Porto assistants’ extra work helped lift Deniz Gul after near six-month league drought | OneFootball

Porto’s coaching staff stepped up with extra one-to-one work for Deniz Gul, and the striker has ended an almost six-month league drought with a brace.

According to O Jogo, assistants Lucho González, André Castro and Dave Vos spent hours on individual finishing and movement drills at Olival, alongside sector training, while reinforcing his confidence.

Across that barren run he only found the net against Sintrense and Plzen, a thin return for a centre-forward that fell short of expectations within the squad and among supporters.

Head coach Francesco Farioli consistently backed him in public and in private. The Italian believes Gul has the strength, speed, technique and an elegant style to become elite, and saw a lack of self-belief, rather than quality, as the central issue.

Team-mates rallied around him, with dressing-room leader Jan Bednarek among those offering encouragement. Gul has impressed in training and some put the drought down to misfortune, with goals ruled out for offside by a few centimetres. The staff are confident that getting back on the scoresheet could be the spark for a strong finish to the season.

Source: O Jogo