Francesco Farioli: “Dressing room closer than ever” | OneFootball

With the last FIFA break of 2025/26 over, the focus returns to the League and Matchday 28, which brings a home game against FC Famalicão on Saturday at 8:30pm, live on Sport TV, at the Estádio do Dragão. Previewing a match against “one of the most consistent teams since the start of the season” and one with “a remarkable defensive record”, Francesco Farioli called for the “best version” of the Porto side, who will have to “give everything in front of a full Dragão”. After the “pride” sparked by the president André Villas-Boas’s recent remarks, the Italian coach assured total focus on the challenge ahead and shared two pieces of good news: “Diogo Costa and Rodrigo Mora are fully fit.” Going into this round, FC Porto lead outright with 72 points, seven more than Sporting, who have played one game fewer, and Benfica.

On all fronts“We are coming off a good run of positive results that has put us in a good position. We are still in three competitions with the possibility of going all the way, and the group’s response, especially in the last six matches, has been very positive. We feel that we have 20 starters, and the last game showed that everyone can play, compete and help us achieve what we want. It has given us important responsibility, but we need to have the right spirit and the right attitude in the upcoming challenges, starting with tomorrow’s.”

Managing the squad“If we look ahead to the end of May and the final objective, it is normal to feel anxiety or pressure, but because of who we are and the way we work, we do not look that far ahead. What is on my mind is what lies immediately in front of us and the team’s spirit. We are about to enter a phase in which we could play 14 matches before the end of the season, which represents a huge physical and mental effort for everyone who works here at Olival. What makes me believe we have great opportunities ahead is that it is not hard to convince people of what we want. Everyone is committed and motivated to put FC Porto where it belongs; it is something you can feel as soon as you walk into Olival. This is a group of players in which everything becomes stronger, including the bonds between them. The dressing room is more united than ever. Everyone wants to fight for one another and everyone competes for one another, always with the same ambition. In their most recent interviews, Martim Fernandes and Alan Varela spoke about our mentality. It is not a guarantee of success, but it is the most important ingredient for achieving success.”

Proud of André Villas-Boas’s words“When it comes to ethics, it is not enough just to use that word; it has to be reflected in the way we speak and behave. As a Porto supporter, I feel very well represented by our president André Villas-Boas, in the way he defends the Club and acts in favour of the institution and its good name. On that front, I fully stand by everything he said in the statements he made in Lisbon a few days ago. Honestly, I felt proud of the way the president defended the team and the Club. He was very clear on the key points and in his arguments, so I think it was more than enough. In a few weeks we will host Sporting in the second leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, but we still have many matches ahead of us and our priority is tomorrow’s game, which will be very difficult and deserves our full attention.”

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