During a press conference ahead of Portugal's home match against Norway in the UEFA Nations League, Bruno Fernandes discussed the team's adaptation to Jesus's tactical philosophy, his position on the pitch, and the ongoing debate surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo. He stated that there are no divisions within the Portuguese squad and urged fans not to take sides. This article is the third part of the press conference.

Other parts of the press conference

Bruno Fernandes: Cristiano Ronaldo deserves respect; there are no divisions in the Portuguese squad, stop creating factions

Bruno Fernandes: There's always room for improvement in every match, but Jesus's work has paid off

Reporter from LiveMode: I'm still disappointed about the goal I was promised at the World Cup that never happened; I hope it happens tomorrow. The coach sitting next to you said that football is art, coaches are artists, and players are artists too. If we view these matches as a play divided into acts, then, as you said, the first act focused on defence, and the second on positional attacking. I want to ask, what can we expect in tomorrow's third act? And in this third act, as an artist, what else can you bring that we haven't seen before?

I don't know. Artists always need to have a few tricks up their sleeve, so tomorrow we'll take to the pitch and try once again to bring joy to the Portuguese people. As the coach said, we have many excellent players who can create wonderful moments at any stage of the game. I hope tomorrow everyone will be inspired so that Estádio do Dragão can celebrate again and again.

We've had many joyful moments here. As far as I remember, in many recent qualifying matches we secured our place at the European Championship or World Cup, or advanced to the next stage, at this stadium. I hope that's a good omen as well.

Norwegian reporter: Regarding Bernardo Silva's tackle on Martin Ødegaard in the previous match, Norwegian players have since hinted at possible retaliation tomorrow. What is your response to these statements from the Norwegian players?

I have nothing to say about that. I, Bernardo, and Martin all play in the Premier League. In terms of the intensity of tackles and physical battle, it's probably one of the toughest leagues to play in, so I'm not worried about it. We're ready to win tomorrow's game. We'll do whatever it takes in the match. But we want to play good football, we want to win the game, and we want to show our best, because we know we're fully capable of it.

Norwegian reporter: You've been playing for Portugal's national team for a long time. How would you compare this generation of Portuguese stars with previous generations of players you've worked with? Also, do you think winning the European Championship is a realistic goal for this team?

I think every generation of players is different. Each past Portuguese team had its own qualities and characteristics. They're all different, but at the same time, the quality of Portuguese players has always been high. So I don't think we can compare past teams from different eras with the present one.

What we can control is what we can do from now until tomorrow, and every step after that. As a Portuguese team, the most important thing is to continue growing and make the most of the abilities of every talented player who emerges, helping them become the best version of themselves. Wherever they go in the world, they can make us proud.

Norwegian reporter: You know Solskjaer very well from your time together at Manchester United. Have you been in touch with him about these matches against Norway? Also, what are your memories of his time as Manchester United manager?

Without a doubt, Solskjaer is a very important manager to me. He gave me the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. I was very happy during my time working with him. Honestly, we haven't discussed this match. We sometimes talk about football, but we haven't had the chance to discuss this game.

Let's see what happens tomorrow. I hope after the game I can send him a message, and the result in that message will be good for me, but not so good for him.

Bruno, your former teammate Rasmus Hojlund did a special celebration after he scored against you in the last match. There's also video showing what appears to be him pushing your coach after the game. What do you think about these situations?

I didn't see that. I saw the celebration, but he's done it before, so I know he really loves Cristiano Ronaldo, and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of his idols in his career. He did that move the last time when Cristiano Ronaldo was on the pitch. At the time he was very worried that Cristiano Ronaldo would be angry with him for it.

So he's just another kid who grew up idolizing Cristiano Ronaldo, like many of us in the Portuguese squad. He grew up watching Cristiano Ronaldo play and wanted to imitate everything he did. Obviously, that's probably one of the most iconic celebrations in football history. You'll see that celebration for the next thirty, fifty, sixty, seventy years. So I'm very proud that someone is imitating what a Portuguese player did.

Переведено ИИ.

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