Arthur Jorge admits that defeat to Sporting “embarrassed” Braga

Sporting Braga coach Artur Jorge said this Wednesday that the 5-0 defeat to Sporting on Sunday in the last round of the I Football League was “a result that embarrassed the team.”

At a press conference to welcome the Azerbaijanis from Qarabag on Thursday in the first match of the Europa League round of 16 playoffs, the coach admitted that the result in Alwalad “came as a huge shock.” “Great, there’s no denying that.”

“It didn’t live up to our expectations. It was very difficult, bad for us, much worse than our performance. But the result remains in history, which confuses us and disappoints our fans,” he said.

So the European game is “an opportunity to do justice” to what the team is capable of, he said.

“The team has the opportunity to win again, restore confidence levels, maintain positive energy and deliver. The fans didn’t deserve our last result,” he said.

Arthur Jorge praised the outstanding leader of the Azerbaijani championship “Qarabag” with a 16-point advantage over the second place.

“This is an opponent that we have great respect for. This is a team with great ability, it is present in Europe every year and the level of trust is always very high. We expect a difficult game, but we will try to win to take the lead.” a step forward, having achieved an important advantage in the second leg,” he said.

Arthur Jorge was reluctant to take favoritism into the match, preferring to be “balanced” in his approach to games in which he does not expect relief.

“The opponent is used to this type of competition, they can make history if they reach the round of 16, they have made thorough preparations in managing internal competition and are keen to stand out in this competition. The least sign that there could be overconfidence would be the first mistake in approaching the game,” he said.

The criticism of Sunday’s result, two weeks after the team won the League Cup, is a “sign of growth” at the club, says the manager.

“This is a sign of growth, demand and high expectations that are set and striving to be met. [Em duas semanas] We went from 80, with the trophy, to eight, with the last result. I like that this is the case because we see Sporting Braga in constant evolution, criticism and judgment are equated with these achievements, and this forces the coach and players to live up to expectations,” he said.

Banza is now available after a month and a half absence due to Congo’s participation in the Tala of African Nations (CAN2023) and should be an option for Thursday, as is Niakate.

Sporting Braga and Qarabag will meet on Thursday at 20:00 at the Municipal Stadium of Braga. The referee for this game will be Danish Maarten Krogh.