"He sent a message and I replied 'It's your destiny in life'"

Confidence is redoubled, results are in sight, and hope is growing for a return to titles in the near future. On the sidelines of the formalization of the cooperation protocol for Inclusion through Sport, André Villas-Boas, president of FC Porto, addressed several current topics, from the postponement of the match in Arouca against the Dragons' wishes to José Mourinho's transfer to Benfica, the start of the season with Francesco Farioli in charge of the blue and whites, the goals in the Europa League, which kicks off this Wednesday (after having set the bar too high last season), and the arrest of three more casual Sporting members in connection with the violent attack on Porto fans in June.

"I'm satisfied and couldn't help but thank the team for their commitment and thirst for victory. All Porto fans were eager to receive a new image from the FC Porto professionals, and this has happened as a result of each individual's personal transformation. They found their true selves as professionals and are now able, under a new coach, to unleash all their talent and abilities. This transformation has been evident. The reinforcements have brought greater individual quality to the team, and the coach has been excellent at the start of the season. These are the first steps; our goal is to win the title, and to achieve that, we must continue to be competitive and win on every pitch," he began, before returning to the postponement of the match in Arouca to next Monday night.

"What happened is a breach, an illegality , and a different interpretation of the Competition Regulations. FC Porto is considering an injunction that may or may not cancel the match against Arouca. We must take into account the unpredictability of the TAD's decision, which could disrupt the match preparations if it doesn't produce the desired result. All of this is being analyzed. Our formal complaint addressed what appears to be a violation of the competition regulations and a decision the League president ultimately made that, in our view, violates them. In any case, FC Porto will be ready for any opponent, on any pitch, and at any time. That is the commitment we have to make," he noted regarding the measures being considered.

"If we have to play, we'll go at full strength, but the short time between games and the failure to respect the hours required for a European match are damaging to FC Porto and Portugal's ranking . It's increasingly difficult to aspire to sixth place in the UEFA rankings , and seventh place is at risk. These are all considerations that the League should have taken into account, but it seems it didn't in this case. We must register this and file a formal complaint," he noted.

Meanwhile, the leader of the blue and whites commented on José Mourinho's move to Benfica just days after being the Porto fans' special guest at Estádio do Dragão against Nacional, where he received a standing ovation from everyone in attendance. "It was never a possibility. José Mourinho has a history with FC Porto that will always be eternal. He could also be at FC Porto forever, but he's a professional and has to make his own decisions and follow his own path. Right now, he's FC Porto's rival, Benfica's coach. FC Porto's history has also become great because of the victory against our biggest rival, and in that sense, from now on, José Mourinho will receive the same reception as any coach from our main rival. Will he be applauded as Benfica's coach upon his return? Certainly not," he said regarding the derby on October 5th, while confirming the coach's contact before heading to Luz.

"It wasn't a phone call, it was just a message telling me that he was going to be the coach of our rival. From then on, I can't wish him good luck. That's his destiny in life, and my response was something like: 'It's your destiny in life. A big hug,'" Villas-Boas said.

"Return to the Europa League? We had high expectations for European competitions, as we do every year. Our main goal is to put FC Porto back on top, and to do that, we need to compete in the best competitions, win the title, and be in the Champions League. The Europa League has a history closely linked to FC Porto, and we are committed to winning, but the reality is that last season things didn't go well nationally and internationally, in the Europa League and the Club World Cup, and the image FC Porto has to project is the opposite of what it did last year. That's the commitment we have to make. We've been showing these signs in domestic competitions, and we want to transfer that to international competitions, given that FC Porto's main objective is to be champion, and that is our obligation to our fans. FC Porto has strengthened to be champion, and it's already clear that we have the individual quality to fight for the title. That's what we aspire to more than ever," reinforced the Porto leader.

Finally, André Villas-Boas briefly commented on the three arrests of radical Sporting fans on Tuesday morning, still in the context of the violent attack on Porto fans after a roller hockey derby at the João Rocha Pavilion, following three other arrests earlier in the investigation. "They were certainly arrested for attempted murder, not attempted assault. There's a big difference. It's a sad episode; FC Porto immediately sided with the fans involved in this sad outcome. You know that only a few media outlets gave this episode the attention it deserved; some preferred to omit it, and I thank the competent authorities for continuing the investigation and trying to find the culprits so they can be properly punished," he concluded.