Not for the first time this season, FC Porto will attempt to get a traumatic Champions League result out of their system when they return to domestic action, as they take on Olhanense this Saturday night.
Talk of a crisis may seem strange in relation to a team that is joint top of the league and has scored the most goals in their opening nine domestic fixtures since the 1950s.
But in Portuguese football the benchmark is always European play, and after sweeping all before them to lift the Europa League last season, Porto’s limp showing thus far in the Champions League has been hard to swallow. A sizeable group of fans made a point of waiting in the early hours of Wednesday morning for the squad to arrive at Porto’s Sá Carneiro airport to voice their disapproval in no uncertain terms after the Dragons has been beaten 2-1 in Cyprus by APOEL Nicosia.
Failure to claim three points in the Algarve against Olhanense tomorrow will make it an uncomfortable international break for coach Vítor Pereira. In the pre-match press conference Pereira followed the motto of “attack is the best form of defense” in defending himself and his team from the critics.
“The fans deserve our respect. But it is necessary not to get carried on the wave that is being created to destabilize the club. Everybody else wants us to fail. A lot of people want us to fail because we always win,” said the coach.
“We have to understand that our supporters are not satisfied. But they also have to understand that last year is a thing of the past. We are facing new difficulties. We have to have patience. When things don’t go well it’s natural that emotions run high. We accept criticism but not a lack of respect. We all want the same thing, which is for the team to do well.”
No such worries for 7th-placed Olhanense. Dauto Faquira’s men have had a solid start to the season and will be gunning to turn Porto’s travails into a full-blown crisis. Not that Faquira is expecting anything other than an FC Porto as strong as ever.
“Even if you believe that Porto are going through a less than positive phase, in the last three games in the Liga they have scored 11 goals and conceded none. So that completely dismantles any idea that this game could be less difficult than others against the big teams,” said Faquira.
Porto defenders Jorge Fucile and Sapunaru both miss the match through injury, as does Olhanense captain João Gonçalves.
Kick-off in the Estadio José Arcanjo at 8.30pm local time.
But in Portuguese football the benchmark is always European play, and after sweeping all before them to lift the Europa League last season, Porto’s limp showing thus far in the Champions League has been hard to swallow. A sizeable group of fans made a point of waiting in the early hours of Wednesday morning for the squad to arrive at Porto’s Sá Carneiro airport to voice their disapproval in no uncertain terms after the Dragons has been beaten 2-1 in Cyprus by APOEL Nicosia.
Failure to claim three points in the Algarve against Olhanense tomorrow will make it an uncomfortable international break for coach Vítor Pereira. In the pre-match press conference Pereira followed the motto of “attack is the best form of defense” in defending himself and his team from the critics.
“The fans deserve our respect. But it is necessary not to get carried on the wave that is being created to destabilize the club. Everybody else wants us to fail. A lot of people want us to fail because we always win,” said the coach.
“We have to understand that our supporters are not satisfied. But they also have to understand that last year is a thing of the past. We are facing new difficulties. We have to have patience. When things don’t go well it’s natural that emotions run high. We accept criticism but not a lack of respect. We all want the same thing, which is for the team to do well.”
No such worries for 7th-placed Olhanense. Dauto Faquira’s men have had a solid start to the season and will be gunning to turn Porto’s travails into a full-blown crisis. Not that Faquira is expecting anything other than an FC Porto as strong as ever.
“Even if you believe that Porto are going through a less than positive phase, in the last three games in the Liga they have scored 11 goals and conceded none. So that completely dismantles any idea that this game could be less difficult than others against the big teams,” said Faquira.
Porto defenders Jorge Fucile and Sapunaru both miss the match through injury, as does Olhanense captain João Gonçalves.
Kick-off in the Estadio José Arcanjo at 8.30pm local time.
