Francesco Farioli was very happy with FC Porto’s first victory in this edition of the Champions League, achieved against Napoli (4-1), in a match on the 4th round of the league phase, recorded on Wednesday night. At a press conference, the Italian coach praised the players and also addressed rumors that he had been invited to coach Napoli.
“When you go to the (FC Porto) museum and see so many national and international trophies… When you play in front of 50 thousand people and represent a club with this size and tradition… I’m happy here and I’m happy to work with this group of extraordinary men and with all the other people who live at this club”, Farioli began by saying.
“Today we had a good performance and got the result we deserved. It was important to start gaining points in the Champions League. We all know the history of the Club and the demands that exist here. As I said after the game against PSV, this team can be accused of everything, but never of a lack of attitude. Every three days, the team enters with the right spirit and with the right motivation in different games, for different competitions and against very different opponents. It’s not easy to always be at our best and sometimes we pay the price “In this competition, the margin for error is very thin. Today we could have scored more goals than we did, but this is the Champions League and it’s something we have to learn. We got three points against a fantastic opponent who has been Italian champion twice in the last four years”, he argued.
Francesco Farioli also highlighted the performances of Santiago Giménez and Gabri Veiga, joking about the virus that the Spanish midfielder caught hours before the match at Estádio do Dragão.
“In the game with Académico de Viseu several players had minutes and today Santiago Gimenez’s entry was fantastic, but it’s no coincidence. The 90 minutes he had against Académico de Viseu gave him a lot of good things. Gabri Veiga was sick this morning, but he should always catch this virus to play like that”, he said, amidst laughter.
After three defeats in as many rounds, FC Porto scored the first three points and also took advantage of the opportunity to gain a margin in the number of goals scored, something that was also in Farioli’s mind.
“In this competition, every point and every goal counts. Goal difference can really make a difference and we have already had several examples of that in all European competitions. Everything counts in this competition and for us to win by three goals today is something important. The boys’ performance was very good”, he stressed.
FC Porto returns to action on Sunday, against Vitória SC, in the I League, before facing Paredes in the Portuguese Cup. The next game in the Champions League is scheduled for November 24th, when the Dragons visit the Dutch side of Feyenoord.
