THE Ararat-Armenia, with three defeats in the league phase of the Europa League, will try to beat Torreense on Thursday, at the Estádio Municipal Magalhães Pessoa, in Leiria, but without losing its identity, coach Manuel Tulipa assured today.
Still in the process of defining his formation, the Portuguese coach of the Armenian team anticipates a clash between “two very equal teams on a technical and physical level”:
“Whoever can handle the details of the game better, whoever focuses better on causing mistakes in the opponent and taking the opportunity to attack again will possibly win the game.”
Before training to adapt to the Leiria pitch, Tulipa considered that, after the defeats against Sparta Praga, Jagiellonia Bialystok and AZ Alkmaar, it is more important to look at what needs to be corrected than at what happened in previous games.
“We are following a learning path that will be very important for the future, if we want to be a solid team, which can play in European competitions every year.”
Improving “control of the game, the identity of the short exit” and overcoming the pressure, which “in this type of competition is a little stronger”, are objectives that Ararat-Armenia will try to apply against Torreense.
The change of coach of the Torres Vedras team, with the entry of João Nuno to replace Luís Tralhão, is “a random factor” in the equation for Thursday’s match, considers Tulipa, who promises not to make changes for this challenge.
“I made this decision to play with my identity, not thinking so much about the strategy for each game. We want to win, we want to help Armenia’s classification (in the UEFA rankings) with points, but I’m worried that the team won’t lose its identity of controlling”, he highlighted.
The coach, who has already coached Torreense, recognizes that the opponent, “for what they did in the Portuguese Cup final, clearly deserves to be in this position”.
“I see myself much more today in what Torreense does, what my ideas were, and some plans we wanted to make to boost the club”, since he trained there in 2023/24.
Torreense “has grown today” and stands out for its “very young squad, rich in technical quality and rich in intensity”, he praised, expecting an opponent focused on “the transition game”.
Benny, one of the Portuguese in the Ararat-Armenia squad, admitted that the match with Torreense has a special flavor.
The midfielder represented the Torres Vedras team in 2023/24 and recognized that it is “a special team”: “I learned a lot there, I met good people. But what’s important now is the present. If I score, I won’t celebrate, because of the respect I have for the club.”
On the field, Benny argued that Ararat-Armenia will have to “have total focus to achieve a positive result, in a very important game for the team”.
The 29-year-old athlete, who this season transferred from Petro de Luanda, in Angola, to Armenia, says he is fully integrated.
“It’s a different country, a different championship, but things are going well. We are improving and tomorrow (Thursday) we need to get a positive result here”, he concluded.
Torreense, 28th in the league phase, with three points, and Ararat-Armenia, 36th and last, with no points, will play on Thursday, starting at 8pm, at Municipal Magalhães Pessoa, in Leiria, under the refereeing of Serbian Milos Milanovic.
