Sérgio Ferreira: “We want to keep our winning identity” | OneFootball

FC Porto’s under-19 team travels to UD Leiria for matchday 12 of the Championship Qualification phase and can be crowned national champions with a win on Saturday at 3pm. Previewing “a challenging match because of the pitch and also the profile of the opposing team,” Sérgio Ferreira spoke of an “immense ambition to get all three points again” and downplayed the big win in the first meeting: “That 5-0 is in the past and the past is the past. We are focused on the present so we can be better in the future.”

Along the same lines, forward Eduardo Ferreira believes that “a completely different game from the home match” will be played with “a single objective, which is to get the three points.” “The matches in the second phase of the championship are very demanding and require different things from all of us, but we have prepared well, we know what to expect and we are going into the game to win,” said FC Porto’s top scorer at under-19 level.

Sérgio Ferreira

Still on the draw in the clássico“We have to keep doing exactly what we have done so far. The team gave everything it had; we did not always play in the best way depending on what was happening and at times we were not able to understand the game as we should have, but FC Porto’s attitude and values were always there and that has to be highlighted. That was the positive side of the last game: after going 1-0 down from a penalty in a bizarre, even somewhat crazy, incident, the team gave a fantastic response. Once again, we only fell short at the end, in a small detail where we made another mistake. It is part of learning and development, but it cannot happen again. We always go for the three points and that is exactly where our focus is. Ambition, will, the desire to win and to achieve things is what drives us. What drives us is our team, our Club, our values, our achievements and nothing else. That is why we have to stay focused on that, because our ambition is to be better every day, as players and also as an active part of a collective. We are very focused on what we have to do to be better, to limit as much as possible what the opposing team may do, and we have an immense ambition to get all three points again.”

The sixth-placed side“It is going to be a challenging match because of the pitch and also the profile of the opposing team. It is a different profile from the ones we have faced so far, and it becomes a different game because it will be played on a synthetic pitch with smaller dimensions. It is up to us to respond to that, and we are prepared for every scenario. We want to adapt as quickly as possible, while trying to impose our game, with the aim of hurting the opposition, and that is what we will be focused on.”

5-0 in the first meeting“That result counts for nothing. We have to be alert in every game, because at this final stage all matches are different and always demand different versions of ourselves. We want to maintain a standard, but there are always some details we have to change. That 5-0 is in the past and the past is the past. We are focused on the present so we can be better in the future.”

Recipe for success“We have to be ambitious play by play, ball by ball, second by second. We have to be fully committed and very focused on what the game requires; we have to be a very consistent and steady team. Going beyond ourselves and rising to the occasion will have to be there, because it is a game that will take us to that level. It is a challenging match, but we are focused on what we have to produce, while fully understanding the competitive side of the game. In addition to being very consistent, we have to be very competitive and be ready to play for the whole game.”

Eduardo Ferreira

One single objective“We want to finish this game with a win, obviously. We know how important the game is and we know it will be a very demanding match for us, but we are going into it with a single objective, which is to get the three points.”

Maximum demand“The matches in the second phase of the championship are very demanding and require different things from all of us, but we have prepared well, we know what to expect and we are going into the game to win.”

Extra caution“It will be a completely different game from the home match, also because of the pitch conditions. UD Leiria are an opponent that will demand a lot from us, but I think we are prepared and we have been working well.”

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