Tiago Margarido: FC Porto are the league’s strongest side | OneFootball

Nacional will host FC Porto tomorrow at Estádio da Madeira (3:30 pm), in a match for the 22nd round of the Liga Betclic. The team led by Tiago Margarido drew at home in the last round against Casa Pia, while the Dragons also registered a draw at the Dragão against Sporting. The Alvinegro coach says he is prepared for any lineup that Francesco Farioli may choose and, regarding favoritism, he is categorical: “All the favoritism is on the side of the league leader, who is fighting for completely different objectives than ours. They are the strongest team in the league and the standings prove it. As such, all the favoritism is with FC Porto. We know our abilities, our strengths, and we believe we can get a positive result. The favoritism cannot shift to our side.”

“FC Porto will not come weakened”

Tiago Margarido does not foresee any ease from the northerners, recalling the defeat suffered by the Porto club last season in Madeira: “FC Porto already had the experience last season, with a less fortunate game here in Madeira. I believe, I am absolutely certain, that they will not make things easy. The fact that they are not coming off two particularly good results does not reflect what their season has been so far, as they are the strongest team in the league. The standings prove it, so I do not believe that FC Porto will come weakened in any way.”

With the absences of Léo Santos (suspended) and Gabriel Veron (unable to play because he is on loan), Margarido guarantees that Nacional will maintain its identity: “We will necessarily have to make changes to the lineup, because Léo is suspended and Gabriel Veron cannot play this match as he is on loan. But as far as our playing style is concerned, we will maintain our principles and try to put them into practice. Obviously, we know that at certain moments in the game this will not be possible. We will also have the ability to endure when the game demands it, but whenever possible we will put into practice our style of play, what we believe in, and what we have been doing since the first round.”

This week has raised the motivation of the Nacional squad: “These are weeks that are highly motivating for the players, as everyone wants to play against the biggest teams in their league. It is easy for us as coaches to motivate the players for this type of match. As I said not long ago, we had excellent performances both at Alvalade, here at home against Benfica, and at Estádio do Dragão, and that alone already shows the extra motivation with which the players approach these games. I think it will be no different this time. We will be motivated, we will have great belief in our ability, knowing in advance that we will have a very strong opponent in front of us whom we respect a lot, but we also have to trust in our own abilities.”

Regarding the possible use of William Gomes—whose two-match suspension was reduced and who served one match after FC Porto’s appeal—Margarido preferred not to comment on the disciplinary decision and said only that he prepared for the match with that possibility in mind: “I have nothing to do with that situation. I have to prepare the match counting on William Gomes, who is in fact a player who adds a lot to the team, with a lot of versatility. We had to prepare for his presence a bit at the last minute, because I think that decision came out yesterday. It is not up to me to evaluate anything. As a coach, what I can say is that I had to prepare at the last minute for the possibility of William being able to play.”

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