"I, even, can still be fired. I have to be a champion, that's the goal, we have proposed ourselves to do so since the beginning, to the promotion and, at the same time, to be champions in this division. That was also my ambition, we fulfilled a part of what we proposed and now we lack the other part. For that, we now have two finals to win and continue in the register we want and give continuity to the principles and values of this team", stressed the coach.

Alverca celebrated the promotion last Sunday, by defeating Sporting da Covilhã (2-0), confirming the return to the professional football divisions in Portugal with two more rounds to go in the qualifying phase for the Liga 3 champion.

The promotion to the II Liga is a historic moment for the Ribatejo club, whose last participation in this competition took place 19 years ago, in the 2004/2005 season. The coach responsible for this feat, João Pereira, did not hide his satisfaction for having achieved it, praising the quality of his squad, giving an account of a mix between experienced players, some with I Liga experience, and young players from the club's academy.

"Regarding our path and who our most experienced players are, I prefer to emphasize who were the players from the Alverca academy that we used, including players who were in other divisions: in the Campeonato de Portugal, under-23 and even players who were in the 1st District Division of AF Lisboa", he stressed.

Although the promotion is already guaranteed, João Pereira does not count on being in the II Liga: "What I can say is that at this moment there was a meeting of the board with the League of clubs, in order to understand what the prerequisites are and if we have everything regularized. That was the only thing that, as far as I can see, existed".

The coach recalls that, after achieving one of the goals, Alverca still has another to fulfill, which is to win the Liga 3, which could happen if they win at home against Académica, this Sunday, at 6 pm, on the 13th round, in a venue where they were only defeated once in the entire season, precisely against the team from Coimbra, in August (2-1).

"In the first game, at home, we were not able to win and, since then, taking a positive word for us, we have become unbeatable. That game was, indeed, against Académica, in which we possibly played one of the best games of the season and lost in the last minute. Now, what we want to do is the best game of the season and do what we haven't done yet, which was to beat Académica at home. We will now have an excellent opportunity to do so", declared the Alverca coach.

Leia Também: Após o título, Sporting foi recebido assim na Academia Cristiano Ronaldo (Portuguese version)