“It’s a challenging game, but we always go in to win” | OneFootball

The curtain is about to fall on the 2025/26 season and FC Porto, already crowned national champions, are preparing to travel to Alcochete, where they will face Sporting in the 14th and final round of the championship phase of the National Under-19 Championship on Saturday at 11:00am. The Dragons lead by four points over Benfica and six over Sporting, having already secured the title, but Sérgio Ferreira made it clear that “what’s done is done, it’s in the past”, while also stressing that the team must be “extremely competitive”. “Transcendence” and “self-improvement”, the coach added, must always remain present. Centre-back Marco Silva, “very happy” to see his club crowned champions, assured that this is another derby the Dragons will play “to win”.

Sérgio Ferreira

Winning the title“From the moment we wear this shirt and have this badge on our chest, what’s done is done, it’s in the past. We are very happy and very fulfilled by what was achieved and by the way it was achieved, but we are very focused on the next challenge, which is called Sporting. What we want is to be extremely competitive so that we can win this game as well. What we have done to prepare the team since day one is to be very serious and very committed to our values and our principles. We have to focus on what we can do to control the game as much as possible, knowing that it will be a challenging and complex match. We have objectives, as always, and the objective at this club is always to be better than yesterday. That transcendence and self-improvement are always present.”

There are always objectives to achieve“This club has taught us what it means to win since 1893 and we carry that positive responsibility. It is a light and positive responsibility that is part of our daily life, of achievements and victories. Our objectives are very clear. The great collective objective has been achieved, but we have the individual objectives of making our players better. This is a great context for us to continue developing our players with new challenges, a new approach. It is another moment for them to grow.”

The youngsters called up to the B team and the first team“It is a huge source of pride and it fills our hearts when we see our players playing and being influential in the B team, as well as having had the chance to step onto the pitch at the Estádio do Dragão, which is fantastic for us. Our mission is to help players grow within a collective framework, but the great credit belongs to them, because they never lose the talent that sets them apart. We try to add things to their game so that they become increasingly competent and develop a greater all-round understanding of the game. That is one of the great achievements. If they want to reach the highest level, the maximum demand is to win and to perform. They have to get used to developing while winning and winning while developing. Our winning culture is always present.”

Marco Silva

National Under-19 champion“It was a very happy day and something I had wanted very much ever since I was with the Under-15s. We worked every day for it and this year it was ours. When the third goal went in, I was already emotional and I couldn’t even run after [Duarte] Cunha anymore. It was a very, very happy day.”

Another game to win“We approach this game the way we approached all the others. We are going out there to win. It is a challenging match, but we always step onto the pitch to win.”

“At a collective level, I would say it has been a perfect season. At an individual level, we have all grown a lot and the coach has helped us with that. That also strengthens the collective.”

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