"I started to feel accomplished when I started to see the pavilion full and people identifying with what we have done. It was my wish that basketball could contribute with trophies for the museum and that has already happened, but I hope that in the future it will be even more", said the 54-year-old coach, in statements to the club's official media.

Winner of three championships, three Portuguese Cups and one Super Cup as an athlete at the service of FC Porto, between 1986 and 1999, Fernando Sá had returned to the 'dragons' in 2022, leaving behind an extensive career at Vitória de Guimarães, from 2006 to 2019.

"I am very satisfied. If I was already when I signed the first contract and came here, now even more so, because a renewal is the recognition of something in any profession", evaluated the successor of the Spanish Moncho López, who won the Portuguese Cup this season, among two consecutive presences in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

FC Porto leads the championship, with the same 36 points as the two-time national champion Benfica, over which it has an advantage in the direct confrontation, when there are two rounds left for the end of the regular phase of the competition, which the 'dragons' have not won since 2015/16.

"Having the president [Pinto da Costa] present in this renewal with a club that has such a high demand is something that makes me very happy. The part of the connection to the club and to the fans is easier for me, because it comes naturally to me. Winning the Portuguese Cup is the end and the beginning of many things, because now the most important thing is the future", he said.

Fernando Sá's renewal was revealed 10 days before the FC Porto elections and constitutes a "fair" outcome for Pinto da Costa, who is running for a 16th consecutive term as president of the club, due to the former captain's "competence and passion" for the 'dragons'.

"He even won a trophy recently, but that was not what was decisive [to renew], although winning titles is one of the goals. He has done an excellent job so far and his continuity was perfectly natural. For me, it is a special pleasure, because, in addition to his competence, I know that we have a coach who lives and feels FC Porto like any fan who likes FC Porto", acknowledged Pinto da Costa, quoted by the club.