"Estoril Praia will always be a special club for me. I was very happy there and you can't erase the past. I was there during Estoril Praia's greatest years of glory, I am part of its history, I left friends there, I really like the fans, we always had a very close relationship and I even live in Estoril. For 90 minutes, what I want most is to beat Estoril Praia, but it will always be a very special club", explained the coach, at a press conference.

Gonçalo Santos ended his football career in 2020/21, having played twice for Estoril Praia, from 2011/12 to 2013/14 and from 2017/18 to 2019/20, when he even played for the club in the Europa League, under the command of Marco Silva.

"[Vasco Seabra] Brought stability to Estoril, in addition to a positive game. It is a very strong team in the first phase of construction and with a characteristic positional game. This season, they have been a bit inconsistent, but they are having a good time, after winning against a title contender [FC Porto]. It will always be an important game, given the classification, the importance of the points and not losing. We believe that we will be stronger than them tomorrow [Monday], but we expect a very difficult game", stressed the coach.

On the last matchday, Casa Pia thrashed Vizela by 4-0, while Estoril, for the third time this season, defeated FC Porto, by 1-0, similar to what had already happened in the first round, at the time preceding a triumph by Estoril over the 'geese', by 4-0, in November last year.

"It was a less successful game, which led to the departure of 'mister' Filipe Martins. I watched that game again this week, but I couldn't get it out of my mind. Everything went well for Estoril Praia, who were coming from a good moment, similar to the current moment, as a victory against FC Porto is always an extra motivation. In the final stretch of the championship, a lot changes and the goal is not to make the same mistakes from that match", pointed out Gonçalo Santos.

The 'geese' have 30 points, which, in the last two seasons, would have been enough to achieve maintenance, although it is normal for the bar to be set at 34, still intending to reverse the record at home, in which they are, together with Vizela, the team with the fewest points won at home, with only 10, in 13 games added.

"It is a negative factor and we always try to improve. We try to be better than we have been at home. Since I took over, we had a victory over Arouca, a draw against Gil Vicente, in which we were always the team closest to victory, and against Benfica we left a good image. The response has been very positive and, if we maintain our competence, we will achieve more points than we have so far", he assured.

Casa Pia, ninth placed, with 30 points, hosts Estoril Praia, 14th, with 28, in the game that ends the 28th round of the I Liga, on Monday, at 8:15 pm, at the Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior, refereed by Miguel Nogueira, from the Lisbon Football Association.

Read Also: "We continue to dream of maintenance. We still depend on ourselves" (Portuguese version)