The president of FC Porto, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, this Thursday criticized his counterpart at Sporting, Frederico Varandas, for the statements after the final of the Football League Cup, won by the dragons (2-0) .
“What shocked me is that he had a room there for the press, for communication, and he called some journalists to go to the garage to say what he said and then he gave no right to questions. I thought that, nothing to him, it looks bad, but journalists who go after a president to speak in the garage and can’t ask questions look bad”said the Porto official, on the sidelines of the inauguration event of the club’s new hotel.
Regarding the end of the transfer window, in which the Blues did not receive reinforcements for the main team, Pinto da Costa confirmed the words of coach Sérgio Conceição, who had expressed satisfaction with the current composition of the squad.
“FC Porto didn’t change it because we understand it – and the coach [Sérgio Conceição] I’ve already said it publicly — that our group is strong and good, so it wasn’t necessary. the others [grandes] I was not following closely, I tried to watch the movements on one channel, but for an hour they only talked about Enzo [Fernández]In fact, I thought there were a lot of Enzos and each club had sold one and bought another. I didn’t follow”joked the president, who also immediately denied any understanding for hiring the gilista Fran Navarro.
The manager, who recently saw FC Porto win the League Cup for the first time in its history, acknowledged that the title was “missing something” and was confident the team could win the competition again in the future.
“It was something that was missing. I often say jokingly that I was never interested in that cup and explained that with Super Bock as partners we could never have a Sagres cup. Now that the cup is not Sagres’ name, we are going win a lot”joked.
The president with the most titles in world football, who led the fate of the “dragons” for 40 years last year, declined to comment on a possible re-candidacy in the next election act, in 2024, after he also rejected the recent statements of the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, who stepped down from his term of office.
“I’d like to think about it because it was a sign that there weren’t many more things I was more worried about while I’m still in office. When I’ve solved all the problems, I’ll think about that. Now Rui Moreira says he is not a candidate… this is not news. You can ask anyone who comes by, who is a member of FC Porto and has paid dues to date and has been a member for 15 years”he explained.
In conversation with journalists, Pinto da Costa also touched on the most diverse themes, such as his support for the Mayor of Lisbon, the Social Democrat Carlos Moedas, given the recent controversy over the costs involved in organizing the World Youth Day, and he also took the opportunity to express his satisfaction with the inauguration of the Axis Porto Club Hotel, a hotel located on Avenida dos Aliados (Porto), which housed the former headquarters of the Porto emblem.
“For me it is a very special and emotional moment because 60 years ago I worked at Banco Português do Atlântico and took over the head of the roller hockey department. I left the bank at 6 p.m. and every day it was in this building where I came to work, have meetings and shipping issues, and later as a director. […] The meetings were always here, I spent many hours here, celebrated successes and many stories”he remembered.
The president rejected setting goals for the second half of the season and pointed to the reception in Vizela, scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m., where FC Porto, second in the I Liga, with 42 points, will try to get closer to the leader Benfica, with 50, having completed one journey more than the ‘dragons’.
Source: DN
