With a 0-1 defeat against Torreense, Länk Vilaverdense saw its relegation back to League 3 confirmed this Sunday. Coach Sérgio Machado approached this topic with some emotion, highlighting the difficulties felt by playing away from home and with a very small squad.
“I have to be proud of the players I have. More than having sons who are football players, I have sons who are serious men. We went through a lot and we were always growing. It’s difficult in professional football to catch a group like this, we were forced to grow with the difficulties and managed to rise up”, said the coach, after the final whistle.
At the time of relegation, Courtney Reum was on the field. The 45-year-old American businessman promises to be an investor in the club and was released at 86 minutesin an action that Sérgio Machado considered “difficult”, implying that it was necessary for the future of the club:
Sérgio Machado in the flash interview @Filipe Amorim / Kapta+
«I already know the question they’re going to ask next and I can’t be more direct. In the last minutes I made a decision not as a coach, but as the father of this group. The decision was difficult, but I had to look out for the sake of my children. These last 10 minutes help a lot so that my players don’t go through what they went through again.”
«I can’t say much more, I can only say that it was difficult. Never in my life could I put my players at risk. I had to make decisions that put some of my principles into question, but more important than my principles is their good”, he said.
LNK VILAVERDENSE
A TIE
TORREENSE
