Player Analysis: Sérgio Oliveira

Throughout Futebol Clube do Porto's history there has been a lot of memorable and heroic moments, from Rabah Madjer's backheel against Bayern in 1987, to Costinha's goal against Manchester United in 2004, to Kelvin's 92th minute goal against Benfica in 2013, to name a few, and most recently Sérgio Oliveira's free-kick goal against Juventus, which made Porto go through the quarter-finals, being the only team outside of Europe's top 5 leagues to advance to that stage.

FC Porto's most important strength is the people, the fans. The “Norte” – North region, where Porto is located, is made of hard-working people who are really passionate about their club, and a lot of their happiness is dependent on Porto victories. Porto had a tough period after Vítor Pereira's departure, in which Benfica won 4 consecutive titles, but apart from that, their mentality and charisma was gone, the famous “Mística," which is a bigger thing than every Porto trophy, even than the two Champions League won in 1987 with “Rei” Artur and in 2004 with José Mourinho. 

From José Maria Pedroto in late 70's and early 80's to João Pinto, Paulinho Santos, Jorge Costa and Vítor Baía from the “Penta” seasons, and then to still Jorge Costa and Vítor Baía, as well as Costinha, Maniche and Deco in 2004, to Pepe, Sérgio Oliveira and Otávio in 2021, Porto has always had strong and charismatic teams.

Sérgio Conceição's arrival would change everything. Porto won the league in 2017-18, preventing their biggest rivals from winning five titles in a row – “Penta”, which makes Porto the only team to have achieved it in the Portuguese League history. He didn't only win the title on two separate occasions, he also brought that “Mística” back, which is an even bigger achievement. Many players helped to build that mentality again, one of them being Sérgio Oliveira.