2023-08-25 13:16:49
«We took the Estrada Nacional de Chaves to Vila Real. We went up the Marão, curve after curve, and descended to Amarante. There we took the A4 to Porto and then the A1 to Lisbon. Then we did a part on the A2 and then on secondary roads until close to Faro. In 12 hours, with one or two stops, we were there.»
Tarmac, 700 endless kilometers, a little more with the detours imposed by the uncivilized 80s and 90s. Other times, other means of communication, two worlds separating Trás-os-Montes and Algarve.
To the north, the home of Grupo Desportivo de Chaves.
To the south, the territory of Sporting Clube Farense.
q Paco Fortes, our mythical coach, got up and put pressure on the driver. Gave him money for the man to speed through the dark night
Carlos Costa, historic footballer from Farense
On Saturday, 25 years after the last match at the highest level, the northerners will again cross the Portuguese map from top to bottom, to enter São Luís farense at 6 pm. Eye to eye, the two geographically most distant teams in the I Liga. A
The first paragraph of the article belongs to Manuel Correia. Third man with more official games for the flavienses (236), behind only Paulo Alexandre e Davidseven consecutive seasons of blue and grená, trips and more trips to Faro from 1989 to 1996.
The Algarve version does not differ much.
«The worst was in the winter and in the games at night. We did Chaves-Faro during the night and were home at eight in the morning. I remember getting off the bus and going to the café door, waiting for it to open so I could eat some toast and drink a gallon. Only then would I go to sleep.»
the memories of Carlos Costasecond man on the list of most appearances for Farense (272, only beaten by Hajri), do not lead anyone astray. An endless odyssey, a ticket with an obligatory passage through purgatory, hell for the legs, heads and brakes of the ancient buses.
«Some wanted to get home faster, others were afraid and asked the driver to slow down», he laughs Carlos Costatoday an employee of the Municipality of Faro and operational assistant at a secondary school, in conversation with the zerozero.
«O Paco Fortes, our mythical coach, got up and pressed the driver. Gave him money for the man to speed through the dark night. Others, more moderate, were angry with him. I remember the That’s itwho came from FC Porto and had more sense, shouting: ‘You’re crazy, I have kids to raise!’»
2023, another reality. In the Portuguese design, Chaves and Faro remain immobile, at the same cardinal point, but the landscape that unites them has nothing to do.
«Now, the team enters Chaves on the motorway and only leaves in Faro. Not to mention the comfort of the club car», adds Manuel Correiaaway from football since 2019, the year he coaches Oriental Dragon.
Arriving in Chaves and seeing «frost everywhere»
Inhabitants of the highest echelon in their own right, venerable representatives of beautiful regions in the Lusitanian scene, Chaves and Farense total 40 participations in the I Liga: 16 for the flavienses, 24 for the lions of Faro.
The last double combat on the big stage is already a quarter of a century old. 98/99 season, 2-1 for the Algarvians in São Luís (goals by Gouveia and Carlos Costa, our guest, for the home team and a response by Jesús Seba, current assistant to Roberto Martinez, for the northerners) and a madness of 4-4 for the Marão, in the second round.
From then on, only duels in the second tier and in the cups. Not the same taste. And without the same distances as before.
«When we went to Faro it was an adventure», confirms Manuel Correia, an elegant centre-back, inseparable from the unrepeatable chrome moustache, the trusted man of several coaches in Chaves.
«We left Chaves very early, on the eve of the games, to go to the Algarve for dinner and sleep. There were no plane trips, nor perks of that kind, it was what was possible», he says, in a tone of good nostalgia.
Between «card games, naps, reading and films on VHS cassettes», the 12 hours pass there, «always without accidents», but with unforgettable episodes.
«Once we were stopped by a GNR brigade. We thought that we were going to be fined, or that there would be a bus search, but no. There were just two policemen from Trás-os-Montes, who were far from home, and when they saw the Desportivo de Chaves truck, they wanted to say hello to the crowd.»
Lunches «in Pombal or Vila Franca de Xira» are also part of the menu of memories, thanks to «games at the table», sometimes with «a glass of wine on the sly».
«Good days», sums up Manuel Correia. «The worst thing was the return. The game ended late in Faro and we were still on our way. I have a clear image of arriving in Chaves and seeing frost everywhere, us getting off the bus and many people already awake to go to work. It was tough, especially when we lost.»
Results then. History tells us that the home factor and punishing hours are decisive in this balance.
In Faro, seven wins for Farense, two for Desportivo and two draws.
In Chaves, four Flavian triumphs, six draws and one victory from the Algarve.
«Often we go too fast»
Breakneck speed. On the pitch, on the bench and in the driver’s ear. This is how Paco Fortes is, even more so in the words of Carlos Costa.
«We never had any accidents, but many times we went at excessive speed, in a hurry to reach the Algarve», tells the multipurpose history, competent both in the center of defense and in the ‘9’ position.
There are no more players like that.
«I have those trips in my head, the deserted road, the night coming in through the window. It was different, physically violent, we stayed until Wednesday recovering from those trips to Chaves», reports Carlos Costa.
Another football. A football without pampering, stripped of comfort. Spartan. «Any tourist bus of today is more comfortable than the Farense bus in the 90s.
Matchday 3 of Liga 23/24, reissue of Farense-Desp. Chaves, old acquaintances and two clubs with a UEFA visa in their passport.
Remember? The Algarve have two games against Lyon in the 95/96 UEFA Cup (two 0-1 defeats) and Chaves four games in the same competition in 87/88 (defeat in Craiova by 3-2 and victory over the Romanians by 2-1 in Chaves; two defeats against Honved, 2-1 e 3-1).
Kilometers of stories.
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