Farioli delivers: everyone counts at FC Porto, more to come | OneFootball

The idea has been consistently repeated by Francesco Farioli and, after the victory in Vila do Conde, the FC Porto coach once again emphasized it: every member of the squad will, in due time, have the opportunity to compete. “We are going to need everyone due to some injuries we’ve suffered and, with the many games we will have, everyone will play an important role,” said the Italian, as he explained the substitution of Rodrigo Mora for Gabri Veiga in the starting eleven against Rio Ave.

More than just words, Farioli has proven his intention with actions: in just six matches, the coach has already used 23 players, demonstrating a highly rotational management of the squad.

If we consider only the main squad members, only the goalkeepers Cláudio Ramos, João Costa, and Diogo Fernandes, as well as midfielder Tomás Pérez, have yet to play any minutes. Alarcón, the last to make his debut, and Martim Fernandes (currently recovering) have each featured in just one match, which shows that the coach’s choices are not random. Even Zé Pedro, who has since been sidelined, took part in two games.

The wave of injuries that has affected the Dragons helped accelerate this process, but, whether intentional or not, Farioli’s policy has created a kind of democracy in the use of players. With an increasingly demanding schedule, it is expected that there will be more debuts in the short term: besides Alarcón, names like Pedro Lima, Gabriel Brás, and Karamoh, who alternate between the A and B teams, could be called up soon, given the coach’s track record in this area.

Farioli made his debut in European competitions last season with Ajax, precisely in the Europa League. The Amsterdam team was eliminated in the round of 16 and, although the campaign was not memorable, it allowed observers to see how the Italian manages a very busy schedule.

A BOLA analyzed the numbers and concluded that, in the microcycles that included a European fixture, Farioli never repeated the same starting eleven from one game to the next. For example, there was a change of 10 players between Ajax’s match against Qarabag and the following game against Willem II in October. The defense, however, was the most stable sector between matches. Final note: the coach used 39 players in 2024/25.

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