FC Porto’s Mika Grbavica: “We’ll do all we can to win this title” | OneFootball

Mika Grbavica has put FC Porto within touching distance of the national women’s volleyball title, but there is no room for triumphalism ahead of the visit to SC Braga for game four of the Women’s League play-off final. The Croatian opposite spoke about the emotional weight of the 3-0 win in game three, the need to repeat the energy shown at home, and how the team must live with the tension of a match that could bring the season to a close. At the heart of it all is one simple and urgent idea: win now. And she made it clear: “We will do everything we can to achieve it.”

With the series at 2-1 and the decision once again away from home, Mika Grbavica struck a tone of guarded confidence, balancing pride in what the team recovered with the awareness that a final rarely offers comfort. The FC Porto player delivered a message that runs through the entire preview: the title is close, but only absolute focus can turn proximity into victory.

Asked about the team’s response in the third match of the final, the Croatian highlighted the value of the result and the importance of the reaction after the previous game. More than the lead in the series, she stressed the character of a performance that, in front of the fans, also served as a statement of ambition.

“I’m very proud of our team. What we achieved today was very important, especially after the last game,” she said. “We played at home, in front of our fans, and we had to prove that we want to win this title, regardless of what happened in the last match. We will do everything we can to achieve it.”

Grbavica’s words reveal a team that wanted to respond at the right moment and bring the final back onto the ground of its own identity. The 3-0 win therefore appears less as a finishing point and more as proof that FC Porto found the competitive tone it needs to close out the series.

It was in that spirit that the opposite insisted on energy as an essential condition for repeating the outcome of the last match. In a final, she suggested, it is not enough to play well: maximum intensity must be sustained from the first point to the last.

“In finals, everyone plays, and only if we play like we did in game three, with the energy we had, is it possible to repeat that result.”

There is a clear reading of the moment here: FC Porto knows what it did well, but it also knows that nothing will be repeated by inertia. The reference to energy works both as an internal warning and as a measure of the standards required from a team entering the decisive match without allowing itself to ease off.

When the subject turned to emotional management, Grbavica did not hide the natural tension of a match carrying the weight of a conclusion. On the contrary, she acknowledged both excitement and fear, but placed the focus on the only territory that is truly useful on the eve of such occasions: what is under the team’s control.

“Of course emotions are everywhere, but we have to stay focused on the things we can control,” she explained. “Of course there is excitement and a little fear, but it could be the last game and emotions will be everywhere.”

The message does not seek to romanticize the pressure, but rather to tame it. By acknowledging the nerves without handing them control, the player paints the picture of a group trying to bring clarity into a final where every emotional detail can affect performance.

On the new trip to Braga, the Porto player maintained a cautious tone and rejected any idea of an easy task. In her view, the lead in the series does not change the difficulty of what awaits the team away from home.

“I don’t think it will be an easy game, but we will give our best to repeat the result of the last game.”

That caution fits with the rest of the message: there is confidence, but no relaxation. FC Porto approaches the title with full awareness that the opportunity only gains value if it is confirmed on the opponent’s court.

Grbavica also had a word for the fans, calling on the Porto faithful for one final push in a season that could end in celebration. And she directly linked that support to the energy the team has felt in the strongest moments of the final.

“I hope our fans come and support us as much as they can, because their support means a lot to us,” she stressed. “You can see it from the result we achieved at home and from the energy they give us. It’s incredible, and I hope they come and support us, preferably for the last time this season.”

In that final appeal, the ambition is clear and direct: travel, win, and bring the story to a close. FC Porto heads to Braga with one match to secure the title and with the conviction that, between its inner energy and the push coming from outside, it has the combination it does not want to do without.

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