Bruno Pinheiro on FC Porto: “We need a perfect game and kind refs” | OneFootball

Bruno Pinheiro, Académico de Viseu’s head coach, previewed this Thursday’s clash against leaders FC Porto, scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Fontelo Stadium. Aware of the difficulty of hosting the reigning national champions, the coach still guarantees an ambitious team determined to cause problems for the Dragons, much like what happened in the away match at the Estádio da Luz.

Analysis of the opponent: “FC Porto are an extremely aggressive team defensively. It will be extremely difficult to have long spells of possession, because FC Porto are a team that can switch from zonal marking to man-to-man defending in the blink of an eye, and they trigger their pressing cues very quickly. It will be difficult to keep possession, and it will be a game that will force us into a lot of duels. If we win those duels, we increase our possession. If we lose those duels, we will definitely spend a lot of time without the ball.”

What is possible to control? “The game process, obviously. Refereeing is not controllable. Referees also have the right to make mistakes, just as we do, coaches and players, that’s not what is at issue. It will be very important to match or surpass FC Porto’s aggression. They are a team that knows that in 90% of the matches they play in our league, they are clearly superior, and they use that to suffocate their opponents. We will try to create situations to find players with a little more time and space, which would allow us to breathe and find more favorable solutions up front. It will force us to adjust our positioning very quickly, to move much faster to offer passing lanes than the opponent will have speed to press us, which is not always easy. Defensively, we will try to trigger some pressing cues, knowing that we cannot play the game in the same way as our opponent, with very high or overly aggressive pressing, because they are strong collectively and individually. We will have to show a certain defensive patience and wait for the right moments to try to win the ball and break in offensive transitions that can make them uncomfortable. If we do not put them under that discomfort, they will tighten the screws more and more.”

Is the squad complete? “I think that until the last day of the transfer window, anything can happen. Players can come in and players can leave. It is still too early to take stock. We will let the window close and then a different assessment can be made.”

Motivation for facing the league leaders and reigning national champions: “We are going to face a team that does not concede goals and a team that always scores, but we always have the ambition to win. We are a humble group, but we are an ambitious group. We will try to play with the weapons we have, knowing that we will not be able to play the same game as our opponent. In my opinion, FC Porto are coming off their best game of the season, but we will create a strategy that can make things more difficult for FC Porto than their opponents have managed so far. We hope, just as we did at the Luz, to create some different difficulties. We know that we need to play a perfect game, we need them not to have much luck, and we also need favorable refereeing, without any major incidents.”

Importance of patience: “Above all, it is about understanding that there will be many moments in the game when we will have to suffer. I think the players are prepared for that, they know the opponent very well. There will be moments when we will have a lot of difficulty and we will have to be united, bring together all our energy and all the strength possible, but also have the ability, whenever possible, to play. In the last game I think there was already a noticeable difference in the moments when we had the ball, because we were much more competent than we had been at home against Santa Clara. Defensively, there will be periods when FC Porto will pile on the pressure, but I think we will be able to defend our goal as well as Porto defend theirs. That is what it comes down to: playing whenever we have the opportunity, knowing how to play with the ball, and when we have to defend, being united and protecting our goal well.”

Full house at the Fontelo: “It is a source of joy and satisfaction to have a full house here at the Fontelo, and I believe it will mostly be an Académico crowd. I’m very pleased, very happy about that, and I think it is essential to feel the fans’ support. It is going to be a difficult league campaign, we are going to have difficult moments, and in those moments we are counting on their support.

Valery Fernández: “He is a versatile player on the pitch, who can play in different positions. He is an extremely competitive player with technical quality. He has many games in La Liga, which is an extremely difficult league, but one that also has a style of play similar to what we are trying to do, a positional game. In theoretical terms, he is already adapted to the style of football we want to play, and he brings added individual value both in competitiveness and in the technical execution of his actions.”

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