FC Porto coach, Francesco Farioli, acknowledged this Saturday that the trip to Famalicão’s ground, on Sunday, for the 11th round of the I Football League, will be “a difficult and demanding game”, in a context of a tight schedule.
“We are talking about a few hours of preparation, but we have had a tight schedule. It is possible, with everyone’s work and the professionalism of the players. Tomorrow [domingo] In the morning we will have a session at the stadium. It’s normal for us to try to be well prepared for a game that will be difficult and demanding. Do you know how well Famalicão plays since Hugo [Oliveira] it arrived. They are a very good team at home”, said the Italian coach, at the preview press conference.
The meeting with Famalicão will be FC Porto’s sixth in 23 days, five of which were played away from home, a sequence that Farioli acknowledged was testing the group’s management capacity.
“We played 80% of the last games away and we are trying to manage that. Of course our desire is to win every game. I think we’re on the right track, with some things to improve, but we’ve also done a lot of good things. Still, we are far from perfect and we need time to perfect some things”, he highlighted.
Asked about the ‘dragons’ hard-earned victories in the last few rounds of the championship, Farioli rejected any alarm and valued the team’s spirit of resilience.
“The game lasts 90 minutes. Scoring in the 1st or 90th minute counts the same. Sometimes, expectations are high because of the way we started. In the league, in Europe, in the Cup, the games are very complicated. What we want is to see the team together. Our rivals and the media want to tear FC Porto down, but what we need is unity. We will face the difficulties as a family, the Porto family”, he stressed.
Regarding the differences in approach in the games against Sporting de Braga and Utrecht, the coach assured that FC Porto did not lose identity, but rather showed “the ability to adapt”.
“We want to be dominant, have the ball in the attacking third, press high, but games pose different scenarios. A big team needs to have the ability to change face. This is not a lack of identity, it is the ability to adapt”, he stated.
The Porto coach also highlighted Famalicão’s danger in set pieces — sector in which the Minho team are the most effective in the I Liga —, asking for extra attention from their players.
“Famalicão is a team that scores more than 50% of its goals from set pieces. We have to pay a lot of attention. The goal conceded against Utrecht is a good opportunity for us to be alert and regain confidence in these moments”, he said, using the move from the last meeting, with the Dutch (1-1), for the Europa League.
Farioli also admitted that Rodrigo Mora and Gabri Veiga “can play together”, ensuring that the midfield “is adaptable” and that the priority is to maintain “a certain balance in the team”.
Finally, the coach confirmed the gradual recovery of striker Luuk de Jong, absent due to injury.
“We hope he will be ready after the break for the selections. He has already started training on the pitch, with the ball, and the reaction has been positive”, he concluded.
FC Porto, leader of the I League, with 28 points, visits Famalicão, fifth placed, with 19, on Sunday, in a game scheduled for 6 pm, at the Estádio Municipal de Famalicão, and which will be refereed by José Bessa, from the Porto association.