The coach of the Porto, Sergio Conceiçao, made it clear on Tuesday that “who does not believe” that they can eliminate in the quarterfinals of the Champions League to Chelsea “He cannot wear” his team's shirt, and acknowledged that he would have preferred that the English team had not lost the weekend because “these defeats serve as a warning.”
“Believing is part of this house. We know what we are, our history, and I believe that whoever does not believe that it is possible to beat Chelsea cannot wear this shirt. This ambition that we all have here is evident in our day-to-day life. The most important thing for us is to think about the near future which is Chelsea, “said Conceiçao at a press conference posted on the club's website.
The Portuguese coach stressed that “in life there is nothing impossible, especially in sports in general and in football” and that they should not think about the difference in economic power between the two. “When you go out on the pitch, you don't think that we spend 25 million euros and Chelsea, 250”, he warned.
Nor did he want to give more importance to having to play for Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. “Of course we would like to play in the Dragão, but I don't think there is much difference between playing for Dragão or for Sánchez-Pizjuán because the strength of the club, which is the fans, has been left out, “he commented.
For Conceiçao, Chelsea “is a different rival to Juventus in many respects, in its dynamics, in its offensive and defensive process, and also in tactical schemes. “” We are aware that we are going to have a very difficult task, but we also have our team prepared and we are part of a historic club, “he remarked.
In this way, The Porto coach does not see too important that his rival has come from losing his first game since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel and 2-5 against West Bronwich. “Until this last game it had been tremendously competitive, and when these losses occur, it serves as a warning and to sound the alarm bells, so I would rather they had won the last game,” he said.
“Chelsea have several extremely difficult strengths to deal with. Werner is a player who constantly attacks in depth and has two players behind him, Ziyech and Havertz, who play very well. like ruffles inside. On the outside, they are Marcos Alonso and Reece james, which are very good behind. They have many strengths that are a real challenge and motivation to prepare for the game, “he analyzed Conceiçao.
Finally, he pointed out that “the strategy would be exactly the same” if he could have Sergio Oliveira at his disposal, sanctioned as Mehdi Taremi. “We are talking about the team's top scorer, an important player whose absence is not easy to fill, but I am here to find solutions. We are not going to change the way we play just because two regular players are missing,” he said.