Maniche on Europa League draw: “I didn’t bring much luck to FC Porto” | OneFootball

Maniche was present in Nyon, after being invited by UEFA, to participate in the Europa League draw this Friday. In statements to A BOLA, he commented on the responsibility given to him and recalled a previous participation in draws:

«This is already the second experience. I had done it a few years ago [2020] and by chance, I didn't bring much luck to the Portuguese teams at that time. Arsenal was drawn against Benfica then and it wasn't very good... Now I don't know if I was very lucky for FC Porto either, because they will play against Stuttgart and if they pass, they always face very difficult opponents. They ended up on the worst side of the draw, unlike SC Braga.»

Recalling the conquest of the now-defunct UEFA Cup in 2003 with the Dragons, the former midfielder analyzed the ambitions of the team led by Francesco Farioli. «In theory, FC Porto has all the possibilities and is one of the favorites to reach the final. It's a responsibility that the players must have, because this competition has been won before and, looking at the rivals, they have possibilities. But you only know if they are weak or not on the field. As the league leader, experiencing some difficulties in some games, I don't think they are in a good form,» he stated, arguing that the Dragons should aim to go far in the competition.

«The demand is good and legitimate, but in this particular competition, I believe that the fans must support the team because against Stuttgart it will be a balanced tie. A club like this must plan the season to go as far as possible in European competitions, because that's where prestige is gained, that's where players are valued. They should take advantage of the signings made in the winter market and address any wear and tear that one or another player might have. Farioli has been rotating the squad, all players are very balanced in terms of games. But there it is, they are four points ahead of Sporting, seven more than Benfica, it's not that many points... and in a few weeks, they will go to Luz, it's always an unpredictable result.»

Benfica was not involved in today's draws as they were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League, but Maniche believes that the club can still fight for second place in the championship.

«Did the season end for them in February? No, there are 11 rounds left. A club like Benfica can never throw in the towel, regardless of the season, which from my point of view, is horrible. I think Benfica must fight, the players must fight, they must obviously honor the great institution that is Benfica. There are seasons where nothing goes well and this is one of them. There must be reflection, there must be thought about what they did to not make the same mistakes. The problem is that the mistakes have been accumulating year after year and the fans are already desperate for a title and that obviously creates more pressure on the team and the players. Now, it was probably bad luck to meet Real Madrid in a playoff situation where they are usually not, right? But no one would have thought that Benfica would pass [the league phase] with nine points and they did,» he emphasized.

«Football is very unpredictable in these things and Benfica had the ability to fight; it was proven in the game at Bernabéu that Benfica could have perfectly won against Real Madrid. They had their opportunities, their chances to do it, but they weren't effective. But there it is, not because of that game. As long as it's mathematically possible, I think Benfica must fight until the end and try, in the first phase, for the closest position, which is second, because they are three points behind Sporting. Then, neither Benfica nor Sporting depend on themselves, they depend on FC Porto, which will dictate exactly the hope that Benfica might still have in the championship, but it would be good for Benfica to at least have access to the Champions League for the next season,» Maniche further analyzed.

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