Key thoughts of Pinto da Costa and André Villas-Boas before the duel at the ballot boxes

FC Porto will go to the vote on Saturday, and for the first time since 1982, the consecration of Pinto da Costa is not just a bureaucratic act. At 86 years old, the world's most titled sports leader faces young Andre Villas-Boas, 46 years old, 40 years younger than the citizen's ticket shows for the current president, who has been re-elected 14 times.

Pinto da Costa had to devote himself and devote himself to interviews and election campaigns like never before in order to capitalize on the sporting successes achieved (2,566 titles) in these four decades, having presented, in recent days, the renewal of Sergio as an asset to Conceição. , an agreement with Pepe for another year, in addition to the signing of Francisco Conceição, which was expected at the time of the transfer made by Ajax at the beginning of the season.

Hey new We will try to show what the two candidates think about the most diverse topics and the main ideas that can help FC Porto members make a decision. It is worth noting that, unlike Benfica and Sporting, each blue and white member has one vote. , regardless of seniority.

soccer
Pinto da Costa It has been announced that Sergio Conceicao will be renewed for another four years, and it remains to be seen whether this relationship could become null and void if Villas-Boas is elected by the members. The president of Porto since 1982 also added to the renewal of the coach of the blue and white team, Pepe’s renewal for another year and the signing of Francisco Conceicao, with a contract valid until 2029. The current president also said that Luis Gonçalves will take over the task. He maintained himself as a football official and pointed out that Vitor Baia and Antonio Oliveira, the vice-presidential candidates, are people linked to the sport.

Andre Villas-Boas He introduced a structure with something new: the position of sporting director will be occupied by Spaniard Andoni Zubizarreta, who has already performed the same tasks in Barcelona and Marseille, where he met with the current candidate for president. In the event that Villas-Boas wins, former captain Jorge Costa will leave his coaching career and will be the director of football for the professional teams, coordinating between the main team and the second division and under-19 teams. Regarding Sergio Conceicao, he wants to have a conversation, but he has always pointed out that the coach has to integrate into the structure and identify the philosophy he wants to see implemented at FC Porto. In other words, the possibility of coexistence between Villas-Boas and Conceição seems remote.

Academy/High Performance Center
Maybe it's a semantic difference, but what Pinto da Costa calls the Academia Villas-Boas calls a high-performance center. This was one of the biggest differences between the two lists.

Pinto da Costa It wants to build infrastructure in Maya with an area of ​​20 hectares, a stadium with a capacity of 2,500 people, eight lawns, 70 double rooms, parking lots and supporting structures. Its purpose, at least as far as we know, is not to host what remains of the club's styles.

Andre Villas-Boas He wants to build a high-performance center for all modalities. There will be 30 hectares in Ulleval, where football teams already train, with five football fields, a pavilion for professional sports, a hotel and support structures.

finance
In this election campaign, Pinto da Costa assured members that he would implement three objectives: double the club's revenue in three years, with a 25% annual increase in revenue through investment in the internationalization of the FCP brand; A 20% reduction in total costs starting from the first year, through the restructuring of the group companies, without the need to pay management bonuses and a representation and operating cost policy will be created that guarantees absolute effectiveness, sustainability, accuracy and transparency; Refinancing liabilities, through a €250 million financial debt instrument that will simultaneously reduce debt service and enhance the competitiveness of the football team.

José Fernando Figueiredo will be the CFO of FC Porto SAD, replacing Fernando Gomez, an economist and senior advisor at the World Bank, who previously headed the Banco de Fomento. João Rafael Koehler will be Vice President of the Financial District. Meanwhile, FC Porto has signed an agreement with Ithaca Corporation, which will inject €65 million in exchange for 30% of equity over the next 25 years to a new company that will devote itself to increasing the commercial potential of Estádio do Dragão.

Andre Villas-Boas He guarantees that three “world-renowned” banks are interested in renegotiating FC Porto’s debt, and says that FC Porto faces a “sad financial scenario” as a result of liabilities worth €512 million and debts worth €223 million.

Villas-Boas says there is an urgent need for a “deep financial restructuring” and ensures that there are “huge challenges in the immediate treasury.” He is also concerned about the revenue projection generated by Pinto da Costa and the relationship with the Quadrantes Fund, which includes João Rafael Köhler, the vice-presidential candidate on Pinto da Costa's list. Perhaps that is why he says that the current leader is a “hostage” of the businessman. Villas-Boas' CFO is José Pedro Pereira da Costa, former CEO of NOS.

shapes
Pinto da Costa He wants to strengthen the focus on existing modalities – handball, basketball, hockey, volleyball, billiards, boxing, swimming and designated sports – and wants to complete a feasibility study to determine the implementation of futsal. It also plans to venture into surfing through partnerships.

Andre Villas-Boas It also wants to launch futsal in the medium term and restore men's volleyball, as well as maintaining its focus on other existing sports.

Women's football
Pinto da Costa During the coming period, he intends to have a great team that will fight to win titles.

Andre Villas-Boas It goes further. He wants to create a women's football department, appoint the role of director of the relevant department, and says it is necessary for FC Porto to assert itself at the level of achievements in national and international women's football tournaments.

Determine the duration and reward
Pinto da Costa has no known idea regarding state boundaries, but André Villas-Boas has already announced that he wants to put this idea into practice by revising the statute.

Andre Villas-Boas himself has alluded to Rui Costa, Benfica's president, to explain why he has no intention of getting paid as SAD chairman. It also ensures lower salaries for the board of directors. As is known, since the creation of the SAD, Pinto da Costa has always been paid, although now one of his proposals is to reduce management salaries.