Daniel Chaves: “Women’s football needed FC Porto in the top flight” | OneFootball

The women’s team made history on April 25, 2026 by winning the National Second Division title and securing promotion to Liga BPI, the top tier in Portugal. After a match in which he felt there was “some anxiety” among the Porto players in the first half, Daniel Chaves highlighted the collective display after the break and believes the emphatic scoreline could have been even bigger, although the essential thing was achieving the two objectives that had been set. “We know we still have a lot to build and a lot of hard work ahead of us to get where we want to be as a Club, but we were missing from the top level of Portuguese women’s football,” added the coach.

Two very different halves“The factor that stood out most in the first half was some anxiety within the team, which wanted to do everything too quickly. It’s true that we had the ball most of the time, but whenever we found any space we wanted to do everything too fast. We felt some anxiety about getting the goal and putting the result beyond doubt so that we could feel that we were champions and promoted, but it was a second half in which we grew into the game, and it finished 4-0 when it could even have been more. We had some very good team moves, and one of the goals is an example of that. It was the perfect crowning moment for promotion.”

There are still two trophies to win“Considering the way we want to keep growing in women’s football, it ends up being a season beyond expectations for everyone, whether for those inside or outside the club. Above all, I’m very proud of the players. They are the ones who put us at this level, they are the ones who work every day to achieve these results in every competition. It was an evolving process throughout the season that now allows us to compete against any team nationwide.”

A family in the dressing room“I think the name FC Porto ends up taking away from what we have done this season. The start was not easy and pre-season was not easy either; we changed half the squad, and it takes adaptation to a style of play, as well as having to instill in the players the principles of the Club. That’s what we did, and we gained a lot from the group we built. When we talk about being a family, that is what we showed ourselves to be this season.”

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