THE Coach Bruno Pinheiro stated today that Académico de Viseu will present a modified team compared to the I League when visiting FC Porto, in the quarter-finals of the Football League Cup, which they aim to win.
After drawing at Benfica’s ground, in the opening of the championship (2-2), and winning at Sporting’s stadium, on Sunday (2-1), also for the I League, the Beira’s travel to the Estádio do Dragão for the first time this season, with “humility and ambition”, but “different players” in light of the triumph in Alvalade.
“We are going to have a lot of changes. We had one less day of rest than FC Porto. We are still recovering athletes, so we have an idea of who is more or less available. We have a game on Sunday, with Rio Ave (for the I League). We have to manage. We don’t want to run the risk of injuries. We believe in the rest of the players in the squad”, he said, in preview of the game scheduled for 8:30 pm, taking place in a hotel in Lousada.
Although the ‘dragons’ have nine domestic victories, all for the championship, the ‘helmsman’ admits the desire to be present in the ‘final four’ of the League Cup, scheduled for Leiria, between January 5th and 9th, 2027, and even confesses the desire to win the competition, although the priority is the I League, in which the Viseenses occupy sixth place, with 17 points.
“We would really like to win the League Cup and we want to win it. (…) It is a legitimate ambition to be in a competition and want to win it, but the biggest focus is the championship. It has been many years out of the I League. We want to ensure maintenance as soon as possible, to ensure better conditions to aim for more in the future, being competitive not just in one competition, but in two or three”, he highlighted.
Aware that it takes “a component of happiness” to win at the stadiums of FC Porto, Benfica, Sporting or Sporting de Braga, the 49-year-old coach promises to follow the “same tactical formula” as in the games at Luz and Alvalade, especially because the changes made in the reception to the ‘blue and whites’, in the fourth round of the championship, resulted in a 3-0 defeat.
“In the home defeat against FC Porto, we had a different formula in the first 25 minutes and it was ‘expensive’ for us. We wanted to do something different, because FC Porto had not lost to anyone in the I League. It didn’t work out well for us. We will follow the formula we followed in Luz and Alvalade”, he promised.
Commanding a team with “morale and confidence”, the result of five consecutive victories in the I League, the coach of the ‘viriatos’ appeared “very calm” with the possibility of losing players in the ‘winter market’, as a result of appreciation and potential interest from clubs with bigger budgets.
“Portuguese football needs these sales. As a coach with the ambition to win, I have to adapt to these realities. Until today, at Académico de Viseu, no one has spoken about the need to sell. It is a financially stable club, which will only make sales at fair prices. If there are sales, ‘doors’ open to other players to help us achieve our objectives”, he said.
Académico de Viseu visits FC Porto, in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, scheduled for Wednesday, at 8:30 pm, at Estádio do Dragão, in Porto, with refereeing by Sérgio Guelho, from the Guarda association.
