How a Lake Como coffee sparked a bond between Farioli and Villas-Boas | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli explained a light-hearted exchange of words with André Villas-Boas during the champions’ dinner. “You created a problem, I told him. When the time comes to leave here — I used to go around with a big coaching staff — I’ll have to ask to take the president with me too [laughs],” said the FC Porto coach, smiling. “I love where I am,” he stressed, highlighting a connection, “above all human,” that began at Lake Como, where coach and president first crossed paths. “When he started talking, I said, ‘Hmm, it doesn’t seem to me that this is just coffee between two coaches. I believe something is going on.’ I started to change my mindset. A few minutes later, I was hoping that conversation would lead to the possibility of us working together,” Farioli said, speaking about a president who is “truly present.”

“When we play three matches a week, on every match eve, he is there. And the other people who are closest to me, Tiago Madureira and Henrique Monteiro, are always there too. It is something I always demand at any club where I work, and here I didn’t even have to ask,” said the coach, who exactly one year ago had “offers from second-division clubs and from clubs that were going to fight to avoid relegation in Serie A.” “I feel drawn to the challenge of stepping into situations that are losing direction. I was looking for a club where I could find people with the same level of motivation,” Farioli concluded.

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