The coaches from Lagoa and Moncarapachense, who on Saturday, in Lagos, will try to lift the Algarve Football Super Cup for the second time in their history, anticipate a «50-50» and «very balanced» game, at a «very early stage » of the time.
The team from Lagos, which last season became district champions, won this competition in 2015/2016, while the team from the municipality of Olhão won the last edition, held in 2022/2023 – the Super Cup for 2023/2024, between Louletano and Padernense, has yet to be scheduled by the Algarve Football Association (AFA).
Lagoa's coach, Roberto Alberto, who guaranteed his team's return to the national ranks after an 11-year absence, highlighted that the two teams go into this game "on equal footing".
«There are no favorites. Even though I recognize all the merit to the Moncarapachense team, I think we arrived on equal footing. In terms of the preparatory period, we should be identical, there are a lot of new people too, and it is a game at a very early stage of the season, in which my team is still looking for its best organization, its dynamics. I think it's a 50-50 game", explained the 38-year-old coach, in a joint press conference with his Moncarapacho counterpart, promoted by the AFA.
Roberto Alberto hopes that his team will give a good response, promising to “present good football” and “a lot of work, a lot of seriousness, a lot of ambition and a lot of humility” to achieve another regional title.
«We will try to continue the work that was done last season, in which both clubs were successful: us, more in the district part, the Moncarapachense team in the national team», he recalled.
Moncarapachense coach, José Bizarro, also expects a “very balanced” game in his third consecutive district final, after having won the 2022/23 Supertaça and the last edition of the Algarve Cup.
«You will do everything possible to win, because finals, and I have been in several, as a player and coach, are played and won and lost. And, once again, on Saturday there will be no exception to the rule,” he said.
The experienced coach, 54 years old, agreed with his counterpart from Lagos about holding the match at an early stage of the season.
«You can see that we both wanted this final to be a little later. Neither team this week will be at their peak. It's humanly impossible. There are many players who joined from one side to the other, the dynamics are not yet at their best and the physical indicators are not the best either», he analyzed.
The two captains – Jorge Teixeira (Lagoa) and Diogo Conceição (Moncarapachense) – also discussed Saturday's game.
Jorge Teixeira, 29 years old, in his third season with the Lagoa shirt, guaranteed that his team «views this final as just another game», working «at their best» to beat an opponent who had «a good season in the last year".
Diogo Conceição, 27 years old, one of the few starters who remained in the Olhão municipality as a whole, anticipated “a good game” with no favorites at the start, against a team “that has all the merit for being in the Super Cup for the championship it played in last season”.
The Algarve Super Cup is scheduled for 19pm on Saturday, at the Lagos Municipal Stadium, with free entry.
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