Farioli focused on last 2 league games: “We need 2 wins for 91 points” | OneFootball

National champions, FC Porto head into the final stretch of the league with a goal that Francesco Farioli refused to treat as a statistical ornament: to finish the season at the highest remaining mark still within reach. On the eve of the trip to Vila das Aves to face AFS, the coach spoke about the points record, squad management, individual cases and preparation for next season, always with the same underlying idea: the title does not exhaust ambition. And he assured: “we’re going after them.”

In the press room at the CTFD Jorge Costa, Francesco Farioli appeared with the tone of someone who does not want to see the team ease off by even an inch. FC Porto have already achieved the main objective, but the Italian coach’s message was clear from start to finish: the two remaining games still matter, for the present and also for what comes next.

Asked about the possibility of matching the best points tally in league history, Farioli got straight to the point without taking his eyes off the next opponent.

“There are two games left and we want to do as well as possible. To get to 91 points we need two wins and we’re going after them,” he said. “But right now we’re focused on the game against AFS, a team that is in a positive moment after three draws and a win. We have to be ready, playing away is always difficult even though we can count on the support of our fans, but we have to be very well prepared for this game.”

The tone is revealing: there is ambition for the numbers, but not at the expense of competitive alertness. In Farioli’s words, the record appears less as a parallel trophy and more as the natural consequence of a team that wants to keep up the habit of winning.

When the subject turned to Jan Bednarek, the coach shut the door on public exposure and handled the matter with restraint.

“It’s a personal matter. He was here this morning, worked with the team and was fine after a difficult night. The response from the Club, the police authorities and everyone who supported him was the best possible, and that’s why he trained normally with his teammates.”

Without dramatizing or going on at length, Farioli limited himself to what was essential and tried to bring the conversation back to the group. It was a brief answer, but enough to show normality in the daily work.

As for the transfer market and individual growth within the squad, the coach widened the lens and made it clear that the club is already working with one foot in the future, though without disconnecting from the immediate task.

“The attention Victor (Froholdt) has been getting is down to his own merit, his performances, the consistency he has shown and especially the development he has displayed since he arrived. He shows maturity in every game and that says a lot about him,” he explained. “He’s not the only player who has improved a lot during the season, but his words on Saturday night were very clear when he spoke about next season, where he would like to play and how he feels at FC Porto.”

The coach also underlined the building logic he wants to maintain at the club.

“On the other hand, there is a clear intention from the Club to move forward in the right direction and try to keep the best players here and build on this group. We spoke many times about a rebuilding year and we achieved remarkable things, but there are still two games left and we have to approach them with a hybrid mindset of finishing this season well and preparing the next one well,” he said. “On the one hand there is the spirit, commitment and performance level that I want to see and, on the other, it may be an opportunity to test some players. Since the start of the season we have rotated a lot, everyone has felt involved and has shown the best physical condition.”

Continuing in the same answer, Farioli clearly laid out the work already running in parallel behind the scenes.

“In the next two games we may rotate some players to understand what kind of shape they are in. On top of that, there is the work that has been going on for a few weeks to understand the Club’s long-term vision, the players we want to bring in, meetings with the scouting department...,” he said. “On Monday we will have an important day to analyse player profiles and approach the market in the right way. Everyone has had time to digest what we achieved, but now it’s time to get back to work and keep delivering great performances on the pitch. We are a big organisation that is working to be well prepared for the market and to make the right moves to build a good team to compete for the different objectives next season.”

More than celebrating what has already been done, Farioli insisted on the idea of continuity. The league is not over yet, but the structure, through the voice of the coach, is already thinking about the bridge between the title won and the team it wants to present next.

In managing minutes, the Italian was unequivocal: the desire to involve everyone exists, but not above the result. And Bednarek’s case served precisely to frame that principle.

“Jan (Bednarek) doesn’t need to show anything else to prove the leader and the man he is. He was here this morning, he trained, and now the decision is mine. I would like to give minutes to everyone, but our priority is to win games,” he said. “Every decision I make will be based on that: winning games. We’re not going to change two or three players just because the job is done.”

Along the same lines, he also left the door open to small experiments, but never to stripping the team of its identity.

“The group has already shown the level of commitment and the impact it had in the first 52 games and that is the key. Maybe we will give minutes to one or two youngsters, but the priority is to do everything to get the results we want in these two games.”

It is a way of managing the end of the season without falling into the temptation of taking it easy. The title offers some margin, but not a licence to let the guard down.

Looking back at the title celebrations, Farioli spoke about the emotional impact of the triumph, although he was keen to stress how quickly the group returned to work.

“On Saturday I was surprised, because I was very focused on the game and it was only when I saw the fans outside the stadium that I realised something very good had happened. It was a real celebration, a moment to share with the fans the joy of having achieved something important,” he recalled. “I gave the players time to manage their emotions and recover physically. For the last three days we have been giving our maximum, 100% focused and following all our routines.”

Then he raised the bar again.

“We are already raising the bar for next season, because we are not satisfied with just one title. Tomorrow I want to see a team with the same hunger, the same desire and the same attitude as in previous games,” he stressed. “I’m going to assess some players on their levels of professionalism to continue here next season.”

Even in celebration, the message rejects any complacency. The euphoria existed, but in the coach’s vocabulary it always appears subordinated to high standards.

Regarding the loan players, the answer was one of caution and gratitude, with the season still demanding full concentration.

“We have several loan players, some whose contracts are ending, and there have been conversations with them, with the agents and with the clubs so that we can understand their situation and the possible conditions. All of these players added something and helped us achieve what we wanted,” he acknowledged. “I’m very grateful to them for the professionalism they showed, for what they gave to the team, and I also have a personal relationship with them. We are closer to making some decisions, but nothing will be finalised before the end of the season, because everyone’s focus is on the league and on getting the highest number of points in the next two games.”

Here too the logic remains intact: assess, talk, prepare, but without allowing the future to consume the present. Farioli was consistent in that balance throughout the entire press conference.

On a more individual level, Dominik Prpić drew a long and revealing answer, especially in the way the coach valued the centre-back’s invisible work.

“For those watching from the outside it may be difficult to follow his development, because he hasn’t played since December. With Thiago (Silva)’s arrival, new dynamics emerged in the heart of defence, Jan (Bednarek) played almost all the time and we completed the defensive line with him and Pablo (Rosario),” he explained. “Dominik (Prpić) would have signed up straight away to play 600 or 700 minutes in his first season. He had many minutes in the first half of the season and few in the second because we have two centre-backs from the Polish national team and a legend like Thiago Silva.”

Farioli then insisted on the player’s progress despite the reduced game time.

“He didn’t stop getting minutes because he stopped developing. He has grown a lot and always worked very well, even without having played since January. He helped us keep training standards high and raise the bar in every session, especially on the days after games,” he said. “That commitment in ball work and physical exercises makes him highly valued by his teammates. That says a lot about his role within the group and this is a good time to assess, to analyse calmly and decide what to do for him and for the Club. He is a player I appreciate a lot, personally and professionally, and I am very grateful to him for what he did for us this year.”

There is, in this view, a clear appreciation for what does not show up on matchday. And that helps explain Farioli’s criteria: he does not look only at those who play, but also at those who sustain the competitive level every day.

Speaking about the bigger celebration, the coach separated the noise of the moment from the work that belongs to him.

“The big celebration will be in 10 days. We have time to prepare the logistics and everything that is part of the celebration. That is not part of my job,” he summed up. “It is a moment of enormous happiness, emotions are running high, there are always excesses and things that are part of sport. Some win, others lose, and things happened this season that make us laugh.”

The detour was brief, almost procedural, before returning to the subject that truly drives him: next season and the way the club is preparing for it.

“Since July last year I have maintained close collaboration with the Club, mainly with the president, but also with the scouting department. We have already had many meetings to assess the squad, the needs we have and the market opportunities,” he said. “January was a good example of that: we made two transfers at the beginning, two clear targets, and then waited for the right opportunity to bring in Seko (Fofana) and Terem (Moffi). They played a very important role with Samu’s injury and in giving Victor (Froholdt) a rest. Everyone saw that.”

He then went into detail about what he sees as the next step.

“We are at a moment when the good feelings from the title have to be put aside and we have to keep a cool head to make a clear analysis of the squad, of what we can still improve and look at it case by case. There are positions where we will have to make changes, mainly in attack. While we wait for Samu to recover, we have to think about alternatives,” he explained. “We have to listen to some players to understand whether they want to stay or not, the loan players and those whose contracts are ending. The next few weeks will be busy, but we are already working flat out on every file.”

In that answer, Farioli also reinforced the sense of urgency with which he wants to tackle that work.

“From Sunday night onwards we will enter the routine of preparing next season and that can make the difference between winning and losing. Nobody here wants to waste time, the structure is already working and we will have a long meeting with scouting on Monday,” he assured. “We are all aligned, we know where we want to go and we all have the same ambition to keep improving. Football is like that, we live in the present and we still have a celebration in Aliados, but we are already thinking about next season.”

The picture is of a coach who does not want the achievement to act as a cushion. In his words, the title serves as proof of the path, not as the end point.

That idea came up again when he was asked for a broader reading between past and future, between what went wrong before and what now allowed FC Porto to become champions.

“I have been receiving a lot of calls and messages that I haven’t even replied to yet, because I’ll only have time to do that at the end of the season, from people close to me asking what the difference is between last season and this one. Our work as a coaching staff was similar, we made some adjustments and the small things can make the difference and help us achieve the desired results,” he analysed. “The line is very thin. I like to know what is going on and what narrative is being built. Last season I went through a difficult moment, but I understood perfectly the reasons and I know what I could have done better as a coach and as an organisation.”

In the final part, he offered broad thanks to the structure and the group, framing the success as a collective product.

“I also know what has been done at FC Porto and that is the biggest lesson of all: we have to create the necessary conditions to win. That starts with the most important person and goes all the way to the least important. Even so, it is not a guarantee of success, it only guarantees that the conditions exist for us to be successful,” he said. “Last year I had two catastrophic transfer windows and the real miracle was competing for the title until the end with that kind of team. This year we did a good job, but we were not the only ones. I am very grateful to FC Porto, to the president, to the people who work closely with him, to Tiago (Madureira) and Henrique (Monteiro), the two people who are with me every day at Olival and who work with me on every detail to put everything in the right place. A fantastic coaching staff that works very hard, and the other departments, from the directors to the people who are part of those departments, who besides being FC Porto fans are incredible workers. Then, having a group of players of this level and with this commitment always leaves us closer to success.”

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