Coach Francesco Farioli guaranteed this Wednesday, December 3rd, that FC Porto wants to “do the best possible” against Vitória de Guimarães, in a game scheduled for this Thursday in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
FC Porto is looking to reach the semi-finals of a competition that it has only won once, in 2022/23, and Farioli stated that the ambition is to give “the best possible response”, despite the accumulated wear and tear and physical limitations in the squad.
“The last games were for different competitions, there are many books on the table, but it is another test, the desire is to do the best we can, understanding the team’s moment. We only won once and we will try to do something different”said the technician.
Regarding the eventual management of the squad, the coach explained that it will depend on medical evaluations: “We had players with some problems, especially with their knees. We need to evaluate this before deciding on the eleven, to preserve the integrity of the players. The important thing is to win”.
Despite the doubts in the attack, the coach assumed that the club is “trying everything to recover the players”, but was confident that “whoever comes in will take advantage of the opportunity”.
The Italian classified the season so far as “very positive”, highlighting the change in mentality of the group since July, but warned that “the work is far from done”, remembering the specific differences between Sporting and Benfica in recent seasons.
Farioli also praised the Dragões de Ouro Gala, which he considered “unique” and an important moment to understand “the love for FC Porto”.
Regarding the choice of goalkeeper for this competition, he said that the owner of the goal will only be decided on the day of the game: “I have three experienced goalkeepers, leaders, examples for the younger ones. Unfortunately, only one can play”.
Alan Varela is “fully recovered”, confirmed Farioli, while the use of Luuk de Jong “will be more difficult” and Deniz Gül is still uncertain.
The coach also praised Vitória de Guimarães’ moment, which he defined as a “tactically strong” team and capable of presenting “different scenarios” on the field.
The meeting between FC Porto and Vitória de Guimarães is scheduled for Thursday, at 8:15 pm, at Estádio do Dragão, with the winner joining Sporting, Benfica and Sporting de Braga in the ‘final four’ – which will take place between January 6th and 10th, in Leiria – and will meet the ‘lions’ in the semi-finals.