João Brandão on Leixões: “We want to win this match” | OneFootball

FC Porto B close out Matchday 30 of the Segunda Liga against Leixões SC at Olival, with João Brandão pointing to an intense game, demanding in the duels and decisive in the way the Dragons want to assert themselves at home. In the build-up, the coach highlighted the opponent’s good form, asked his team for aggression and personality, and framed all of that within the ongoing mission of promoting young players without giving up competitive ambition. Alongside him, Mateus Mide reinforced the need for freedom and conviction, while Brandão assured: “We want to go into this game to win.”

At the Jorge Costa Training and Development Center, the mood was one of calm expectation, but with no room for complacency. João Brandão, FC Porto B’s coach, delivered a clear message: respect Leixões’ current form, protect the team’s identity and take on the challenge with the right mentality, at a stage when the growth of the younger players continues to go hand in hand with the demand to compete to win.

Asked about the opponent, Brandão was direct in describing a team on the rise and a game that promises to be tough from the first minute. The focus, more than on the opponent’s name, was on how FC Porto B will have to respond to the intensity the match requires.

“They are a team in a good moment, the results show that. The way they have climbed the table says a lot about their current form,” he said. “Since Fangueiro came in, they have shown more of what Leixões SC is, an aggressive team that is very strong in duels. We will certainly have a very intense game, in which our aggression levels have to be very high. We have to be very competent in defensive and offensive duels and in second balls. Then we have to try to impose our dominant game, with attacking intent and the clarity to exploit the spaces that appear.”

In the coach’s reading of it, the game demands competitive steel, but also discernment. Leixões are portrayed as a team capable of dragging the match into physical territory, and that forces Porto to find the balance between aggression and composure.

The recent history of these meetings at Olival also came up, and Brandão did not avoid it. On the contrary, he took it as a starting point for a response he wants to see reflected in the team’s behavior and in its connection with the fans.

“The recent past tells us that FC Porto B have done well at Estádio do Mar, but Leixões have also done well here at Olival,” he stressed. “We want to change that and it is in our hands to change that recent history against a team that is very competent away from home, one that causes problems because of the way it approaches the game. We have to bring our fans over to our side through an attractive, combative performance that reflects FC Porto. We have to impose our game with personality, authority, courage and quality. There is still a lot to play for and many points to win.”

There is, in the coach’s words, an idea of making a statement that goes beyond simply adjusting the stats. Here, reversing the recent trend means above all imposing a recognizable identity, with courage and emotional control, without losing sight of what is still at stake.

The promotion of young talent then emerged as a central theme, almost the backbone of the season. Brandão framed that work without separating it from the competitive obligation of a club like FC Porto.

“Regardless of the results, worse at the start and better now, the purpose of the B team is to bring through young players. We know we represent FC Porto and that FC Porto go onto every pitch to win,” he explained. “We want to go into this game to win, that is our intention and that is how we have prepared for it. The door is open to these talented young players, as long as they are ready and do the work they have to do, which is to be very dedicated every day. It is a tremendous source of pride to see how they arrive here prepared, determined and fearless. That is the result of a lot of well-done work in the club’s academy.”

The coach thus outlined the formula he is looking for: grow without giving up competing, give players a stage without easing the demands. The message is consistent with the nature of the B team, where the future is always built under the pressure of the present.

About the week of preparation, Brandão described days shaped by movement between different levels and by positive signs coming from other competitive contexts within the club. Even so, he reduced everything to the essentials: the mental response at game time.

“Like the other weeks, this one was a little unusual. Fortunately, we had players involved in preparing the first team’s game and others included in the squad for the Europa League,” he said. “The under-19s got another important win as we continue pushing to win the national title. If we go in with the right mentality, we can win.”

It is a simple idea, but a revealing one: in a context where the team lives through movement, growth and opportunities, stability has to come from attitude. And it was precisely along those lines that Mateus Mide appeared to reinforce the group’s confidence.

The forward spoke about Leixões soberly, rejecting any exception in the way the challenge is approached. The opponent, he said, demands a lot, but the focus remains on the same objective.

“We look at this opponent the same way we look at all the others. We know it will be a difficult game against an opponent that demands a lot in the duels. We are approaching this game positively so that we can get the three points.”

The line fits the overall tone of the preview: respect without hesitation, caution without fear. FC Porto B want to acknowledge the difficulties without turning them into a brake.

Mide also underlined the team’s recent strength at Olival, turning that into motivation for what lies ahead. In his words, home appears as ground that must be protected.

“We know we are the only team that still haven’t lost at home in 2026, so we want to keep it that way and get the three points.”

It is a detail that feeds confidence and, at the same time, increases responsibility. Because protecting that consistency at home also means continuing the competitive growth Brandão described.

Finally, the young forward spoke about himself and the way he is experiencing this moment, between early responsibility and the desire to make the most of every opportunity. He did so with a naturalness that helps explain the line his coach valued so highly.

“It means a lot of responsibility to know that at my age I can already represent a professional team, but I look at it in a positive way. We have to play with joy and enjoy the moment.”

Perhaps that is where FC Porto B’s message comes full circle: demands, yes, but without losing freshness; responsibility, yes, but without holding back boldness. To face a Leixões side in good form, Brandão asks for aggression and mentality; Mide adds joy. At the intersection of those two ideas lies Porto’s ambition for this round.

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