Chico Conceição doesn't hide FC Porto struggles: “It's hard to ignore” | OneFootball

Francisco Conceição is in his second season at Juventus, and everything indicates that he will continue in Turin for the foreseeable future. The Portugal international spoke to Sportweek, the weekly magazine of La Gazzetta dello Sport, in an interview in which he addressed several topics.

The 23-year-old winger admitted that his childhood idol is his father, Sérgio Conceição), and was invited to reflect on the positive and negative aspects of having worked with him at FC Porto.

“I think working with my father gave me more than it took from me, because he is a great coach and I learned a lot from him. He made me realize what I needed to improve, and if I am at Juventus today, it is precisely thanks to the fact that I was coached by him. But yes, I suffered because of it,” he began.

However, he did not hide the less favorable side, namely the criticism he was subjected to and the fact that he was undervalued for being coached by his own father. Even so, the young player insists that those comments only helped him grow as a person and as a footballer.

“It is inevitable that, at 18, there are people saying that you only play because you are Sérgio Conceição’s son. At that age, it is hard to ignore that kind of comment. Even so, all of that ended up making me mentally stronger and forced me to grow up faster. It made me a man,” he continued.

On how he tried to separate the family connection from his time at FC Porto, Francisco Conceição explained that when he reached the Dragons’ first team, he immediately showed his “qualities.” Therefore, it became clear that he “played because he deserved it.”

Francisco Conceição also revealed how he deals with his father’s warnings and recounted a curious episode that happened back at FC Porto.

“When I was younger and still did not behave 100% like a professional, he was the first to tell me that I had to do better, because a footballer’s career lasts 15-20 years and, to reach the level I could aspire to, I needed to give more. My father is also very demanding when it comes to weight. At the beginning, at FC Porto, I did not pay much attention to it, but every day he made us step on the scales and if I was just one hundred or two hundred grams over my ideal weight, he would tell me: ‘Today you eat less',” he said.

“I’ll take him on anyway. It’s my mentality”

Asked about Bruno Fernandes describing him as a “cheeky player,” Chico Conceição agreed with that idea and explained how he approaches attacking moments.

“I am someone who is not very afraid of making mistakes. I could have the strongest defender in the world in front of me, and I will still take him on. No defender was ever beaten until someone managed to do it for the first time. That is my mentality, and I believe I have the quality to dribble past any opponent. I will keep trying to prove it on the pitch, because today, in my position, I feel like one of the best,” he said.

The forward insisted that he plays with “joy” and with “passion,” stressing the natural but serious way in which he lives football. The Portuguese player is aware of the “responsibility” of representing a club like Juventus, although he always tries to keep enjoying himself on the pitch.

“I know I have a great responsibility, because at a club like Juventus, winning is an obligation. I always try to enjoy myself on the pitch, because that is essential for me to feel good and to help the team achieve its goals. Without joy, I am not the same,” he stressed.

Francisco Conceição said that what he likes doing most on the pitch is “beating his opponent and winning,” without forgetting goals. After defining his game as driven by “instinct,” the winger spoke about Portugal’s ambitions for the 2026 World Cup.

“We are convinced we can do it”

“I think we are going to win. Portugal has to win. We are convinced we can do it. We have the quality for that, both individually and as a team, but we have to prove it to ourselves and to others. We have to show that we are a strong team and in great form,” he began by saying about what he expects from the national team at the World Cup.

Francisco Conceição assured that Portugal’s main strength is the “collective” and that the national team is prepared for the challenge, especially since it already beat Germany and Spain in the last Nations League.

Finally, the Juventus player had high praise for Cristiano Ronaldo and said that the captain of the Portuguese national team still gives a lot to the side.

“Regardless of his age, he keeps scoring lots of goals, he is a leader and he still has a huge hunger to win, he shows it every day,” he concluded.

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