“To produce players with Porto's stamp, we must mould winners” | OneFootball

João Brandão, the head coach of FC Porto B, took part in the 351st episode of Footure’s “The Pitch Invaders” podcast. Throughout the conversation, the coach reflected on several aspects related to football and the Club, arguing that “passion and competence” are “fundamental” requirements for young players. He also highlighted “resilience, the way we push ourselves every day, and the way we know we have to do twice as much as others to get the same result” as “non-negotiable values for anyone representing FC Porto.”

The coach believes that, in player development, “it is essential to create an environment and a setting that is very close to what the first team is,” something that depends on “having the demand to win.” Before anything else, however, comes “the pride of representing FC Porto, the city of Porto, and the Northern region.” “Regardless of the pitch and the opponent, we always play to win,” he stressed, before praising André Villas-Boas’ influence at the Club: “Above all, the president brought a vision. Beyond that vision, the president brought the kind of organization and structure that allows players to have all the conditions they need to develop their game and coaches to have all the conditions they need to develop their teams. The results speak for themselves: last season, we managed to make all of FC Porto’s football teams winners. That reflects the daily work we have been doing.”

The coach builds his identity from various ideas“A coach is a thief of ideas in order to create his own idea, and sharing knowledge is fundamental, even more so in football.”

The competitive reality of the Second League“Here we have a B team playing in a professional league, which is a very different context. We compete in a professional league and we can be relegated. It’s like imagining an under-20 team competing in Brazil’s Série B. The context here is very different.”

How the coach was born“I was someone who wasn’t particularly gifted at actually playing the game, but I won’t make excuses for the fact that I didn’t manage to become a player. To be very honest, I quickly realized talent was not on my side, so I had to embrace other passions connected to football. Because of my relationship with football, since my father worked in football for 50 years, I grew up in and have been breathing the dressing room since I was very young. I was only two months old when I watched my first match. My passion for football and for FC Porto is literally in my blood. Then I lived alongside different coaches and different realities that shaped the João Brandão I am today. We are what we live, and I started coaching very early, at just 20 years old, but I value every stage of my career. The competition is fierce and there are great coaches out there, so I try to keep myself constantly up to date.”

What he looks for in a football player“Passion and competence are fundamental. I am at the start of a new phase in my career, with young and professional players, already young adults. Those two requirements are the pillars and foundations in building a football player. Then there is emotional stability and other important factors, especially off the pitch. Competence means the best players perform at a higher level. Football, like life, lives on opportunities.”

The challenges of the new generation“This new generation has many strengths and many flaws; they are in a hurry and live too much on expectations, on tomorrow, and place too little value on today. We have to make them understand the context and the reality and equip them with the skills that prepare them for the future. It is important to know how to inspire them and give them confidence. Inspiring and trusting are fundamental for a leader. If they accept our idea, they will be more patient as they become involved in the process. Their involvement in the process nowadays is absolutely decisive. This new generation wants to understand what they are doing, why, and where they are going to get. It is a generation with very specific characteristics because society has changed. We cannot reach the player if we do not understand the young adult in front of us, so we have to create mechanisms to reach them quickly. One of the advantages this generation has is a better understanding of the game; they have access to information that 10 or 15 years ago no one had. We try to find tools that have an impact on them every day. We do different individual exercises for each player, for example. Our individual work is very much geared precisely toward that: the individual.”

FC Porto B as a reflection of the first team“In the B team, it is essential to create an environment and a setting that is very close to what the first team is. That only happens if there is the same demand to win that exists in the first team. To develop players with the Porto stamp, we have to develop winning players. You only become a winner in life and in football by winning many times. That habit of winning has to be present; we embrace that pressure to win. It is something that is part of our daily life and helps us develop players. Priorities change throughout the year and they change almost individually for each player. Here, most of them face adversity for the first time, and that is also important because it prepares them to respond better to that adversity in the future. The B team environment is also one of high demands. Collectively, we have to be competent and, once again, I turn to the Club’s values: the team always comes first.”

The profile of a Porto-style player“Resilience, the way we push ourselves every day, the way we know we have to do twice as much as others to get the same result, are non-negotiable values for anyone representing FC Porto. We feel the pride of representing FC Porto, the city of Porto, and the Northern region. We also want to develop players who have the mental and physical capacity to be protagonists in a match. Regardless of the pitch and the opponent, we will always play to win. We have been helping our players grow into a more aggressive, more intense style of play that does not let opponents breathe.”

A B team with ever younger ages“That drop in the team’s average age happens for several reasons. First of all, because of the vision the president brought of a new way of approaching the B-team space. The market is increasingly aggressive, and that means the B team becomes a scouting space to bring in 16- or 17-year-old players, as has happened recently. Here, they find the ideal context and the necessary time to be able to perform in the first team in the future. On the other hand, as the average age drops, there are growing pains in the team’s competitive ability. There is a very clear and very confident vision of what we want for the B team, especially in defeats and in moments when doubts are raised about this project.”

The influence of André Villas-Boas“Above all, the president brought a vision. A vision for the club framed by what the market is and what the world of football is today. He also brought a vision for the teams and for what it means to play within FC Porto. The way we want our players to step onto the pitch cuts across all teams. Beyond that vision, the president brought the kind of organization and structure that allows players to have all the conditions they need to develop their game and coaches to have all the conditions they need to develop their teams. The results speak for themselves: last season, we managed to make all of FC Porto’s football teams winners. That reflects the daily work we have been doing.”

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