Interview 5 August 2025

Rui Mota: We expect a tough match against Ferencvaros

Ludogorets coach Rui Mota believes his team has the tools to defeat Ferencvaros, led by Irish legend Robbie Keane. “We’re very excited about the...

Ludogorets coach Rui Mota believes his team has the tools to defeat Ferencvaros, led by Irish legend Robbie Keane.

“We’re very excited about the upcoming match – it’s a very important one. We’ve analyzed the opponent and we’re expecting a tough game. We’ll have our fans with us. The boys are very motivated. We hope to show what we’ve been working on over the past week,” Mota began.

“We hope to perform better than we did at the start of our European campaign. A few weeks have passed since then. We know the players better now, and they know us better – hopefully we can show that progress. Every match is different. All games at this level are difficult. It’s always tough to play in these types of qualifiers,” Mota continued.

“Ferencvaros has many foreign players and a good coach. With every game, we’re looking better, and we have our own strengths. Robbie Keane is a big legend – he’s been coaching for seven years now and has already won trophies. He gets his team to play the way he wants, and he has good players,” the Portuguese coach added.

“We’ve done our analysis – now we have to apply our game. A big part of football is mindset – the ability to shift from the domestic league to European competitions. What matters to us is that we’re managing to win both domestically and in Europe.”

Mota also provided an update on player fitness:

“We’re working on player recovery. Aguibou Camara is almost ready, and Kwadwo Duah is also improving. We need to be cautious with injured players – we need every single one. We’re happy to have some new additions to the squad. I’ll have more options to choose from,” Mota revealed.

As for his 6 out of 6 record in qualifiers as coach of Noah and now Ludogorets, the Portuguese said:

“Hard work and good players – that’s the strategy. These are just numbers. Football is about the present, I don’t look back. Every match creates a new story, and I hope tomorrow we apply everything we’ve learned,” Mota concluded.


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Press conference before Ferencvaros
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