Fernando Sá: “This is the pinnacle of my career” | OneFootball

Fernando Sá was repeatedly drenched in beer in the arena and then got another shower of sparkling wine from his players in the press room, as he spoke openly about what he described as the “most important moment of his career” after FC Porto won the basketball title.

“It was a very complicated year, with many decisions having to be made, sometimes even questionable ones, but in my view important ones. All coaches have moments when they feel alone, and I embraced that solitude in order to focus on what I could control, which was the team, my players. Little by little, we managed to build a bond that went beyond technique and tactics, and the belief kept growing,” said the coach, stressing that “the most important thing was seeing the genuine sense of sharing at the end”: “For me, this is the pinnacle of my career as a coach and player. It is something I dreamed of for many years and that often seemed impossible, but now it is here, and I think it was deserved for everything we achieved.”

In a season marked by several difficult moments, Fernando Sá also took the opportunity to “dedicate the title to Pedro Machado,” a youth team player who faced an oncological illness, “but who always showed tireless support and managed to overcome his problem.”

“FC Porto was without Miguel Queiroz and Tanner Omlid until December, and that had a tremendous impact on the results, with some very damaging defeats that certainly would not have happened otherwise. But they did happen, and it took very careful daily work for FC Porto to reach the playoffs in the best possible shape. I would have liked to have had more consistency throughout the season, but the team took a giant step forward and in two weeks gained a confidence it had not managed to build over several months of work. People were saying FC Porto had no chance of getting past Imortal, let alone Sporting, but we always approached everyone with great humility, and reaching the final against a club with Benfica’s history and winning in this way was fantastic. I could not have asked for more,” Fernando Sá said.

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