Goalball Champions League: FC Porto aim to join Europe’s elite | OneFootball

The group stage of the Goalball Champions League kicks off this Friday, with FC Porto facing the English side Fen Tigers (08:00), the German team SSG Blista Marburg (12:20), and the Italian team ASD Omero Bergamo (16:40) at the Odivelas Multiusos Pavilion. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place on Saturday, and the final, which decides the European title, will be held on Sunday.

In the lead-up to this edition of the Champions League, coach Pedro Filipe expressed his desire “to be one of the best teams in Europe” and assured that “the group is motivated and truly expects to succeed.” “Aware of the challenges” they will face against the “top representatives of the different leagues,” the coach called on the fans: “I challenge you to come support us and help us achieve our goal.”

The Goalball Champions League“It’s another opportunity to show our true worth. If we proudly say that we are one of the best teams internationally, it’s in these moments that we have to prove it. We’ve already secured our place in the first stage, but the goal is to reach the final stage and be among the best teams in Europe.”

The same ambition“I feel the team is motivated and truly expects to succeed. That doesn’t change just because it’s a European competition, because even if it were a national competition, I think it would be exactly the same. From the moment we put on this jersey, we always have the same responsibility. By taking part in a competition like the Champions League, we know we’re going to face the best teams and that gives us butterflies, but the responsibility remains the same.”

Playing in Odivelas“It would be preferable if it were in our city, but since it’s in our country, it’s always an advantage and it even ends up being a way for all fans and supporters to be able to cheer us on. I challenge you to come support us and help us achieve our goal.”

A closer look at the opponents“In this first stage we’ll face three completely different opponents, from three different leagues, who are the top representatives of those countries, and so we know the kind of goalball they will play. They have playing styles completely different from ours, but we’ve been focusing a lot on these issues over the past few weeks and we’re aware of the difficulties they’ll pose for us, but we also know we’ll cause them problems too.”

The road to the final“The sky’s the limit. In this first stage we have to focus on getting through to the next, and from there, it’s time to dream. We have a good team, but we also recognize the difficulty of the challenges ahead. We have to trust ourselves, because we have everything it takes to be very successful. We’ll take it game by game, aiming to be successful in the end.”

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