“Mateus Mide has incredible technical ability, he’s very intelligent” | OneFootball

Sérgio Ferreira is about to begin, with Alverca, his first experience as a head coach in the Primeira Liga. The manager enters this new phase after leading FC Porto to the national under-19 title, but he gives greater importance to the development of the young players he coached than to winning the trophy. Among the players he rates most highly is Mateus Mide, in an assessment in which he sums up his main achievement: “the greatest title was developing players”.

The coach looks back on his time at FC Porto with the conviction that true success is measured by the athletes’ growth. Although the title won by the under-19s had special meaning, Sérgio Ferreira above all highlights the ability to prepare players for more demanding challenges.

After leaving the club following the national under-19 championship win, the coach was keen to stress that his spell at FC Porto cannot be judged only by the result achieved.

“Obviously, being national champions was fantastic, but I feel that the greatest title was developing players who have already worked with the first team and who played key roles for the B team.”

The impact of the work carried out, according to Sérgio Ferreira, lies in the integration of several players into the first team and the B team. That is where he finds the most meaningful confirmation of the path taken by that generation.

Mateus Mide is one example of that process. The midfielder worked under the coach and was named the best player at the Under-17 World Cup, a competition won by Portugal. For Sérgio Ferreira, the award is the result of a set of qualities that go beyond technical ability.

“He has incredible technical quality, is very intelligent and reads the game well,” he stressed. “He can create space where there is none. But what I highlight most is the maturity he showed in being considered the best in the world at his age.”

In the coach’s analysis, Mateus Mide’s value is not limited to the way he uses the ball. His intelligence, ability to find solutions in tight spaces and, above all, the maturity he showed in a competition of global scale help explain the recognition he achieved.

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