The draw for the Round of 16 and the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, held at the Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras this Tuesday at 2:00 pm, opened up the possibility of a Clássico in the sixth round. For that to happen, FC Porto must first eliminate Famalicão at home and Benfica must defeat Farense in Faro.
Rui Barros, representing the Dragons at the draw, specifically warned about the quality of Famalicão, who won their last league match 1-0 away, before the international break.
“These are [complicated] knockout rounds… since we got through the first two with some ease, with all due respect to the clubs we played against. Of course, we have Famalicão, who have been performing very well in the first division, but before thinking about Benfica, we first have to get past Famalicão. We must show due respect to Famalicão, who are a very serious and competent team, and we have to get past Famalicão first,” said Rui Barros.
Sporting will travel to the Azores to face Santa Clara, and the winner will face, in the quarter-finals, whoever triumphs in the match between Vitória de Guimarães and Caldas. Rogério Matias, representing Vitória, also issued a cautious message, stressing that he has no preferences, only the ambition to get past the Round of 16.
“These are matches where, for me, there are no favorites, they are always very special games. And I recall last year, Vitória was eliminated by Elvas and that memory is still very clear in my mind, and I think the Vitória players also know the importance of this competition for the club, which has won it once and has been a finalist several times. So the goal is to get past this opponent, to beat Aves SAD, who are a good team and from the first division. We have to approach these matches as finals, from final to final until the big final, and the path will not be easy for anyone. Whether it’s Santa Clara or Sporting, it will always be an extremely difficult match; if we want to be in the final at Jamor, we have to face these teams,” he explained.
Alan, spokesperson for SC Braga, responded with humor to Rodrigo Amaro from Caldas, assuring that his players are prepared for the typical difficulties of the competition, experiences they have already had this season, and will not take anything for granted.
“Congratulations to Caldas, for the Portuguese Cup and also in Liga 3. It’s a cup match, and I think we already have an antidote for these games, like the match with Bragança… the players are already alert. I hope it’s a good match, but that there are no surprises from Caldas [laughs], and that SC Braga wins,” he said.
