“I'm so proud of this group”, says Daniel Chaves after loss to Valadares | OneFootball

Daniel Chaves ended the AF Porto Cup final with a speech shaped by defeat in the result, but not in his analysis of the match. After FC Porto’s loss to Valadares Gaia, the women’s football team coach highlighted the lack of finishing, defended Porto’s dominance, and framed everything within the close of a demanding season. Amid the frustration, he also had clear praise for the blue-and-white dressing room and assured: “I am बेहद proud of this group.”

Taking stock of a final that was heavy on the scoreboard but richer in the way it unfolded on the pitch, Daniel Chaves remained faithful to an idea that ran through his entire reading of the game: FC Porto were punished for what they failed to convert. Between the bitterness of a 3-0 defeat and the conviction that the team imposed itself for long stretches, the coach tried to separate the result from the performance and to value the path of a group he sees as evolving.

Asked to sum up the game, Daniel Chaves was direct and based his analysis on the wasted attacking output, the way the opponent exploited transitions, and an outcome that, in his view, punished Porto too harshly.

“What was missing was the ball going into the opponent’s goal. It is hard to lose at the end of a game we dominated and in which the opponent only had two scoring chances, because the third was our own goal,” he lamented. “I can also say the first goal came from a clear offside, which once again influenced the outcome, but I do not want to be talking about the refereeing.”

The coach then explained where, for him, the true turning point of the final lay: in the inability to stop two transition plays and, above all, in the lack of sharpness in front of goal.

“The two goals came from two transitions, an aspect in which the opponent is very strong, and we were unable to control the basic principles of the channel, ending up conceding two goals in a game we completely dominated. We had seven clear scoring chances inside the box, some of them with an open goal where it was just a matter of tapping in, but we lacked efficiency,” he explained. “That is what we have to hold on to, as well as the whole journey we made, the exhausting season we had, and the way we played against Valadares Gaia today. To get here and dominate a game against Valadares is difficult; we only have to look at the first game we played against them and the way we imposed ourselves today. Above all, the lack of efficiency dictated the result. It is frustrating for me to be saying I dominated the game after a 3-0 loss, but that was the summary of the game.”

In the coach’s words, there was a clear attempt to rescue the substance behind the final image. The scoreline weighs heavily, but Daniel Chaves preferred to underline the team’s competitive response, insisting on the idea that the match had more layers than the bare result suggests.

When the focus shifted from the final to what comes next, the coach made room for internal reflection without losing sight of the ambition to grow. The message came with demands, but also with recognition for the team’s path throughout the season.

“We are going to carry out internal evaluations to understand how much we can grow. We want to grow, we want to be a dominant team, and that forces us to master other aspects of the game. Playing in a high block against Liga BPI teams is not easy, but we will think about it. We have time,” he said. “Above all, I want to congratulate my players for the season they had. I am immensely proud of this group. We have grown a lot, we have a team on and off the pitch, and that is what keeps me going. The rest is the rest and only comes after we finish this season.”

In this closing note, Daniel Chaves left behind less of the immediate pain of the final and more of the mark of a season pushed to the limit. Between the demand to want more and the appreciation of a group that, in his words, came together on and off the pitch, what remained was the image of a team ending wounded by the result, but not shaken in its conviction.

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