The Portuguese roller hockey coach considered this Sunday that there is a “reflection to be made” after Portugal’s defeat (4-2) in the Eurocup final against Spain, and pointed out that this match “should serve as a lesson”.
“You have to reflect, but I am not the one who has to do it. I limit myself to training to be better, the rest is beyond me, I am not the one who has to decide”, said Renato Garrido, upon returning from the national delegation, at the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, in Porto.
The coach considered that this final, against the Spanish, was decided in “detail and details”, but acknowledged that Portugal “was not as assertive as on other occasions”.
“Let it be a lesson for the future. After so many strong opponents, specifically against Spain in the group stage, which was a different game, we couldn’t [na final] materialize our good hockey”, he added.
The national coach recalled that this European Championship was played “in a different and very exhausting competitive model”, but pointed out that “the ‘quinas’ team lacked a little more in the last game.
“There were factors that we couldn’t control. We allowed Spain a comfortable advantage and we lacked more objectivity to finish bringing us the Cup that we so longed for”, completed Renato Garrido.
The idea was shared by the captain of the team, João Rodrigues, who, even so, believes that the group’s performance in this Euro Cup should be “a source of pride for the Portuguese”, recalling that “reaching a final is something worthy of record”.
“Spain has been superior in the finals and if we knew what was missing we would have already won it. What we lost back we can no longer recover, and now we have to think about the next competitions and give everything for Portugal as we have always done”, said the FC Barcelona player.
João Rodrigues spoke of a team “that is sad, but proud and with a clear conscience”, and even acknowledging that this defeat will make the next few days “difficult”, already points to the future.
“We have to try again. We have to recover and continue working ”, she concluded.
Gonçalo Alves, the striker who scored both goals for Portugal in the final, recovered some incidents from that Saturday’s duel against Spain, although he insisted that Portugal should be “proud” of the team’s performance in this Euro Cup.
“After conceding 3-0, it was a difficult ‘mountain’ to climb, but we gave our best, we reduced to 3-2, and we were giving everything to reach the tie. But suffering another goal brought discouragement. We always fight, and we can’t take credit for the work,” said the striker who represents FC Porto.
Gonçalo Alves considered that Portugal had “lack of luck” in the decisive matches with Spain in recent years, but considered that the team “is on the right track”.
“If we have reached the final it is a sign that we are close to winning. This time we have not been happy, we have given everything to win the title. You have to keep trying, ”he vented.
Source: TSF
