Rio Ave coach wants to make “a new history” in the duel with Famalicão.
Rio Ave’s coach, Luís Freire, intends this Saturday, at the reception to Famalicão, in the fifth round of the I League, to “make a new history”, as the Vila-Condense team has never beaten this opponent in clashes in the main division.
In the six history of clashes between these two neighboring teams, in the I Liga, the Minho team won two and drew four games, in a trend that the Rio Ave coach wants to reverse.
“We are here to make a new story. There are always three possible results, but victory is our focus. Famalicão is another opponent we want to beat”, said Luís Freire, previewing the match.
The coach of the Foz do Ave team guaranteed that he had a “plan to hurt Famalicão”, ensuring that he has in the team “players with the capacity to do so and with the DNA to score goals against any opponent”.
“We have worked these two weeks to improve our game, particularly in the offensive part, where we want more quality, not only in finishing but also in circulation and understanding spaces. We want to be a Rio Ave in possession and playing in the offensive midfield” , said Luís Freire.
Despite this desire, the coach of the Vila-Condense team warned about the quality of the opponent, remembering that it is a team “that everyone has praised”.
“They won in Braga and were in discussion about the result in Alvalade, against Sporting. They made important signings and are a clear candidate for European competitions. We expect the natural difficulties of a rival with recognized power”, said Luís Freire.
Faced with the fact that Famalicão had, in the fourth round, the best defense of the championship, with only two goals conceded, the Rio Ave coach devalued the statistics in this initial phase of the championship
“They have the best defense and one of the worst attacks (3 goals scored), but I don’t really believe in that. These numbers in attack are not equivalent to the quality and power that Famalicão has in this sector. These are numbers that are worth what they are worth. It is still very early in the championship”, he analyzed.
The coach was also asked whether the closure of the transfer market, in the main championships, brought greater tranquility to the Rio Ave squad, which had some players coveted by other clubs, guaranteeing that this “was never a problem”.
“Despite the market issues, I never felt any difficulty in managing the group. The players feel good where they are, they like the club and the group, they are as focused as they were before. I believe it will continue to be like this, as it was this way that we have managed to achieve our objectives”, concluded Luís Freire.
For this clash against Famalicenses, the Rio Ave coach can now count, once again, on midfielder Guga, recovered from injury, but he still has goalkeeper Jhonatan and midfielder Vítor Gomes, in the final phase of the recovery processes, due to also to physical problems.
Rio Ave, ranked 11th, with four points, this Saturday hosts Famalicão, sixth with seven, in a match scheduled for 3:30 pm, which will be refereed by Bruno Costa, from the Viana do Castelo association.
