“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, while also highlighting the responsibility he assumes as president of FC Porto.

Side by side with Carla Oliveira, “an unparalleled winner in adapted sport,” the FC Porto president recalled “the perfect symbiosis between the city and its club” seen during the celebrations of the 31st national title, stressing 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 neighbourhoods, in social institutions, in support for disability, in promoting physical activity and access to sport. The greatness of a club is not measured only by the trophies it keeps, but also by the lives it is able to transform.”

The distinction received“I want to begin by thanking the Mayor of Porto for this distinction, for deciding to put my name forward, and everyone who took part in this decision, in particular the ladies and gentlemen councillors of the Municipal Assembly. I receive the City of Porto Medal of Merit with enormous pride. I also receive it with the clear awareness 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, it matters because of the way of being that Porto recognises as its own, and above all it matters because of the responsibility it has placed on me from early on. Today I am being honoured as president of FC Porto’s Board, a members’ club, a club of the city, and a club that carries Porto’s name across the country and around the world, and which has a daily obligation to live up to that mission. I do not believe, therefore, that I have done 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 honour, but it is also a reminder: no one serves this institution alone and no one wants to individually claim what has been 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.”

Recognition of Carla Oliveira“It is also an honour to receive this distinction alongside Carla Oliveira, an unparalleled winner in FC Porto’s and Portugal’s adapted sport. Carla represents excellence, resilience 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 this distinction additional meaning. FC Porto won its 31st National Championship title and became the club with the most titles in Portuguese football. It was National Champion at every level, from under-15s to seniors, repeating the historic clean sweep our club had managed in Portuguese football. We won in women’s football, in the various sports, and in adapted sport. We became European roller hockey champions again and, after ten years, regained 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 work. That is how this club became great, and that is how we want to continue honouring the city of Porto. The celebrations we experienced at the Dragão, in Ribeira and on Avenida dos Aliados showed something no statistic can explain: the perfect symbiosis between the city and its club. We saw the Douro River covered in blue and white, we saw the banks full, we saw entire families — children, parents and grandparents — we saw a city recognising 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 capacity for work, 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, as people of Porto and FC Porto supporters, are shaped 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 City Hall and in the city’s and municipality’s various bodies counterparts it can work with, even when there are differing perspectives. A city and its biggest club do not always have to think the same way; 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 being recognised today lies not only in victories; it lies in management, organisation, administration, the rigour of decisions and daily demands. It lies in the difficult pursuit of balance between sporting ambition and FC Porto’s economic and financial sustainability. Winning without building a future is irresponsible; balancing the books without competing to win is surrender. FC Porto’s path must lie between these two realities: enough rigour to guarantee tomorrow and enough ambition to honour the present. That has been one of the greatest challenges of this term: not seeking 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 us back the title, 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 adapted sport, trains athletes and should also shape citizens. FC Porto must be present wherever the city needs it: in schools, in neighbourhoods, in social institutions, in support for disability, in promoting physical activity and access to sport. The greatness of a club is not measured only by the trophies it keeps, but also by the lives it is able to transform. That is why the situation experienced by Boavista FC should sadden and concern 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 that 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 richness they carry.”

A life linked to FC Porto“Allow me now a more personal note. Before becoming president, I was a coach, and before that I was an FC Porto member. I was born a man of Porto and an FC Porto supporter; it was here that I grew up with my parents, with my family and with the influences that shaped my character. It was here that I learned to look at the world with passion, directness and the level of demand that this city expects from 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 then became a vocation and a profession. I was a youth coach for seven years, 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 four titles and a team that remains forever in the memory of FC Porto supporters. I left, travelled the world, got to know different clubs, cultures and ways of understanding football, but I never truly left this city. Porto was always 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 candidacy project was ikigai, a word that represents reason for being, the meeting point between what we love, what we know how to do, what the world needs and what we can devote our life to. I was overcome by a very strong sense of destiny and a very deep calling. For me, FC Porto was and remains that ikigai, not as personal fulfilment, 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 that 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 honoured by the Portuguese State. I do not say this as a complaint or a demand; I say it 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 shaped, recognising the importance of a club’s work in the life of the city, recognising a person and his work. And there are forms of recognition that, because of the value of where I come from, mean something different. To receive this medal of merit is to feel that the city recognises me as one of its own, and there is no greater honour than being recognised by one’s own home. I share this distinction with FC Porto supporters and with institutions also being honoured, who make this moment even greater; with APPACDM of Porto, an institution that means a great deal to me, which the Race for Good association embraces and whose mission teaches us daily 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 service to the city; with Rui Moreira, who served this city with independence, energy and a distinctly Porto spirit; with José Manuel Matos Fernandes, whose connection to the Club and the city deserves to be preserved in our memory; with FC Porto’s Board and Administration, people exceptional in their abilities and in their 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, organisation 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 honoured 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, in pain and in sorrow, the fierce and competitive animal that I am and the rarity of my character and personality. They are my true safe harbour and, in my father and my mother, I see an example of work and dedication, professionalism, selflessness 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 its 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.