Riga Diary – Day 3
Decisions are right around the corner
After two full days (and a few more hours for a third) in Riga, Latvia, everything is ready for the start of the last four of the UEFA Futsal Champions League, with training sessions held, press conferences held and teams prepared. It’s finally game day tomorrow against French side ACCS Asnières Villeneuve 92 and you can feel it in the air.
In the morning, after breakfast, the team went to the hotel’s gym to do some stretching and muscle activation work. Riga tours continue, with some elements of the entourage to be used as electric scooters that also exist in Portugal to get to know the city better.
Brothers Bernardo and Tomás Paçó, Miguel Ângelo and Erick Mendonça were some of those who did so, with the latter even giving Carlos Alves, an equipment technician, a small lift near the hotel.
In the early afternoon, the communication team found out about two young Sportsmen who live in Riga: Íris Arroja and João Leite. The interviews were in Portugal and the combined medical students together were very friendly and available, having talked about the city, the joy of their devotion to futsal.
“We have a very large and united Portuguese community. We ended up having a great time, walking around and getting to know the city. I am very happy here. (…) I was super surprised when I found out that the city last four it was going to be here. I can’t go to the semi-final, but I hope Sporting CP will be in the final to buy the ticket and go see it”, said Íris Arroja.
“I arrived here in the middle of winter and it was a brutal difference [para Portugal]. It was snowing and the weather was very aggressive. The most complicated adaptation was even in relation to the few sunny ones. (…) I have a friend who is in Italy and comes [para Riga] on purpose to see the game. We gathered all the Portuguese, let’s see in droves”, tells us João Leite.
The complete report with the Sportinguistas de Riga will be published in the next edition of Sporting Newspaper.
Shortly after 16:00, we attended the 15-minute open session of the ACCS Asnières Villeneuve92, which was trained after the joint press conference. Both the coach (Nuno Dias) and the captain (João Matos) of Sporting CP and the coach (Sergio Mullor) and the captain (Souheil Mouhoudine) of the Gauls were present and launched the first semi-final. On the green and white side, there was confidence in the preparation carried out, but always with respect for comfort, which in turn was very grateful for having the opportunity to be in the relationship a lot. last four of the UEFA Futsal Champions League.
Sporting CP training, again at Arēna Rīga, closed another day in terms of activities. Now, everyone is thinking about the game that can stamp their passport to the final. There are 40 minutes to go and that’s all that matters. That’s the spirit you feel in Riga.
By Luís Santos Castelo, in Riga.