THE BALL – «Move up the division or win the Portuguese Cup? Winning the Cup, of course!” (Mafra)
A great name in Portuguese football, he recently reached the highest point of his still short coaching career, qualifying Mafra for the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, and is one of the most fashionable coaches. As a player, he won the competition twice, but he wants one more. In an interview with A BOLA, Ricardo Sousa speaks with an open heart.
– He took Mafra, for the first time in its history, to the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup. As a player he won the race twice. What does it mean to go to Jamor?
– It’s indescribable. The moments lived before and after the game cannot be explained in words. It’s one of the most beautiful things we can live. My father and I talked a lot about football, he won a lot of things at European and world level, and he himself says that that day marks. We have already been, and we would like to be there again, with this working group and with the people of Mafra, who so deserve this true joy.
– Sanjoanense, Lusitano VRSA, Anadia, Felgueiras 1932, Beira-Mar and Mafra. How do you rate your coaching career?
– It has been an upward path, but a complicated one, I must say. In the first I had the opportunity to parachute into the professional leagues. I didn’t accept it because I felt I wasn’t ready.
– I understand, therefore, that we have resolved the League and League 2 clubs.
– Yes. I felt that I needed to accumulate skills and experience so that, when I arrived, I would be better prepared. in a sustained way. Five years and extremely difficult means, but it is also these difficulties that today give me another baggage to continue the journey. When you get somewhere, it will be with work done.
– If the season would allow for one of two players for this one, which would you choose: to move up in the division or to win the Portuguese Cup?
– Win the Portuguese Cup. I believe that, sooner or later, Mafra will reach the League. It is an organized club and is heading towards that success. Disputing and winning a Portuguese Cup… which will be extremely complicated. As such, I have no doubts about the answer. Since 1998/1999 few cups have been won by clubs other than the big ones here. From there you can see the extreme difficulty of winning a Cup.
– Can we expect a Mafra in the national elite in the near future?
– Mafra has two people who have been involved in football for a long time, such as the president, José Cristo, and the sporting director, Quim Zé, and who know the correct process of doing things without losing their heads. It may take a while, but I’m sure that, when that time comes, Mafra will have the right scrolls to arrive and stay.
– His connection to FC Porto is well known. Do you feel this operation of the football society? Will it be an eternal label?
– I have long me of that label. I went to FC Porto quite early, maybe I wouldn’t have had it, but at the time, the people of FC Porto decided on another path. My heartache was great, since he was considered the best player in the Portuguese league at the service of Beira-Mar, in two consecutive seasons, and FC Porto always ended up making strange choices in foreigners who had never proved anything to anyone. As such, by hanging up.
– This hurt seems to be very present…
– Naturally. I think I’ve done enough to deserve another treatment. I went through an extremely positive period, I played quite regularly at the beginning of my career in the League, I scored goals, I made assists, I was always highly praised by the critics, and the truth is that I didn’t feel that recognition from those who commanded the destiny of FC Porto at the high.
– From this perspective, do you see the great rivals of FC Porto, Ben and Sporting, losing weight in the future?
– Of course yes. Of course I would! No room for doubt. I’m a professional. As a player, I faced FC Porto and even scored goals. I will defend all clubs as I have always defended. Let it be Benfica or Sporting.
Read the full interview in the print edition or in the edition digital from THE BALL