“I’d certainly have liked to leave FC Porto differently” | OneFootball

After leaving Futebol Clube do Porto in turbulent circumstances, Sérgio Conceição chose to remain silent. He never commented on the way he left the club, following the elections that brought an end to the “reign” of Pinto da Costa and opened the door to André Villas-Boas, nor even on the way he was replaced by his former assistant, Vítor Bruno.

Over seven seasons with the Dragons, he became the most decorated coach in the club’s history, cementing the image of a sharp manager, capable of stopping theoretically superior teams and building competitive sides with few resources, but also of a man with a strong temperament.

They were seven seasons in which he not only represented FC Porto but became almost indistinguishable from the club itself. Deep down, he says, that was what he did at every team he went through. Even so, the intensity of his bond with the Dragão was such that it is hard to imagine him managing one of Portugal’s other two big clubs.

He went to Italy, with Milan, and to Saudi Arabia, with Al Ittihad. In both cases, he arrived midway through the season, in delicate situations. He experienced wins and losses. He fought. His trademark.

This interview was conducted exactly two years after his departure from FC Porto. Returning to the subject was inevitable. But much more was also discussed: the man, his roots, his family, and the future. Which, all signs suggest, should lie abroad.

Interview with Sérgio Conceição: part V

In his second year in office — and after a season far below expectations — André Villas-Boas saw Futebol Clube do Porto crowned national champions. Francesco Farioli was the coach who put the Dragons back on top of the Portuguese League. Sérgio Conceição followed that journey and that triumph from a distance. But he never stopped keeping track of what was happening.

And he has also not forgotten the way he left the club. He understands that André Villas-Boas wanted another coach — especially after he became involved in the electoral process by renewing his contract two days before the elections — but he expected everything to have been handled differently. Moreover, he says he told Villas-Boas that the contract signed with Pinto da Costa was no longer valid because of the election result. That was when he realized that Vítor Bruno would be his successor.

MF: Sérgio, let’s go back to Portugal then. FC Porto have just become champions after a very difficult season. How did you follow FC Porto’s title win? Were you happy to see Porto become champions? How did you view this turnaround?

Sérgio Conceição: But why are you asking whether I was happy?

Because of your connection to FC Porto... You’ve said publicly that FC Porto is the club closest to your heart.

Yes, obviously. Sometimes completely wrong, false narratives are created, because today clubs have structures where communication also plays an internal role — and a very important one — just like marketing and other areas. And that sometimes generates stories that do not correspond to the truth.

FC Porto’s title was a deserved title for the structure, for the coach and, in my view, for the players.

I also took the opportunity to congratulate all the players I coached at Futebol Clube do Porto, as well as people who are still part of different departments of the club. I was happy, yes, with the season Futebol Clube do Porto had, for winning a title that was entirely deserved given what they did this season.

But two years have passed since you left FC Porto. And we’re going to get into...

Let me just go back for a moment, can I?

Of course.

You asked that question because I didn’t post congratulations on social media?

No. Not at all. Just because of your personal connection.

My connection with the supporters is... it’s umbilical. In other words, my bond with the people of Futebol Clube do Porto is very strong... I have my own way of...

After Futebol Clube do Porto won the title — and after I congratulated the people I’ve already mentioned — I thought that, with so many celebrations, the supporters wouldn’t even pay attention to what I had to say. There was a lot of partying after the title. And since I knew I was going to give this interview, I took the opportunity to congratulate Futebol Clube do Porto, without any doubt, for the fantastic title they won.

But let’s return to the more controversial topic: you are breaking your silence, two years after leaving Futebol Clube do Porto in a way that generated many headlines. You have never spoken about it. In your opinion, did you leave in the way you deserved, or were you targeted because you were always very closely linked to Pinto da Costa?

The way I would have liked to leave Futebol Clube do Porto would certainly have been different. I have to express what I feel.

But it wasn’t easy either. There was a very important cycle in the history of Futebol Clube do Porto, which was that of our president for 42 years, the most decorated president in the world — and mine, over seven years.

I am the most decorated coach in Futebol Clube do Porto’s history. And it wasn’t simple. Today I understand and accept it. And perhaps that transition needed to happen.

But at the time you didn’t accept it.

No, but I do accept it — and I accepted it then as well. I don’t know if you remember, but on May 26, two years ago, in the Portuguese Cup final, president Pinto da Costa was there — Mr. President Pinto da Costa — Pepe was by my side and the current president of Futebol Clube do Porto was there, slightly behind, and I pulled him in to lift the trophy with me.

At that moment I didn’t know whether I would stay or not. I had signed a four-year contract — and we’ll get to that — two days before the elections, something that was also heavily criticized by everyone. And I can explain the reasons that led me to sign a contract two days before.

It was seen as a campaign move.

But I’ll get to that in a second, just to finish my reasoning. At that time, I didn’t know what awaited me. On the 27th, the entire coaching staff had the day off; on the 28th we went to Olival to prepare the holiday plan we give to the players, as well as the report we always do at the end of the season.

On the 29th, I had arranged with André Villas-Boas, now already as president of Futebol Clube do Porto, to go to his house so we could talk a little about my situation and about the club’s immediate future. And that’s what happened.

Tell us more clearly what happened during that conversation.

The first thing... well, I don’t think it would be right for me to reveal everything that was said between us. In general terms, I explained why, because if I were in his place, maybe I wouldn’t have liked to see a coach with seven years at the club, after everything he had won, and with such a strong bond with the supporters, involved on one side of the electoral process either.

And I had always stayed out of it, until two days before the elections.

That was when I was invited by President Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa to go to his office, where Pepe was also present — who has since left — and he explained Pepe’s presence to me, saying that he had renewed his contract and that, if he were re-elected president of Futebol Clube do Porto, Pepe would continue with him.

He opened his heart a little. He spoke to me very emotionally about his illness, explained the strategy he had for the coming years at Futebol Clube do Porto and, out of friendship, respect and gratitude, I accepted.

And that is what I went to explain to André Villas-Boas: that, from that moment on, my contract was no longer valid because I had agreed to renew with Futebol Clube do Porto under one president. Since he was no longer president of Futebol Clube do Porto, I had to respect that.

If I were in André Villas-Boas’s place, I wouldn’t have liked it much either.

I was explaining why. And it had to do with what I’ve just said — without going into too much detail, because this affects me a bit... The way the president was, in that conversation, deeply moved, not only by the possibility of losing the election... And we’re talking about someone who looked at Futebol Clube do Porto as something greater even than his own family. I know very well what I’m saying; he was like a brother to me.

But at that stage, did he already have a sense that he might lose the elections?

I think so, also because of his state of health, which worsened in an astonishing way... he called me there precisely to tell me that, in his office.

And I, having had the possibility to leave a year earlier, two years earlier, and not having done so, continuing with him... Anyway, at that moment I wouldn’t have felt right abandoning him. Him and what was the future of Futebol Clube do Porto.

So, was it possible to stay with André Villas-Boas?

No... Meanwhile, in that conversation. Sorry, there’s a lot of information...

In other words, I went to explain to him exactly that I had had this very strong, very emotional conversation with the president, but I also told him that reality was now different and that my contract ceased to have effect the moment I realized — in that conversation with President Villas-Boas — that I was not part of, or was not being considered for, continuity as head coach.

And I respect that... He had his reasons, he has his vision, he has his strategy and his path to follow, he makes his decisions and I only had to respect them.

Because he didn’t tell me — it was a large contract, that’s true, it’s public... He never asked me whether I wanted to stay for half of it or for free. So I understood that I would not be part of the choice he had in mind for FC Porto’s head coach. And, respecting that, we continued, we had a very... He told me a bit about his own path, also about his own departure as coach of Futebol Clube do Porto, anyway, among other things, I think we have to summarize...

And then, when the conversation turned to the future of Futebol Clube do Porto...

Who the successor would be...

Yes, the coach, yes. And that was when I found out, I realized that my former assistant would be a solution.

How did you react?

Naturally...

But had Vítor Bruno already spoken to you about that possibility?

No, no.

The night before we had dinner together — a farewell dinner that I always have at the end of the year with the coaching staff — and he said he wanted to follow his own path as a head coach and I thought that was great.

But he never said as FC Porto coach?

No, no, no.

Vítor Bruno had been with you for many years. He was your right-hand man, always with you everywhere....

And with the rest of the coaching staff, Dembélé...

Yes, of course. But Vítor Bruno was someone you surely saw as a great friend. Did you see it as a betrayal?

What I have to say is that, after learning that someone connected to Futebol Clube do Porto had already spoken with Vítor Bruno, my former assistant, then... The attitude, some consider it inelegant; we can describe it however we want. It can be treacherous, it can be...

But for you, what did you feel?

No, I think that’s part of the past. People are...

This is the first time you’ve spoken about this. I’d really like you to tell me.

I had another assistant who was also the main assistant. It was Rosário. He was Fernando Santos’s assistant with the national team for some time. He had spent 20 years with him. He was working with me at Vitória de Guimarães and Fernando Santos called me, he wanted to give him a sort of career reward because he had worked 20 years with him and had separated from him three or four years earlier... He wanted him to join the national team and he went. I said, “okay, coach, speak to Júlio Mendes — who was Vitória’s president at the time — because as far as I’m concerned it’s fine.” Rosário went, they did the Euros, we became European champions, great.

He came back to Portugal, came to my house and told me: “Sérgio, I got an offer from the Federation, I’m going to stay close to my family, I’m staying here.”

Okay, that’s part of life. At the very least, I expected Vítor Bruno to have done something similar.

I think people have the right to have their dreams, which is the natural expectation of anyone with goals in life. That is absolutely normal, there is no problem with that. As long as situations and matters are handled with loyalty and directness.

And there was no loyalty?

As you know, the rest of the story then... things didn’t happen that way and, of course, as the saying goes, anyone who doesn’t feel isn’t properly human, and I feel it deeply, especially with people I care about. It was a united journey over many years and things should have been done differently.

The way I left, and I’ll say it again, everything that happened that week, practically a public humiliation, with a lot of criticism of Sérgio Conceição, did not happen because Sérgio didn’t want to leave and was clinging to a contract.

The first thing I told president André Villas-Boas was that that contract had no validity. It was for other reasons, the ones we are talking about now.

And what is your relationship with André Villas-Boas like now? Is there any relationship?

No.

A few days ago he spoke of you as a great Porto man.

Just as I speak of him. He was a winning coach, a European champion (Europa League, editor’s note). He had a short but fantastic spell as a coach at Futebol Clube do Porto.

Now, as president, the first year didn’t go well, because of everything involved in a very difficult transition, and at this moment he is a president who has won a national championship and deserves congratulations for that.

But you don’t have a personal relationship, that no longer exists.

No, but we live so focused, with so little time to create relationships beyond those we have daily in our profession, in our family, that it’s difficult. Even so, the respect is always there, great respect for everything his path was as a coach and now as president.

And with Vítor Bruno? Have you ever spoken again?

No.

And you don’t intend to?

No.

Was it a full stop? A bitter one?

But not on my part, on his.

But was the initiative never to speak again yours? Or did he try at any point to approach you and justify himself?

You know, at 51, I must be getting weak in the memory department...

I think that, after what happened and after understanding the way the process unfolded... And what we later come to know, because later we do find out how the whole story really happened...

Are you saying that you realized everything had been prepared behind your back for a long time?

Today I have no doubt that there was no loyalty, no directness, and no truth in telling me what was going on. Something I would have accepted naturally, because it was a choice the president had every right to make, it was a choice by my former assistant to follow his professional life as a head coach and not as number two — initially, with me, he was number three or even number four, and I promoted him to main assistant when Rosário left for the national team. All it would have taken was a conversation between us.

And there was that conversation, mind you, on the 28th, at that dinner I organized for the coaching staff...

But in which he didn’t tell you the truth? No, he said he had an offer...

That an offer had come from Qatar, or something like that, but he didn’t tell me what he surely already knew.

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