I don't need you to love me, just respect me

The 2025/26 championship title, as I've said before, was incredibly important and sweet. Decisive, even. After 42 years under Pinto da Costa, it was crucial to see if FC Porto would maintain its winning identity or if, on the contrary, we were doomed to a barren spell, especially in football.

André Villas-Boas's second season as president unequivocally answered those doubts.

Football was the club's most victorious sport, with magnificent historical achievements. It was a phenomenal season. We are champions in all age groups (a rare feat in Portuguese football that must be celebrated as extraordinary), we have a women's team that has been promoted twice in just two years of existence, and we created a senior futsal team. It's impossible to do better than this. Hegemony is spelled with three letters: FCP. And two colors: blue and white.

It's a remarkable season, and it didn't happen by chance. You don't lose or win by chance. We lose when the opponent is better. We win because we are better than the opponent. And in football, that was always the case. We won. It was a meticulously planned success, with levels of demand, professionalism, and competence only achievable by FC Porto.

We are the only club to win the national football championship title in all age groups. And we achieved this extraordinary feat three times. We continue to pave the way for new generations of footballers, imbued with ambition and a thirst for victory. We are the best in youth development, learning, and training. We are the best example of solidarity and mutual support.

We are the best in high-level competition and demanding excellence.

We had a path of excellence as our example. This young and modern board is extending and enhancing the quality levels of a club that, in just two years, has grown in membership, attendance at the Estádio do Dragão, passionate fervor, and sporting achievements. We continue to write history.

Sérgio Conceição reappeared after two years of silence and naturally spoke about his years coaching FC Porto.

It's very easy to criticize Sérgio Conceição. But it's also very easy to praise him. It all depends on your perspective.

Sérgio Conceição is a historic figure at FC Porto. He is the most decorated coach at the Estádio do Dragão, was a distinctive player, and brought impetus and combativeness to the teams he played for and coached. Anyone who follows his career always gets the impression that he gives everything he can, fights relentlessly, and demands without compromise. In other words, he is a true 'Dragon' in his pursuit of excellence and the fight for victory, no matter the cost or the opponent. He is a man of firm convictions, with no half-measures. It's very easy to hate him, just as it is easy to admire him.

Sérgio Conceição is sometimes conflated with FC Porto. But that's not quite right. They are two distinct identities, embraced by moments of glory, struggle, sensitivity, gratitude, frustration, and professionalism. Sérgio Conceição is a football professional and, as is natural for any football professional, he is driven by criteria that are not subject to passion.

Gratitude, yes; respect, also; humility, likewise. But passion, no.

Almost everyone who contributed to FC Porto's glory was professional, competent, and victorious. Those who didn't bring victories were still professional, but they were nothing more than that.

Therefore, I prefer to dedicate myself to the passion for Porto and celebrate those who have lived and continue to live Porto with the passion of a unique and incomprehensible love.

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa was one of them. About him, I can say terrible things and wonderful things. I had the good fortune to meet him personally on many different occasions. And I always saw in him the sparkle of passion and uncompromising demand. But I also witnessed, with shock and sorrow, the 'Apito Dourado' (Golden Whistle) episodes, which stain FC Porto's beautiful history. Just as I witnessed, with outrage and frustration, the final moments of his long tenure, which allowed vultures and parasites to thrive. But none of that hides Pinto da Costa's determination to elevate FC Porto's name to the world. It's very easy to criticize Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa. It's very easy to praise Pinto da Costa. I will only say that 42 years were more than enough and that Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa should have had the wisdom to leave before a humiliating, but fair and much-needed defeat for the club's future. Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa's name is tattooed on the Dragon's skin. And, like any tattoo, it can be proudly displayed, or hidden or disguised.

André Villas-Boas knows this better than anyone. He challenged him, confronted him, and defeated him in an election where the members, as never before, stated they wanted a new direction for the club, which was stifled by inertia and opportunism and on the verge of perpetuating a dynasty. But defeating Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa does not mean removing Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa from FC Porto's history and the Dragon's skin. André Villas-Boas understood this and respected the legacy. It's a shame that some of Pinto da Costa's family and friends didn't understand the same and lacked the democratic humility to respect the members' will, failing to realize that FC Porto is bigger than any president and belongs to no one. Only and solely to its members. And it's a shame that, here and there, sighs still emerge from people who cling to the illusion of avenging the memory of someone who needs no vengeance, no sighs, no illusions. Only respect. The rest is the vile calculation of those who feed on failure to achieve undeserved gains.

Captains of the World is a Netflix series that comes at just the right time. Now that the World Cup is underway and Portugal is preparing for its debut this Wednesday, it's worth watching or rewatching this series that delves behind the scenes of the 2022 World Cup. There are episodes for all tastes. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Neymar, and Thiago Silva, who just recently became champion with FC Porto, are some of the protagonists.

Captains of the World, a Netflix series. It's worth seeing.