth is that they complement each other very well because Pablo can play in several positions. The two have already played together and contributed a lot to the team. It’s a long season, tomorrow’s game is an important step, so I had to make some decisions in midfield, but looking ahead I think having two players of this level in midfield is very important for us and we’ll try to manage that in the best possible way so they can maintain their level and continue to progress.”

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