FC Porto coach, Francesco Farioli, stated this Wednesday, November 26, that French side Nice are worth more than recent results indicate, in anticipation of the fifth round of the Europa League league stage, which takes place this Thursday.
The Italian coach will be reunited with the team he coached in the 2023/24 season, and is therefore in-depth knowledge of Porto’s next opponent, who is going through difficulties and has yet to score any points in the European competition.
At a press conference at Olival, Farioli highlighted the journey of his Nice counterpart, Franck Haise. “We analyzed Nice with the respect it deserves. It’s a very good team, coached by one of the best French coaches of the last decade. He had a very positive period at Lens, moving up the division and then almost becoming champion against Paris Saint-Germain. He did a great job at Nice and took the team to the Champions League qualifying rounds”, he praised.
Farioli expects a “very physical” game, in which individual duels and transitions can be decisive. “The game will be very physical, against a team that defends man for man. There will be many duels and possibilities of transitions for both sides. This is the style with which they face all opponents. It will be an open game between two teams trying to win”, he projected.
For the FC Porto coach, Nice’s “idea of the game” and “culture” are very strong, which is why he does not expect greater caution from the opponent for playing at the Estádio do Dragão, against one of the theoretical favorites to win the Europa League.
Jan Bednarek, who missed Saturday’s match against Sintrense (3-0), in the third round of the Portuguese Cup, will be available for the European duel.
“It’s good to have the players back. The last 10 days have been very positive, because we’ve recovered everyone, with the exception of Nehuén Pérez. We have Luuk [de Jong]o Victor [Froholdt] and Jan [Bednarek]which is very important for tomorrow’s game [quinta-feira]so that we have the team involved, with everyone available”, he noted.
Farioli also highlighted the presence of five players from the Porto team in the Portuguese under-17 team, which will compete in the final of the World Cup for the age group on Thursday, against Austria, in Qatar.
“It will be a great opportunity to have an excellent experience and win a very important title. It is remarkable that we have five stable players in the starting team, two of which already train with us. We are happy to accompany and support them”, he said.
Samu, who was also present at the press conference, was highlighted by the coach as an example of the current “team spirit” evident in the Porto locker room.
“Samu received two yellow cards for celebrating goals from teammates: one from Luuk [de Jong] and another from Deniz [Gül]. One of the times I was almost arguing with him due to excessive enthusiasm, but this is the environment we have to have”, he revealed.
The Spanish striker has yet to score in this edition of the Europa League, after six goals scored last season, but he assured that he is not worried.
“It’s true that I haven’t scored yet. I’m happier when I do, but the most important thing is that the team wins. The forwards live for goals, but if I win I’m happy. I’ll be calm, giving everything on the pitch as always”, said Samu.
The player refused to point to favoritism for the match and considered the recent return of Luuk de Jong to be positive, with whom he competes for the starting spot in the center of the attack, and says he has a lot to learn.
FC Porto, 14th in the league phase of the Europa League, with seven points, will host Nice, 35th and penultimate, still without points, starting at 5:45 pm on Thursday, at Estádio do Dragão, refereed by the Slovenian Matej Jug.