THE This Wednesday, FC Porto qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup, by hosting and beating Académico de Viseu, 1-0, following a penalty converted by Santiago Giménez, just before the half-time whistle, in a game where Francesco Farioli took the opportunity to give minutes to the most used players in the squad.
One of them was Gabriel Mec, a creative, just 18 years old, who was acquired, in the past summer transfer market, from Grêmio, in exchange for a fee of around 11 million euros (plus one million euros in bonuses), who had not yet had the opportunity to debut, but whose performance ended up convincing the Italian coach.
“He is a versatile player, capable of playing several roles. So far, he has worked with us mainly as a winger, both on the left and, sometimes, on the right, that is, open on the line, although he has the natural tendency to bend towards the central corridor, and can also play inside as he did today”, he began by stating.
“When he plays in the middle, the positional demands differ from those he is used to, he needs to find the right time to receive between the lines and calibrate his combinations and the connection with his teammates. There were very interesting details, two or three good dribbles and a dangerous shot that almost scored, stopped by a great intervention from the goalkeeper”, he continued.
“He left a positive image, with an excellent attitude and team spirit. I am very pleased with his official debut and the performance he presented”, he added, in front of journalists.
The explanation for FC Porto’s new tactical system
The coach of the reigning national champions also took the opportunity to explain why he chose to rely on a tactical system based on a line of three defenders: “In the last game in Barcelos, against Gil Vicente, Oskar’s (Pietuszewski) injury led me to reflect. We were a little short on the wings, with William (Gomes) recovering, Pepê accumulating a lot of minutes and demanding matches, and Borja (Sainz) in an identical situation”.
“I tried to protect them as much as possible. At the same time, this design allowed us to place the players in their ideal positions. Mec playing more inside, (Dominik) Prpic as a central defender placed on the wing, a role that perfectly suits his characteristics, and the same in relation to Nehuén (Pérez). It was a logical decision, as soon as we found out about Prpic’s availability”, he pointed out.
“It’s a structure that I’ve used in the past, namely in Turkey, where we played like this for six or seven months. I was quite confident that the team would be able to assimilate the new idea in a few days. In fact, they did very well and the game was enjoyable, although, of course, the margin for progression continues to be large,” he added.
“Before the conference, André Villas-Boas offered me a small souvenir, but…”
Finally, Francesco Farioli downplayed the fact that he had achieved what was his 50th victory as coach of FC Porto: “Before the conference, the president (André Villas-Boas) offered me a small souvenir, but, in reality, more than my 50 victories, there are 50 victories for this group”.
“It’s a squad for which I’ve demonstrated the affection and respect I have on several occasions, not just as footballers, but above all for the human value of each one. It’s a beautiful mark, because winning always helps to consolidate processes and brings us closer to winning trophies. However, it’s an accomplished objective that remains behind us. We’re already looking ahead, aware that we have a crucial week ahead of us, starting with this weekend’s game, at home, against Estoril”, he concluded.
