Francesco Farioli, coach of FC Porto, revealed this Thursday, February 26, that the last few days “have not been easy at all” for Borja Sainz, who lost her mother and has been in Spain since Monday. “The situation has become complicated and today we received news that no one wanted to receive. I spoke to him in the last few days”, he said, guaranteeing that the team “will be close” to the 25-year-old player, adding that president André Villas-Boas will be present at the funeral.
In the preview of the 24th round match, scheduled for this Friday, at Dragão, at 6:45 pm, Farioli said that Arouca “is one of the teams that play the most interesting football” in the I Liga, highlighting that after having achieved 14 points in the first round, they already have 12 points in just six games in the second half of the championship, which he says is “truly impressive”.
“I have to give credit to coach Vasco Seabra because he is doing a great job. We also have to praise the set pieces, they have very well worked offensive combinations and all these details deserve our attention so that we can win”, explained the Italian coach, who revealed that he could not count on Brazilian Thiago Silva, who is still recovering from injury, but expressed hope in counting on Martim Fernandes “soon”. The good news for Porto fans is that the Polish Kiwior “is fully recovered”, so he will be back with the team.
Despite several absences in the defensive sector in recent times, Farioli highlights the stability of the team that continues to concede few goals, something that leads him to say that what the team has done “has been fantastic”, after all FC Porto “has not felt all the absences that much”.
The Dragons begin a series of three games in ten days with Arouca, two of which are visits to Alvalade to play Sporting in the Portuguese Cup and to Luz to face Benfica in the championship, but this is a situation that does not worry Farioli, who praises the physical state of his players: “Physically, I think we are a team of monsters. The players are very, very good physically. All the players are prepared.”
Despite the proximity of such important games, he guaranteed that he will not spare Alberto Costa, who if he receives a yellow card, will miss the game with Benfica, as “the next opponent that deserves attention at the moment has a yellow shirt” and is called Arouca.
Asked about the fact that Turkish striker Deniz Gül hadn’t scored a goal in four months, the FC Porto coach downplayed it. “He scored in the last round, but unfortunately, by 8 centimeters, it didn’t count. With Arouca and Moreirense he scored important and decisive goals. If we compare the playing time he has, the reading is totally different in relation to the number of goals scored”, he explained, adding that “the most important thing is for him to be in the right place at the right time”, because if that happens “the goals will come in a short time”.
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