Coach Artur Jorge said on Tuesday that he wanted to avoid “a less serious rapprochement” between Sporting de Braga against Nacional, who is fighting to stay in the II Liga, in the semifinals of the Portuguese Soccer Cup.
In the clash of this tie, whose first leg is played on Wednesday, in Madeira, there will be the third place in the I League, looking for direct access to the Champions League, and the 15th place in the II League, fighting for not relegation to the third division of national football.
“Start right there. My approach with the players was that we are not favorites at all. We are one of the four teams that want to be in the final and favoritism translates into what we are going to do on the pitch. have the approach we want. They will be two games in which we have to be very similar to what we have been in the championship, very determined and with a lot of ambition”, the coach stressed in the previous press conference.
Artur Jorge does not want the team “with a less serious approach” to “jeopardize the path to the final” and the “brilliant path” up to this stage.
The ‘arsenalista’ coach admitted that the “main objective” of the islanders at the moment is “to escape relegation in the II League”, arguing that Portuguese football “does not deserve a Nacional below” this competitive level. However, he stressed that the Minho people will not have more facilities for it.
“They are going to look at this game and this tie as a historic opportunity, but we are on our guard for that and for the difficulties that I only hope we do not generate with a less correct or less indicated approach,” he reinforced.
The technical director also highlighted the importance of the presence of Sporting de Braga in the decisions, so that the club can prevail at the national level.
“We have to be in the decisions. We were not in the League Cup, we are in the championship and in the Portuguese Cup. This is how we also establish ourselves as a team performance, ”he said.
Sequeira will be out of the match against Nacional, who “has had a good evolution” from the injury, but the coach, who will present “the best team” in Madeira, does not want to take risks with the left back.
Sporting de Braga and Nacional will face each other starting at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, at the Estádio da Madeira, in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semifinals, after beating Benfica and Casa Pia, respectively, in the quarterfinals.
The second leg is scheduled for April 25, at the Estádio Municipal de Braga. The other semifinal of the Portuguese Cup will pit the holders of the trophy, FC Porto, against Famalicão, with the first leg on April 26, in Vila Nova de Famalicão, and the second on May 4, at Dragon’s Stadium.
Source: TSF
