“It’s a great game to test our youngsters’ ability” | OneFootball

After securing their status and following “one last game of great effort”, the B team travels to Alcochete to face Sporting B (Saturday, 3:30pm, Sporting TV), in a derby that João Brandão sees as “a great game to test the young players’ ability”. Matchday 33 of the Segunda Liga “is the ideal time to test the players’ readiness and new dynamics”, which is why the coach expects to see “players who, regardless of their age and the level they represent, will be serving FC Porto in the B team, so the mental side has to be there, along with great ambition and determination”.

Abdu Cassamá, who came on in Penafiel and became the second-youngest player ever to feature in the Second Division, says that “the team is happy, confident and prepared” for a clash in which “the ambition is to achieve the same result as in the first half of the season”. Experiencing the early stages of the “always difficult professional environment”, the 15-year-old forward gave thanks “for the trust” and said he is “working to live up to it”.

João Brandão

A test for the youngsters“We expect a difficult game against a team that had a good first half of the season, somewhat the opposite of what happened with us, as we had a better second half of the season. It is always a great game to test the ability of our young players and, if throughout the season we had an average age of around 19, in this game we are going to lower it even more, because this is the ideal moment to test our players’ readiness and new dynamics, somewhat similar to what we have already done recently. We want to test new dynamics on a defensive, attacking and structural level, and it will be a good test for our abilities and for what we want to bring into the game.”

The mindset needed to win“With determination, with FC Porto’s values and with ambition, regardless of the players who step onto the pitch. They will be the players wearing the FC Porto badge, and that represents a history of values, of great ambition, of great determination, and of contesting every play as if it were the last of our lives and of the match. That is how the team has prepared throughout the week, even though it has been an atypical week in terms of preparation, still with many after-effects from the last game. I want to say a word for the players who finished the last game under great strain, not only João Teixeira, but also Trafim Melnichenka, Luís Gomes and Gonçalo Ribeiro. They came off battered, but they wanted to stay and stand up for the team. Those are the values I want to see in this team in the next game.”

The growth demanded by professional football“We usually very much associate FC Porto academy players with youngsters who have individual talent in attacking moments, with the technical side and not so much with the mental, physical and tactical side. I want to see players who, regardless of their age and the level they represent, will be serving FC Porto in the B team, so the mental side has to be there, along with great ambition and determination. The tactical side also has to be there because the demands of the Segunda Liga require it. It is important for us to be complete and to understand the game in depth, whether in attacking or defensive moments, in set-piece situations or in transitions. Then, on the physical side, we know it is a high-intensity game; in the Segunda Liga it is always like that, and this will be no exception.”

Abdu Cassamá

Total focus on the derby“The atmosphere has been good. The team is happy, confident and we are prepared for the game.”

A clear objective“Our ambition is always to win. In the first half of the season, we won 2-1 here, and now we want to go there and get the same result, which is victory.”

Second-youngest player to feature in the Segunda Liga“It is always difficult to play in a professional environment, but I’m thankful for the trust and I’m working to live up to it. The team has treated me well and helped me settle in more quickly.”

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