“I bring experience and leadership” | OneFootball

Eight years after his last spell at the club, André Bessa is returning to FC Porto to strengthen the basketball team for the 2026/27 season. The 37-year-old Portuguese point guard admits he “could hardly believe it” when he received the call “suggesting this possible return” and says he is ready to “give his life” for the blue and white shirt, which he will wear again with the number 99.

Eager to work with Fernando Sá again and to build “excellent memories” alongside the coach, André Bessa believes he can offer “experience and leadership” to the Porto squad, which is aiming to achieve a historic milestone: “One of my goals is to become Champion again wearing this shirt. That would mean we would be back-to-back champions, something that hasn’t happened for about 30 years. It would be a historic achievement. When you are at FC Porto, you want to win everything.”

The return to his boyhood club “When they first called me suggesting this possible return, I could hardly believe it. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think I could come back to this club. Fortunately, everything worked out and I am eternally grateful to everyone who made my return possible, for giving me the opportunity to wear this shirt again and to give my life for it again. It’s what I have always wanted since I was a kid. I have already represented the Club on two occasions, and this is my third time coming home. I couldn’t be happier.”

What he can bring to the locker room “Above all, I will bring experience and leadership to the locker room. I will try to be an example, as I believe I always have been throughout my career. I always tried to set an example in the locker room, and that is what I will try to do. I will give my all in every training session, in every game, and give my life for FC Porto. Anyone who wears this shirt has to be like that.”

An unexpected opportunity “Of course I wanted this final stage of my career to be at FC Porto, but I thought it would not be possible because of my age and because FC Porto already had the team in place and had just become National Champion. Fortunately, this opportunity came up and I am extremely happy.”

The ambition of back-to-back titles “One of my goals is to become Champion again wearing this shirt. That would mean we would be back-to-back champions, something that hasn’t happened for about 30 years. It would also be a historic achievement. When you are at FC Porto, you want to win everything. That was the goal with which I came here. I came here dreaming of lifting trophies for FC Porto.”

His connection with Fernando Sá “He spoke to me about the role he wanted me to have in the team. Obviously, I agreed with everything and told him he could always count on me 100%. It was an easy conversation, especially because he had coached me before. I already won a Portuguese Cup with him, so I already have excellent memories with him. I have great memories of the time when I was coached by him.”

The path to the first team “My development gave me the foundations to reach the senior level, and I began to believe that I could become a player. In that first year as a senior, when I didn’t even have a contract and was still under-20, I ended up being promoted to the first team because of a few injuries and I ended up putting in some good performances, which led to my renewal at the time. Then I left to get more minutes and at that point I joined Fernando Sá’s team, which gave me more playing time. It helped me a lot to return with a different status.”

National titles won with FC Porto “They were incredible moments. The first Proliga title was unbelievable. The atmosphere at Dragão Arena… Filling the arena the way we did for a Second Division game… On top of that, the way the game went, winning in the last second. Then, becoming National Champions in the year we returned to the League, not even in our wildest dreams, especially since the backbone of the team was made up of academy kids and players from Dragon Force. It was the fulfillment of a dream.”

Reuniting with former teammates “I’ve already spoken with Miguel Queiroz and Vlad Voytso and I’ve even already had a few training sessions with both of them. We’ve already talked about this return and I think they were happy.”

Confidence in the new group “We are building a good team that can allow us to win not only the championship, but also all the other domestic competitions, starting with the Super Cup right at the beginning.”

Why he chose number 99 “In recent years I’ve played with 99, I got used to that number. Besides that, I wanted to wear a number different from 9 on this return.”

The strength of Dragão Arena “When this arena is full, no team gets through here. I was following the finals from the outside and when FC Porto won that game at Luz, I said straight away that at home FC Porto had no chance of not becoming National Champion. The fans push the team to victory. It is one of the arenas where you feel the crowd and the home-court advantage the most.”

A message to the fans “Come support us because together we are stronger. It is together that we must move forward toward new achievements. I hope to see Dragão Arena always full.”

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