Miguel Coelho: “Villas-Boas said he wanted to build a winning machine” | OneFootball

“Players stay because of the quality they showed”

It is already known, because it has been announced, that FC Porto completed four renewals and there will be five departures. What more can be said about the squad for 2026/27?-We will have nine players staying and five changes. So, we are still missing five players. These nine players staying are linked to the quality they showed and the way they behaved within the structure, while the departures result from very specific reasons that differ from one another. It is important to look at these nine continuities and understand that we have managed to give stability to a group for next season, something we had not yet achieved. These stays were naturally secured in good time and, because it is very important to underline this, we have a top-level sporting director, José Carlos Ribeiro, with whom all these situations are handled with the utmost rigor and the fullest information. Therefore, he is one of the main people responsible for the success of this past season.

“What mattered was the group, and FC Porto handled it very well”

What was it like dealing throughout the season with a player like Joana Resende, who practically did not play?-What mattered was the group. There is a very strong purpose, which is the collective. And, in that collective purpose, FC Porto handled it very well.

But this was a player who is captain, very dear to the club and with many years at the club?-It was handled through the group. FC Porto’s purposes would always be much more evident if the group could make that happen, and that is what it managed to do.

“FC Porto’s goals? Let’s take it chapter by chapter”

Are FC Porto’s goals to become champions again and to win the Cup, the Super Cup and the Iberian Super Cup again?-Yes, chapter by chapter. That same mentality suits us very well. We want to be in the decisive moments and, if we want to reach the Champions League group stage, and if we have two qualifying rounds, we want to be in the second one to move forward. In the two Super Cups: we are already in the deciding matches and, being there, we have to nurture this winning culture. The league and the Cup are long competitions, and the goal is to be back in the decisive moments so we can win them.

“The president said he wants to build a winning machine”

You renewed for two seasons. What does the FC Porto board’s trust mean to you?-In our first conversations, while preparing last season, the president said he wanted to build a winning machine. If he associates that machine with Miguel Coelho, that has to make us proud. On the club’s side, there is this desire for stability, this wish to build that machine. Even with the proposals that came in for the coaching staff, it was clear to the club that it wanted to continue with us, and clear to us that we wanted to stay at FC Porto.

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