“FC Porto isn’t just based in Porto, it’s an expression of the city” | OneFootball

After receiving the City Medal of Merit at Porto City Hall, André Villas-Boas acknowledged the importance of the distinction for the people of Porto and for the city, also highlighting the responsibility he assumes as president of FC Porto.

Side by side with Carla Oliveira, “an unparalleled winner in adaptive sport,” the FC Porto president recalled “the perfect symbiosis between the city and its club” seen in the celebrations of the 31st national title to stress that “FC Porto is not merely located in Porto, it is an expression of Porto” and that the Club has “a social and sociological responsibility”: “FC Porto must be present wherever the city needs it—in schools, in neighborhoods, in social institutions, in support for disability, in promoting physical activity and access to sport. A club’s greatness is measured not only by the trophies it holds, but also by the lives it manages to transform.”

The distinction received“I want to begin by thanking the president of Porto City Council, who decided to put my name forward for this distinction, and everyone who took part in this decision, particularly the ladies and gentlemen council members of the Municipal Assembly. I receive the City of Porto Medal of Merit with enormous pride. I also receive it with the clear understanding that it is worth more than my person and more than my journey. It matters because of the impact it has for the people of Porto and for the city, because of the way of being that Porto recognizes as its own, and above all because of the responsibility it has placed on me from an early age. Today I am being honored as president of FC Porto’s Board of Directors, a members’ club, a club of the city, and a club that carries Porto’s name across the country and around the world and that has the daily obligation to live up to that mission. I therefore do not consider that I have done anything more than my duty. I was elected to serve FC Porto, to defend it, to transform it, and to return it to the path of victory. To be distinguished for fulfilling that duty is an honor, but it is also a reminder: no one serves this institution alone, and no one wants to claim individually what was achieved by many. That is why this medal also belongs to FC Porto’s members, represented here by the president of the General Assembly Board, António Tavares. The members are the most important intangible asset of our club; they are its culture, its history, its critical conscience, its legitimacy, and the guarantee that FC Porto must always continue to belong to those who love it deeply.”

The recognition of Carla Oliveira“It is also an honor to receive this distinction alongside Carla Oliveira, an unparalleled winner in FC Porto’s and Portugal’s adaptive sport. Carla represents excellence, overcoming, and inclusion. She reminds us that being multi-sport is not just a word to appear in the statutes, but a concrete way of opening doors, creating opportunities, and allowing everyone’s talent and courage to be expressed without barriers.”

A historic season“Last season naturally helped give additional meaning to this distinction. FC Porto won its 31st National Championship title and became the club with the most titles in national football. It was National Champion in every age group, from under-15s to seniors, repeating the historic clean sweep our club had achieved in Portuguese football. We won in women’s football, in other sports, and in adaptive sport. We became European roller hockey champions again and regained, after ten years, the national basketball title. It was the Year of the Dragon, but FC Porto’s glory cannot be an occasional visit. It must necessarily be the norm, a habit built on merit, high standards, and hard work. That is how this club became great, and that is how we want to continue honoring the city of Porto. The celebrations we experienced at the Dragão, in Ribeira, and on Aliados showed something no statistic can explain: the perfect symbiosis between the city and its club. We saw the River Douro covered in blue and white, we saw the banks packed, we saw whole families—children, parents, and grandparents—we saw a city recognizing itself in its team and a team feeling the weight and strength of its city.”

The bond between FC Porto and the city“FC Porto is not merely located in Porto, it is an expression of Porto. We share the same origins, the same directness, the same work ethic, the same resilience, the same difficulty in accepting being defined from the outside, the same pride that is sometimes mistaken for arrogance by those who do not understand that in this city ambition has always been a response to hardship. We are shaped, as people of Porto and as FC Porto supporters, by that simple idea. No one gives us anything; what we want, we earn. The relationship between the club and the city’s institutions must reflect that identity, but also maturity, cordiality, and professionalism. FC Porto has found in the City Council and in the city’s and municipality’s various bodies counterparts with whom it can work, even when there are differing perspectives. A city and its biggest club do not have to think the same way all the time; they do have to understand the responsibility they share and work together for the benefit of the people.”

Sporting ambition and financial balance“The merit recognized today does not lie only in victories; it lies in management, organization, administration, rigor in decision-making, and daily high standards. It lies in the difficult pursuit of balance between sporting ambition and FC Porto’s economic and financial sustainability. Winning without building for the future is irresponsible; balancing the books without competing to win is surrender. FC Porto’s path must lie between these two realities: enough rigor to guarantee tomorrow and enough ambition to honor the present. That has been one of the greatest challenges of this term: not looking for shortcuts, not trading the future for an immediate victory, but also not using difficulties as an excuse to give up on winning. That was the balance we sought, that was the balance that brought the title back to us, and that is the balance that will continue to guide our work.”

The club’s social responsibility“FC Porto’s role in the city, however, goes far beyond the results of its teams. A great club has a social and sociological responsibility. It contributes to health and well-being, encourages sporting activity, brings young people closer to sport, creates role models, fights exclusion, generates opportunities, develops women’s and adaptive sport, trains athletes, and must also help shape citizens. FC Porto must be present wherever the city needs it: in schools, in neighborhoods, in social institutions, in support for disability, in promoting physical activity and access to sport. A club’s greatness is measured not only by the trophies it holds, but also by the lives it manages to transform. That is why the situation experienced by Boavista FC should sadden and trouble us all. The loss of activity of a century-old institution in the city is no one’s victory; it is a wound in the sporting and social heritage of the city of Porto. It is also a warning about the opaque interests and wrongdoers who continue to plague football, treating century-old institutions as disposable assets and forgetting that clubs belong to history, to communities, and to people. We cannot remain indifferent. Defending clubs is defending cities, access to sport, and the social wealth they carry.”

A life linked to FC Porto“Allow me now a more personal note. Before being president, I was a coach, and before that I was an FC Porto member. I was born a son of Porto and an FC Porto supporter; it was here that I grew up with my parents, my family, and the references that shaped my character. It was here that I learned to look at the world with passion, directness, and the high standards this city demands of its children. Sir Bobby Robson opened the first door for me at FC Porto and, with it, opened a love story that already existed as a supporter, but which became a calling and a profession. I was a youth coach for seven years, I was a scout and assistant coach to José Mourinho in the glorious years of 2003 and 2004, and I experienced from the inside a team that conquered Europe and restored to Porto the certainty that nothing is impossible when there is talent, work, and courage. I returned as head coach in 2010/11, living through a magical year, with a haul of four titles and a team forever etched in the memory of FC Porto supporters. I left, traveled the world, got to know different clubs, cultures, and ways of understanding football, but I never truly left this city. Porto always stayed with me. There is no longing without return, as Pedro Abrunhosa says in his song “Lua.” And so, years later, I returned to serve FC Porto as president. The secret name given to the campaign project was ikigai, a word that represents one’s reason for being, the meeting point between what we love, what we know how to do, what the world needs, and what we can dedicate our lives to. I was overcome by a very strong sense of destiny and a very deep calling. For me, FC Porto was and continues to be that ikigai, not as personal fulfillment, but as responsibility for something greater. A club that does not belong to one person, one board, or one generation; it belongs to its members, its history, and the future we have a duty to protect.”

A medal of particular significance“Throughout my professional life, I have had the good fortune to win titles in Portugal and abroad and to represent our country in different parts of the world. Only three Portuguese coaches have won European titles with Portuguese clubs, and all three did so at FC Porto: José Mourinho, Artur Jorge, and André Villas-Boas. Of the three, only one was not honored by the Portuguese State. I do not say this as a complaint or a demand, only to explain why this medal has such intimate and profound value for me. It is the city where I was born, grew up, and was formed that recognizes the importance of a club’s work in the life of the city; it recognizes a person and his work. And there are forms of recognition that, because of the value of where I come from, matter in a different way. Receiving this medal of merit is feeling that the city recognizes me as one of its own, and there is no greater honor than being recognized by one’s own home. I share this distinction with FC Porto supporters and institutions also being honored, who make this moment even greater; with APPACDM Porto, an institution that means a great deal to me, which the Race for Good association embraces and whose mission teaches us every day the true meaning of inclusion, dignity, and courage; with Carla Oliveira, an example of talent, resilience, and excellence; with António Tavares, representative of the members and of a life in the service of the city; with Rui Moreira, who served this city with independence, energy, and a distinctly Porto spirit; with José Manuel Matos Fernandes, whose bond with the Club and the city deserves to be preserved in our memory; with FC Porto’s Board and Management, singular people in their skills and love for the Club, without whom this distinction would never have happened and without whom FC Porto would not today be projected into the future with such value, judgment, organization, and wisdom; and with my dear friend and eternal captain Jorge Costa. There are absences that fill all space, and Jorge’s is one of them. Receiving a medal at a ceremony in which his name is also being honored fills us with pride, but also brings us deep pain. Jorge was courage, leadership, directness, and loyalty. He was Porto in its purest state. Finally, I share it with my family, who embrace with love and tenderness, always and at every moment, in joy, pain, and sorrow, the fierce and competitive animal that I am and the rarity of my character and personality. They are my true safe harbor and, in my father and mother, I see an example of work and dedication, professionalism, altruism, and love for others.

Pride in being from Porto and an FC Porto supporter“I receive this medal with deep gratitude, pride, and full awareness of the responsibility it represents. Porto is not just the place where I was born; it is the city that shaped me, the club that fulfilled me, the community to which I want to continue giving back everything it gave me. I will continue to serve FC Porto and, through it, the city, the region, and the people, with the same high standards, the same directness, and the same hunger to win. Because Porto does not ask permission to exist. Porto works, Porto resists, Porto conquers, and I am, with enormous pride, a son of this city.”

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