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Dragão Arena experienced a night of mixed emotions. Of applause that came from memory, of respect that came from history and competition that came from the present. Ricardo Ares returned to a house he knows like few others, to a pavilion where he wrote golden pages in the history of FC Porto, winning three national championships and a Champions League. He has now returned as coach of Barcelona, but he never stopped being, in the eyes of the Porto public, one of their own.
The reception was apotheotic. There were no whistles, there was no coldness. There was recognition. There was gratitude. There was a certainty that certain men go beyond the colors they wear at the moment, because they are forever linked to the identity of a club. And Ricardo Ares is one of those names.
This meeting carried extra symbolism. FC Porto and Barcelona are two colossi of European roller hockey. Two historic teams who met in seven (!) European finals, all won by the Catalans. Each duel between the two carries decades of rivalry, respect and an almost genetic competitiveness.
On the track, Barcelona came out more assertive, wanting to take the initiative in the game from the first seconds. FC Porto, more patient, bet on quick transitions and almost scored after three minutes, when Carlo di Benedetto, isolated, shot over the goal in a waste that would gain symbolic weight throughout the match.
Hélder Nunes tried to respond from mid-range, Xavi Malián began to justify his status as an elite goalkeeper early on by denying successive opportunities to Marc Grau, Sergi Aragonés and Ignacio Alabart. The game had the rhythm of a European final, even though it was a group stage. Each attack seemed decisive, each defense drew applause from the stands.
Chencho Fernández responded on the other side with equal protagonism. He saved shots from Gonçalo Alves, Carlo di Benedetto, Hélder Nunes, Telmo Pinto. It was a goalkeeping battle of an absolutely extraordinary level, where every mistake could be fatal.
Barcelona ended up taking the lead close to half-time, through Marc Grau, in a move of enormous technical class, behind the goal, taking advantage of a defensive rebound. A goal that punished Porto’s wastefulness and rewarded Catalan efficiency. At half-time, 1-0 for the visitors.
The second half started with FC Porto trying to correct the story of the game. Telmo Pinto missed the equalizer, Xavi Malián saved the goal again, but it was Barcelona who increased to 2-0, with Xavi Barroso (returning to a home he knows well), after a shot at the post by Sergi Llorca. From then on, the encounter began to escape the dragons’ emotional control.
The third goal, by Sergi Llorca, came at a time when FC Porto was clearly disorganized, psychologically suffering the second blow. Still, the blue and white team never gave up. Carlo di Benedetto reduced, restoring hope, but Barcelona always responded with surgical coolness.
Chencho Fernández became the wall that prevented Porto’s recovery. He defended direct free kicks, very violent sticks from Hélder Nunes and consecutive attempts from Gonçalo Alves. When FC Porto seemed to get emotionally closer to the game and having already wasted a free-kick that was executed somewhat carelessly by Gonçalo Alves, the Catalan efficiency appeared to kill any momentum.
Xavi Barroso scored twice following a great individual play by an inspired Marc Grau and Sergi Aragonés scored the fifth from a pass from Xavi Barroso, who showed no mercy for his former colleagues, playing a great second half.
And the result became heavy on what was the exhibition balance for long periods of the match. Hélder Nunes reduced it to 4-2 with a superb stick and Ezequiel Mena ended up making the final 5-3, in a game that had more emotion than the score suggests.
Tempers ended up high, due to FC Porto’s strong opposition to the refereeing team, which made some controversial decisions, almost all of them in favor of the Barcelona team, as Porto coach Paulo Freitas mentioned in statements to Bola na Rede.
With this result, Barcelona took the lead in group A with 13 points, while FC Porto fell to second place, with 12. But the result did not erase what was experienced outside the pitch.
The night was, above all, Ricardo Ares’s. From the coach who returned to Dragão Arena not as an enemy, but as a living part of the club’s history. He was received as someone who built, who won, who left a mark. And now, inevitably, the other side tries to win.
This is what football and hockey are made of: the ability to honor the past without giving up competing in the present. FC Porto lost the game, but won respectfully. Barcelona won on the track, but it will never erase the fact that this is also, for Ricardo Ares, a home that will always be his.
Bola na Rede was present at Dragão Arena, and was able to ask both coaches some questions:
Bola na Rede: What was it like for you to manage your emotions on your return to a home you know well?
Ricardo Ares: It was a special game, with a lot of emotions. I will always be a Porto fan, and it was very impactful for me to have the reaction I had from the entire FC Porto hockey structure, as well as from all the fans. It was very important to feel this affection from the public. It was difficult for me to be on the other side, but we have to be professionals.
Ball in the Net: What do you consider to be the key factor in your team’s victory?
Ricardo Ares: Effectiveness was the primary factor. FC Porto had several opportunities on the counterattack, but they were not as effective as us. They wasted two free kicks, which could have put them back in the game, and we were more clinical in front of Xavi Malián’s goal. The other day for our league game, we had 35 approaches to goal, the opponent had 8 and we lost that game 4-1, that’s our sport. Of course, due to what I said previously, there is a very deep knowledge of both teams, and this means that the game was too tactical until we managed to open the scoring. I expect FC Porto to have an even more aggressive and intense stance in the next game in Barcelona. Our goal is to be in the finals, but obviously we want to continue this winning momentum.
Ball in the Net: The first half was quite tactical. Was the great knowledge that both teams have of each other decisive for this?
Paulo Freitas: I agree with your analysis. Very tactical game in the first half, given the knowledge that both teams have of each other. There are no secrets between the two teams, and this affects the strategy and the way we play, both ours and theirs. In the first half, we were penalized with a goal against the run of play, when they caught Xavi out of position, following an excellent finish from Marc Grau. We didn’t deserve to have been behind at half-time. In the second half, we didn’t start so well, we conceded two goals in a short space of time, but even so the team didn’t give up and continued to fight with the weapons we have. We reacted, but we lost a lot of second balls, which gave Barcelona a lot of attacks. An arbitration that was equally harmful to us, and that took us out of the game, but we still had opportunities to get back into the discussion of the match. We lacked effectiveness and being more intense.
Ball in the Net: How do you plan the next game in Barcelona?
Paulo Freitas: The focus is on the next league game against the Carvalhos, but in two weeks in Barcelona, we will certainly correct the mistakes we made today and give a great response, leaving there with a victory.
