Fans of FC Porto and Sporting de Braga, gathered in the forests of Jamor, want their teams to win the Portuguese Football Cup to finish the season on a high note.
Quietly soaking up the atmosphere, four well-equipped Porto players walk along. Friends for over 40 years, António Sérgio, 46, from Maia, and Domingos Gonçalves, 51, from Trofa, are confident in a victory for the ‘dragons’.
“It’s another cup. We already have two this season and we’re going to receive the third. I have no doubt about that,” António told the Lusa agency, under the eyes of his daughter Eduarda, 18 years old.
“The expectation is to win. There is no other way, but there is always a ‘but’. The confidence is high. We come with the confidence to win, but we are always subject to a surprise”warns Domingos, confirmed by the younger André Gonçalves, 22 years old, another Trofense. “It was incredible. It’s my first time here and I’m really enjoying it. There’s a lot of good interaction and I have high expectations for the game. I’m not saying 100% positive, but let’s say the season will be positive if FC Porto wins this cup against Portugal”says André, in an implied allusion to winning the League Cup and Super Cup and second place in the I League.
Mário Dias, 51 years old, and Filipa Teixeira left Braga by car early in the morning to come and watch the grand final together with other relatives and friends.
The uncle has already “seen several, between the finals of the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup”, but the niece is new: “It will be a difficult game, but 1-0 is enough”, throws the 16-year-old to Lusa , the same prognosis as Mario. “I would like to see that happen. If Braga loses, but gives everything, that is already important,” he emphasizes.
“We came to the football party, this environment is inviting, but it is the only thing that justifies the match in this stadium,” says the uncle.
Mário Dias, who is regularly present at games for the Minho region, warns about the quality of the blue and white team, but is confident that the team led by Artur Jorge will make it a historic season by finishing in addition to third place in the championship also achieve the Portuguese victory. Cup in an unprecedented way.
For António Sérgio, winning the ‘Taça’ won’t save the Porto season, because even if it doesn’t, FC Porto still has two: “the reds from the south have one and the reds from Minho get one another four titles in the country, we already have two, so we will always be at the forefront,” he says.
Ahead, among the sea of Porto supporters that flooded the immediate vicinity of the stadium, three supporters of Braga appeared, the brothers Vasco, Maria and Alexandre, and the Silva descendants consist of the eldest Joca, who stayed in Braga to to work, and America, in a more remote place.
“Look, I don’t know if he’s going to see the game, because he’s having surgery today. He broke his collarbone in an accident. In Portugal, the SNS is badly spoken of, but in Austria he’s been waiting for over a year. week one undergoing collarbone surgery”, points out that Maria, who repeats her presence at Jamor in support of her Sporting de Braga after the 2016 final, beats FC Porto on penalties. The three unanimously bet on Ricardo Horta and Álvaro Djaló as the goalscorers for the desired victory.
André Gonçalves wants his side to score early “to immediately put pressure on the game and play FC Porto, without fear” and Eduarda predicts a 2-0 win, “with goals from Taremi and Evanilson”.
António Sérgio even likes the National Stadium and its forest, where thousands of supporters can meet in the form of a popular festival, with plenty of food and drink, but he believes that as both teams come from the north, the place is too must be there.
“I think it would unite people even more if this final was in the north. It could be, but unfortunately they want to bring everything to the south, because the south is the best, but the purest is in the north” , convict he.
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Source: DN
