CONCEICAO’S SOFTLY-SOFTLY
APPROACH
While utilising the fledgling players
at his disposal regularly throughout
their title-winning season, Porto
coach Sergio Conceicao has been
happy to drip-feed them into the first
team, and has even made a point
of pouring cold water on the lofty
expectations of the fans and media
who are hungry to see the local
kids make good.
“Porto are in great shape in terms
of young players that can contribute to
the senior team. But this question of
youth players seems to be in fashion.
It’s almost as if I have to play them
because they came through the
academy, and that’s not right. That
is not how I think. I don’t care if a
player is17 years old or 35 years
old. What’s important is the quality
they show and the effort they
make in training.
“Only by watching the players in
training every day can the coach pick
the best team for any given match.
I don’t want to give players more
chances just because they came
through the academy. I’ll never do
that, because we’re talking abouta professional squad of players
and everybody has to work hard
to earn their place, then it’s up
to me to choose.
“But there are youngsters working
with us who are ready. I see youth
players with a lot of quality. Now it’s
a question of adding a competitive
mentality, and that doesn’t come
overnight. I think in this respect,
these youngsters are a little lacking
compared to what happened in the
past. On the other hand, they have
some positive qualities that givethem an edge over young players
from my playing days.
“It’s a question of finding the
right balance to launch the careers
of these players not because of
what their parents want, what
their agents want, or what the
fans want, but in accordance
with what the team needs.”PORTUGALDiogo CostaDiogo LeiteFabio Silva...Porto’s
youngest-ever player“I don’t care if a player is 17 years
old or 35 years old. What’s important
is the quality they show and the
effort they make in training”
Porto head coach, Sergio ConceicaoSergio Conceicao...
Porto’s head coach
since 2017