Paulo Freitas on loss to Sporting: “We win together, lose together” | OneFootball

Paulo Freitas did not hide his frustration after FC Porto’s defeat to Sporting at the Dragão Arena, in the opening game of the National Championship play-off semi-finals. The coach of Porto’s rink hockey team split his assessment between thanking the fans, the opponent’s efficiency in the decisive moments, and the response he is already demanding in game 2. And, in the middle of his analysis, he left one idea that summed it all up: “When we win, we all win.”

In the aftermath of a first clássico that slipped away from the European champions, the mood was one of contained disappointment, but not surrender. Paulo Freitas appeared with a message of collective responsibility and immediate focus on recovering in the tie, refusing easy explanations for a night in which FC Porto fell short of what it wanted.

Before getting into his reading of the game, the coach made a point of starting with the stands and the push he felt coming from the Dragão Arena, in one of those moments when the home crowd tries to carry the team even when the result is slipping away.

“First of all, a huge thank you to everyone here at the Dragão Arena, who were at a very high level and pushed us in every moment, but we were not capable.”

It was a way of separating the support from the response on the rink: the fans were up to the occasion, the team was not. The short, direct sentence conveyed both gratitude and the acknowledgment that the night ended up being marked by Porto’s inability to turn that momentum into a competitive edge.

When he moved on to summarising the match, Paulo Freitas described a tough, evenly balanced game decided by details that went Sporting’s way. He did so without shying away from the mistake, without singling out anyone for blame, and stressing that, in this type of clash, moments of superiority carry enormous weight.

“We know there is a great team on the other side and the difficulties we were going to face, but they knew that too. It was an evenly balanced game and always taken into physical duels. Then there was a moment when we made a mistake, because here when we make mistakes, we all make mistakes. And when we win, we all win,” he said. “Our opponent was tremendously efficient in their moment of superiority and we were not able to be, not because of a lack of quality, but because we were in a difficult situation. We had a lot of heart and not enough head. They were clearer-minded and, with a three-goal difference, it was much more complicated. All that is left for us is to grieve today, and tomorrow we will be here with the same strength. We go into game 2 with the determination we must have to bring back the win and to come away with the tie level.”

In this assessment there are two overlapping layers: self-criticism over the emotional management of the game and recognition of the opponent’s clarity in the moments that made the difference. At the same time, Freitas sought to close the wound quickly, steering the message toward an immediate response and the need to level the tie in Lisbon.

Hélder Nunes’s absence also came up, but without serving as a refuge. Asked about the weight of that unavailability, the coach acknowledged the player’s importance, although he refused to turn that absence into an excuse for the defeat.

“Hélder is unavailable through the Health Department. He is an important part of the team, as they all are, and he gives us a different rotation, but I am not going to hide behind that because this team has a lot of quality and has already shown that it can turn around difficult moments.”

The answer fit the same line of collective accountability that ran through his entire intervention. Without looking for external excuses, Paulo Freitas preferred to reinforce his confidence in the resources he has and in the team’s ability to respond, leaving FC Porto tied to a simple yet heavy obligation at the same time: respond in game 2.

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