Thiago Silva may have “postponed” his debut with the main shirt for 20 years – in 2004/05 he only played for team B – but everything points to him doing it big. The central defender has the classic with Benfica in his sights and could even start in the match that guarantees one of the places in the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup. Francesco Farioli He hasn’t decided yet – there are a few days left until the game – but he has tried the experienced Brazilian alongside Bednarek in recent training sessions and plans to do it again this afternoon in the game with Farense, which ends the mini-training camp in the Algarve.
Moving the solid Polish wall, which has fulfilled its role well, is not a simple choice, but the experience of the first winter reinforcement is an added value that the coach should take advantage of. In training since the beginning of the week, Thiago will arrive at the classic at Dragão already well prepared and with the rhythm of the game in tune. His last performance was on December 14, when he played 90 minutes in Fluminense’s victory over Vasco da Gama (1-0). A period of vacation followed and the completion of the transfer to Dragão, remaining active through working with a “personal trainer” in Brazil. Good physical condition has always been a priority for the defender, essential to continue competing at the highest level at the age of 41.
Furthermore, the inclusion of Thiago in the defensive axis could solve a difficulty on the left lane. Zaidu is still at CAN and Moura continues treatment for a muscle injury in his left adductor which, although not serious, puts him in doubt for the classic. Thus, the only left-back available for the match is the young Martim Cunha, under-17 World champion, watched by Farioli, but unlikely to be part of the Portuguese Cup match.
In the squad there are two alternatives: move Martim Fernandes to the left or push Kiwior to the line, a hypothesis that the coach has already admitted. “He can play there, he played there many times at Arsenal and at times here”, recalled Farioli after the triumph against Santa Clara.
With an extensive career, which began in 2003 at the modest RS FC, Thiago Silva arrives at FC Porto with a remarkable CV and rare experience, being just a few games away from reaching the impressive milestone of a thousand games. He has 16 games left, so he could reach the milestone dressed as a dragon. The club where he played the most was Fluminense, with 213 appearances. In the Porto squad, the one closest to the central position is Luuk de Jong, with 703 games, but with no prospect of increasing that number this season due to the serious injury he suffered. Bednarek completes the podium with 412 starts.
