Luis Tralhao analyzes the victory over Fafe (2-0), the final against Sporting at Jamor, and the historic milestone for Torres Vedras.
Luis Tralhao, in statements at the press conference after the 2-0 victory over Fafe in the second leg of the Portuguese Cup semi=finals:
A historic moment for Torreense…
It’s a source of pride to be part of this historic moment, to contribute with my dedication. I’m sure all the tickets for Torreense fans will be sold out. Right now, people are eager to say they’re from Torres Vedras. I was fortunate enough to be at Jamor, at the Women’s Cup final, and I felt the emotion. I was far from imagining that this year we could do better. It would be a crime to say that the objective is the championship and not the Cup. I can never say that; it’s a source of pride for everyone in Torres Vedras. It’s an honor to be part of this project. The drive from the hotel to here was very emotional. Experiencing this firsthand fills me with pride.
Analysis of the victory over Fafe
The way Fafe played wasn’t a surprise; they didn’t give us much space in depth. We have fast players, and they took those weapons away from us. We had to vary between playing wide and inside. In the first half, we couldn’t do that, to Fafe’s credit. They had one or two chances during the game where they could have scored. In the second half, we were more intense and recovered the ball more often in the attacking third.
Meeting with Sporting in the Cup final
What we can do is compete in the final with the dream of trying to play the game to win. I believe that all games are to be won. Even when playing checkers with my children, it’s to win. The weapons are completely different; we have to know how to play with our weapons, and we certainly won’t be strolling to Jamor. For me, it was unthinkable to be studying a team like Sporting. It’s one thing to see it with the eyes of a fan, another to see it with the eyes of a coach.
Portuguese Cup or promotion to the League?
Getting Torreense into the League was a historic milestone for the region. The season has been fantastic, and our goal from the start has been to have a good championship. As the rounds go by, we’ve managed to join teams with budgets different from ours. The players don’t have labels; we set the prices ourselves.