″The more Portugal is centralized, the more Porto fans love FC Porto″
Pinto da Costa says that “enthusiasm and passion” follow him as president of FC Porto
The president of FC Porto revealed that he will only leave his duties at the club when he does not feel “enthusiasm and passion”, considering that these attributes have been one of his secrets of success in the 40 years of his presidency.
“The day I don’t feel enthusiasm and passion for what I do, I will end my career. I understand that anyone who embraces a cause like this and assumes the destinies of a club like FC Porto, must have passion, otherwise, at the end of 24 hours, go away. If I remain after 40 years, it’s because I have the same passion and the same vibe with any success”, shared Pinto da Costa.
The manager recorded some of his experiences as president of the blue and whites in one of the conferences of the Thinking Football initiative, held in Porto and organized by the Portuguese Professional Football League, remembering his responsibility in the choices of coaches.
“It’s an important decision at any club and, luckily, I’ve been right more often than I’ve been wrong. I’m satisfied with the choices I made,” said Pinto da Costa.
The president of FC Porto remembered José Maria Pedroto as the first hiring of a coach in which he was involved, and more recently, Sérgio Conceição, who he classified as “difficult”.
“Sergio [Conceição] it was my choice and a difficult deal, because I had a contract with Nantes. But I knew him since I was 16, when he came to FC Porto as a player. He has an extraordinary and a feat that it is necessary to understand so that we can get along so well, “he said.
Still on the subject of coaches, Pinto da Costa assured that “there was a friendship with everyone who passed through FC Porto”, remembering that even with the only one who said goodbye, the Spaniard Victor Fernández, in 2005, he maintains “a mutual friendship”.
Still in a retrospective of his 40 years in the leadership of the Porto club, Pinto da Costa rejected that it could be “a case study”, considering himself “a normal citizen, who has resisted a lot and who, according to me, will last until at age 100”.
“A city and a region having an overwhelming passion for the values of FC Porto is what should be a case study. The more the country is centralized, the more Porto fans love FC Porto and in all regions of the country, more and more FC Porto has more guests”, said the manager.