After the clash with FC Porto (1-4), last Thursday, in the round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup, Famalicão has another game on the menu with a high degree of difficulty: this Monday (8:45 pm), the Minho team will face Benfica, at Estádio da Luz, in a match related to the 15th round of the League.
The challenge promises to create difficulties for the Vila Nova team, but Hugo Oliveira guarantees a team faithful to its principles and always with the three points in mind.
«I think it will be an extremely difficult game for Famalicão, but I think Benfica will also find it difficult to beat us. It’s a Benfica that is in the best moment of the season, in my opinion, with a process that has been evolving and developing in the direction that, certainly, the technical team wants. As in all processes, when people know each other better and the coach has been at the club for longer and passes on his ideas, the team becomes much more solid and cohesive. Of course, playing at their stadium they end up being favorites. Famalicão is a team that has its own way of being, plays its own way and always has the same objective which is to play to win and, in this case, bring home the three points to make their fans happy”, he projected, at the Press Conference held in the early afternoon of this Sunday.
The Famalicenses coach reinforced his belief in his players and gave the recipe for the duel with the eagles: «We will not give up on our great principles. We are a team that always has to defend the talent it has and that always has to fight to win. And that doesn’t make us more or less romantic. We are extremely realistic and objective, we have a game that is extremely linked to the principles of cohesion. This does not mean that you should always look at the opponent’s goal, wherever it may be. Some games are more inside, others are more outside… We have our strategy for the next game and we will want to be faithful to it, always defending our principles with and without the ball.”
Finally, Hugo Oliveira demonstrated his appreciation for José Mourinho and admitted that the time the coach has spent in charge of the Reds is synonymous with increased performance. But Famalicão looks even further inward and there will be no shortage of ambition.
«I expect the strongest Benfica of the season. Benfica is at its strongest, the players know what to do with and without the ball, they know which paths they have to follow, and especially when they play in that stadium, because they are pushed by an extremely strong and connected fan base who, with the results, begin to believe more and more. It is a team with very experienced players, with a very experienced and capable coach, who knows how to deal with games and knows what he wants from games. We will face this opponent in a competitive way and in the end we want to take points. We want to win every game. We haven’t lost yet and we want to continue on that path. I believe we can leave the Estádio da Luz, but in true essence what we want is to leave there with a victory”, he concluded.
