Chico Conceição admits problems at FC Porto: “Hard to ignore” | OneFootball

Francisco Conceição is in his second season at Juventus, and everything indicates that he will continue in Turin for the foreseeable future. The Portugal international spoke to Sportweek, the weekly magazine of La Gazzetta dello Sport, in an interview in which he addressed several topics.

The 23-year-old winger admitted that his childhood idol is his father, Sérgio Conceição), and was invited to reflect on the positive and negative aspects of having worked with him at FC Porto.

“I think working with my father gave me more than it took from me, because he is a great coach and I learned a lot from him. He made me realize what I needed to improve, and if I am at Juventus today, it is precisely thanks to the fact that I was coached by him. But yes, I suffered because of it,” he began by saying.

However, he did not hide the less favorable side either, namely the criticism he was targeted with and the fact that he was undervalued for being coached by his own father. Even so, the youngster guarantees that those comments only helped him grow as a person and as a player.

“It is inevitable when, at 18, there are people saying you only play because you are the son of Sérgio Conceição. At that age, it is difficult to ignore that kind of comment. Even so, all of that ended up making me mentally stronger and forced me to grow up faster. It made me a man,” he continued.

On how he tried to separate the family connection from his time at FC Porto, Francisco Conceição explained that when he arrived in the Dragons’ first team, he immediately showed his “qualities.” Therefore, it became clear that “he played because he deserved it.”

Francisco Conceição also revealed how he deals with his father’s warnings and recounted a curious episode that happened at FC Porto.

“When I was younger and still did not behave 100% like a professional, he was the first to tell me that I had to do better, because a footballer’s career lasts 15-20 years and, to reach the level I could aspire to, I needed to give more. My father is also very demanding when it comes to weight. At first, at FC Porto, I did not pay much attention to it, but every day he made us step on the scales and if I was just one or two hundred grams over my ideal weight, he would tell me: ‘Today you eat less,’” he said.

“I’ll take him on anyway. That’s my mentality”

Asked about Bruno Fernandes describing him as a “cheeky player,” Chico Conceição recognized himself in that idea and explained how he approaches attacking moments.

“I am someone who has very little fear of making mistakes. I can have the strongest defender in the world in front of me, and I’ll take him on anyway. No defender has been beaten until someone manages to do it for the first time. That’s my mentality, and I believe I have the quality to dribble past any opponent. I will keep trying to prove it on the pitch, because today, in my position, I feel like one of the best,” he pointed out.

The forward guaranteed that he plays with “joy” and with “passion,” underlining the natural but serious way in which he experiences football. The Portuguese player is aware of the “responsibility” of representing a club like Juventus, although he always tries to keep enjoying himself on the pitch.

“I know I have a great responsibility, because at a club like Juventus, winning is an obligation. I always try to enjoy myself on the pitch, because that is fundamental for me to feel good and to help the team achieve its objectives. Without joy, I am not the same,” he stressed.

Francisco Conceição said that what he likes most to do on the pitch is “beat his opponent and win,” without forgetting goals. After defining his game as being driven by “instinct,” the winger spoke about Portugal’s ambitions for the 2026 World Cup.

“We are convinced that we can do it”

“I think we are going to win. Portugal have to win. We are convinced that we can do it. We have the quality for that, both individually and as a team, but we have to prove it to ourselves and to others. We have to show that we are a strong team and in great form,” he began by saying about what he expects from the national team at the World Cup.

Francisco Conceição assured that Portugal’s main strength is the “collective” and that the national team is prepared for the challenge, especially since they already defeated Germany and Spain in the last Nations League.

Finally, the Juventus player had glowing praise for Cristiano Ronaldo and said that the captain of the Seleção das Quinas still gives a lot to the team.

“Regardless of his age, he continues to score a lot of goals, he is a leader, and he still has a huge hunger to win—he shows it every day,” he concluded.

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