The draw for the round of 16 and quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, held at the City of Football in Oeiras this Tuesday at 2:00 PM, opened up the possibility of a Classic in the sixth round. For this to happen, FC Porto must first eliminate Famalicão at home, and Benfica must defeat Farense in Faro.
Rui Barros, the representative of 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 passed the first two with some ease, with due respect to the clubs we played against. Of course, we have Famalicão, who have been performing well in the first division, but before moving on to Benfica, we first have to get past Famalicão. We must give due respect to Famalicão, who are a very serious and competent team, and first, we have to get past Famalicão», 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 clash between Vitória de Guimarães and Caldas. Rogério Matias, representing Vitória, also conveyed a cautious message, emphasizing that he has no preferences, only the ambition to overcome the round of 16.
«These are games 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 well etched in my mind, and I think the Vitória players also know the importance of the competition for the club, which has won once and been finalists several times, so the goal is to get past this opponent, to beat Aves SAD, which is a good team and from the first league. We must approach these games as finals, from final to final until the grand final, and the path is not expected to be easy for anyone. Whether with Santa Clara or Sporting, it will always be an extremely difficult game; if we want to be in the final at Jamor, we have to face these teams», he explained.
Alan, spokesperson for SC Braga, humorously responded to Rodrigo Amaro from Caldas, assuring that his players are prepared for the typical challenges of the competition, experiences they have already had this season, and they do not intend to take it lightly.
«Congratulations to Caldas, for the Portuguese Cup and also in Liga 3. It’s a Cup game, I think we already have an antidote for these games, the game with Bragança… the players are already alerted. I hope it’s a good game, but that there are no surprises from Caldas [laughs], may SC Braga win», he remarked.
