European champions received at Porto City Hall.
The FC Porto roller hockey team, which won the European championship on Sunday, was received by the Mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte, at the City Hall.
Led by club president Andre Villas=Boas, the Porto delegation was honored for winning their fourth Champions League title, achieved against FC Barcelona (3-1) in a final played in Coimbra.
In his speech, the blue and white leader expressed his gratitude to the players and coaching staff for winning their first European title since he took over the club’s leadership on May 7, 2024.
It is a great honor to be at the Porto City Hall in the presence of the councilors, the management and the entire FC Porto roller hockey team, who do nothing but fill us with joy, in a personal, professional and sporting transformation that I myself have experienced intensely, he stated.
Villas=Boas also highlighted winning the trophy against the former Porto coach, Ricardo Ares, currently at the Catalan club, which holds the record for European titles with 22.
Adding to the glory of this victory is the fact that they achieved it against their former coach, who knows them like no one else, against a strong team that holds the record for European titles. Ricardo Ares left FC Porto handing us a trophy like this, and it was clear that he wanted to beat FC Porto, but Paulo Freitas led this transformation and achieved this trophy,” he highlighted, praising the current Porto coach, whom he challenged to win the Intercontinental Cup.
In turn, after presenting a souvenir to the team, Pedro Duarte thanked them for the European achievement and highlighted the city’s relationship with roller hockey and FC Porto.
First of all, I offer my congratulations and secondly, my thanks. Porto has an emotional and affective relationship with two characteristics that are very well symbolized here: on the one hand, the connection to roller hockey, a sport that is in the heart of all of us, and on the other hand, the emotional relationship with FC Porto, he stated.