I and a colleague were indeed lucky to be warmly received by the management of the club over the recent international break. Technical Secretary Paulo Gonçalves very kindly gave us a tour around the club’s many facilities, which were renovated 10 years ago but still look as good as new. The highlights were a wonderful museum depicting their rich history and well decorated walls with posters of the team that finished runners up in the Portuguese League Cup in 2010/11. It was evident that the club was proud of the accomplishment and fittingly paid tribute to those that that got them there. Next up was a peak into their 5,250-seater stadium; a simple space, but one which one can imagine bouncing with a party atmosphere every other weekend as the fans soak up triumph after triumph.

It was time for the training session to begin and we were invited to watch it alongside Director of Football, Carlos Carneiro. The man welcomed us and spoke fondly of his time as a player, including notable spells at numerous Portuguese clubs, Panionios in Greece, and Walsall in England, whilst the coaches and players readied themselves for a session which was to focus on aggression and withstanding intense pressure from opponents.

It was enlightening to witness all the players themselves picking up the goal frame and carrying it across the ends of the pitch as their first exercise – a sign of modesty and solidarity within the camp. As the group engaged in their routine, Carneiro provided the back stories: for instance, how key midfielder Vítor’s magnificent touch immediately caught his attention when they played together at Penafiel; the talent and temperament of midfielder/winger Josué Pesqueira; and the rising star of fan favourite and poster boy Caetano (a member of the Portuguese FIFA U20 World Cup squad which narrowly lost to Brazil in the final).

It was break time and we were pleasantly surprised when the players came over and greeted us with smiles and handshakes. They soon returned for the second half of the session, which was spent on fine-tuning certain technical points and then implementing them during the practice match that followed. As the players headed for the exit, head coach Paulo Fonseca decided to have a bit of a kick around and smashed a wonderful cross-field ball across the park with unerring accuracy – great skill from the ex-defender who spent his playing days at some of Portugal’s elite clubs in the 1990s and early 2000s. He then approached us and after a brief chat asked if we would like to join him and his assistants for lunch.

Over picanha (Brazilian steak) and some fine wine, Paulo Fonseca, Carlos Carneiro, Pedro Moreira, and Nuno Campos (both assistant coaches) told us of the two main mantra’s underlying the team’s success – the deep-lying passion within the club’s hierarchy that translates onto the pitch, and maintaining an equilibrium between professional and personal life. This latter is evident in the daily, brief, and intense training sessions that entail a lot of hard work but allow the players free time to spend with their loved ones. The coach and his assistants have a common denominator: they are all pupils of the man now in charge of Benfica, Jorge Jesus, and tell us of their mutual admiration for his tactical acumen.

At Paços, of course, they do things differently where appropriate, particularly on the man management front. There is none of Jesus’s shouting into the ears of players when 5-0 up, or kicking out at spare boots, or showing Gladiator movies before games; in their place is a more personal touch, an emphasis on mutual respect and two-way communication that keeps the spirits up and thus far has achieved the desired results. The English Premier League appeals hugely to the group and they tell us that they have recently got their hands on some videos of Arsène Wenger’s training methodologies, which they are trying to incorporate into their own régime. When asked about the prospect of managing in England someday, they respond with a cheeky, ambitious smile. They strongly believe in the promise of youth and even conduct some of the junior team sessions, with players such as Valente, Pedro Guedes, Freitas, and Gaby often invited to train with the senior team as part of their development.

They’ve had several memorable moments during this campaign, such as Luiz Carlos’s stunning equaliser against Maritimo, and a decisive late penalty against Beira Mar when things were not going well. However, the standout moment was the win against Estoril. The game was locked down at 0-0 after 75 minutes, but thick fog meant that the sides were forced to be complete the encounter the next day. Call it luck or divine intervention, but this gave Paços an opportunity to plan ways of changing the complexion of the game. They sat deep into the night, observing video footage and brainstorming before coming up with an idea which they then tested in the morning. There was to be a happy ending as the players executed the tactical shift to perfection and scored within minutes of the restart, then held on for what was to be a huge moment in their season. They believe that innovation before and during games is a big reason why Portuguese managers are having so much of a say in modern football. With regards to their players, there is a an obvious hint of disappointment that apart from Antunes, the beneficiary of a winter loan move to Malaga, none have received a call-up to the national team despite robust, consistent performances for the past few months. There is hope, though, that their time will come. On his way home to Guimarães (where he prefers living, free from attention and able to enjoy a peaceful family life), Paulo Fonseca states, ‘I always wanted to become a coach and I’m definitely enjoying it more than playing football.’ He also tells us that he is going to be a busy man in the summer as he seeks to acquire maximum coaching qualifications; that is not the only thing bound to keep him and his assistants occupied, with several hot seats due to open up and big decisions to be made on their personal and collective futures.

Success brings with it an array of new challenges and the club has its fair share – balancing tradition with the commercialisation necessary to generate funds for refurbishment, working out compliance issues with UEFA to meet standards required for staging European football, and, importantly, keeping their prized assets away from the prying eyes of potential suitors. However, with Paulo Fonseca and his team at the helm at present, and a bunch of talented, hardworking players moving in unison towards the same goals, the club and its support can well and truly dare to dream.

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