The coach Petit assured this Sunday that Boavista is prepared for the dynamics revealed by Benfica in the second half of the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, on the eve of welcoming the ‘incarnated’, of the first day of the First Football League.
“I am more prepared for Benfica in the second half, with the arrival of [Petar] Muse as a reference on the front. We are prepared for this Benfica, which has one or two nuances [diferente] from last season to this one. João Neves and Orkun Kökçü have made a double pivot in midfield, Ángel Di María comes a lot from the band [direito] inside, there is doubt about whether to play Fredrik Aursnes or João Mário [na esquerda] and then there are Rafa and Musa in front. We work a lot on these ideas from the opposing team, but seeing what we can do”, said the coach, at a press conference.
The national champion won the Super Cup for the ninth time, beating FC Porto (2-0), champion of the Portuguese Cup, in Aveiro on Wednesday, benefiting from goals from Argentine Di María and Croatian substitute Musa in the stage additional.
“Benfica is very excited, but we will work to achieve a good result in front of our fans. It will be an extremely difficult game, against a competent team, with good processes and great players, but without straying too far from our base from last season, We have to be prepared to get into the race well,” he said.
Boavista officially competes again three weeks after the ‘fall’ in the first phase of the League Cup, losing to União de Leiria, recently promoted to the II Liga, in a penalty shootout (4-5). , after a 0-0 draw at the end of 90 minutes.
With the ‘chess players’ prevented by FIFA from signing new players, Petit acknowledges that it is “normal that this news can shake up a bit” the squad, which currently consists of 31 players, 15 of whom were thrown from the layers club bottoms.
“We can only control what we can do, which is our job. The players have been exceptional during these five or six weeks that we have been together, because they have applied themselves on a day-to-day basis. They know the reality [financeira], but we try to improve them every day to be stronger. It is up to us to continue the training process to start off well and give a good response in the first round”, he reiterated.
The coach assured that Nigerian defenders Bruno Onyemaechi, who missed the challenge with União de Leiria for regulatory reasons, and Chidozie, whose possible move to Nantes has been reported in France, “are ready” for the start of the 61st presence of Boavista in the I Liga, and 10th consecutive since his administrative reinstatement, in 2014/15.
“It is clear that a coach likes to have a competitive squad with quality players. We have a base from last season, but we have already lost Yusupha, Ricardo Mangas, Kenji Gorré, Reggie Cannon and Rafael Bracali. Vincent Sasso is neither in shape nor “We started working. There were six important players, but we worked with those who are here to be strong and rigorous. We are going to have difficult times in this duel, but when we have the ball, we have to have quality and know”. what to do, ”he concluded.
Boavista will face national champion Benfica, on Monday, starting at 8:45 p.m., at the Estádio do Bessa, in Porto, in the closing match of the opening day of the 2023/24 edition of the I Liga, with refereeing by António Nobre, from the Leiria association.
Source: TSF
