Assistant coach Carlos Simões spoke to the media on Thursday after Torreense surprise Europa League win away to Lillestrøm. The reason? Luís Tralhão, head coach of the Portuguese second-tier side, does not hold the required UEFA Pro Licence. “Luís should really have been standing here.”
Torreense make Europa League history with stunning Lillestrom win
Torreense produced one of the most remarkable results in their history on Thursday night by beating Lillestrøm 2-1 away from home in the Europa League, giving the Portuguese second-tier side a dream start to the league phase of the competition. Lillestrøm were themselves making their debut at this level of European football, but by the end of the evening almost all of the attention had shifted towards their visitors. Torreense arrived in Norway sitting 14th in Liga 2 and without the profile normally associated with clubs competing in the Europa League, yet they left with three points and a result that assistant coach Carlos Simões immediately described as historic. “We made history,” he told DAZN after a night that added another extraordinary chapter to a period of rapid progress for the club.
The victory was significant not only because of the opposition or the setting, but because of the contrast between Torreense domestic position and what they managed to achieve in Europe. A club currently competing in Portugal second division went away from home in the Europa League and delivered what Simões described as an almost perfect performance. For a team still adjusting to the demands of European competition, starting the campaign with an away victory represented considerably more than three points. It provided evidence that Torreense are not prepared to treat their presence in the competition simply as a reward for last season success. The message from the coaching staff afterwards was that the club intend to compete, even if nobody inside Torreense is allowing one exceptional night to change the way they approach the season.
Tralhao leads the team but cannot face the media
There was also an unusual situation surrounding the post-match press duties. Luís Tralhão remains the head coach responsible for Torreense sporting project and was the man who guided the club to Portuguese Cup glory last season, the achievement that ultimately secured their place in the Europa League. However, Tralhão does not hold the UEFA Pro Licence required to fulfil all of the formal responsibilities attached to coaching in European competition. As a result, assistant coach Carlos Simões had to appear before the media after the victory, even though he was quick to make clear that he felt the man normally in charge should have been the one receiving the attention.
“He really should have been standing here. Given everything he does, he deserves that,” Simões said, paying tribute to Tralhão contribution to the club progress. The situation is particularly notable because Tralhão did attempt to obtain the qualification. He applied for the Portuguese UEFA Pro course for the 2025/26 season but was not admitted. The Portuguese Football Federation published the list of applicants and the Torreense coach was ranked 29th, while only 20 places were available. Even on the waiting list, there were still eight candidates ahead of him. It has created an unusual contrast in which a coach capable of winning a major domestic trophy and taking a second-tier club into European competition is still prevented from carrying out certain official duties because he does not possess the required licence.
That administrative limitation has not altered his role inside the club. Tralhão continues to prepare the team, make the major sporting decisions and lead Torreense from the technical area, while Simões assumes some of the responsibilities that regulations prevent the head coach from performing. Thursday night made that arrangement particularly visible because one of the greatest results in the club recent history ended with Tralhão absent from the post-match media area and his assistant explaining both the significance of the victory and the work that had made it possible.
An almost perfect European performance
For Simões, however, the night belonged above all to the players. His reaction reflected both the scale of the result and the level of the performance required to achieve it. “We played an almost perfect match, the players were incredible,” he said. “This is their victory and also a victory for our supporters and for Portugal. Sometimes words are not enough.” For a side competing outside the Portuguese top flight, taking on an established Scandinavian opponent away from home represented an obvious step up in terms of stage, pressure and attention. Torreense nevertheless responded with the discipline and belief required to turn their European debut into a victory.
That sense of occasion was evident in Simões choice of words. He did not present the result simply as a successful tactical plan or a good night for a group of players. Instead, he placed it within the wider story of the club, its supporters and Portuguese football. Torreense path to the Europa League had already been extraordinary because it was built on last season Portuguese Cup triumph, but winning on their first night in the league phase immediately gave the adventure another dimension. For supporters who had watched the club operate far away from this level for much of its history, seeing Torreense win a Europa League match abroad represented the sort of moment that becomes part of the club identity.
The fact that the team are currently only 14th in Liga 2 makes the contrast even sharper. European nights can sometimes transform the atmosphere around a club, but Simões was determined not to let that happen at the expense of domestic responsibilities. Torreense may now have a famous European result to celebrate, yet their league position ensures there is little room for complacency. The staff therefore allowed themselves a limited period of celebration before immediately turning the focus back towards the next challenge.
Twelve hours to celebrate
“We are taking it game by game, but we do not want to stop here,” Simões explained. “First, we are going to enjoy this moment and celebrate because the players deserve it. We have twelve hours to celebrate, and tomorrow morning we have to get back to work. From then on, our focus will be on the next Liga 2 match.” The comment summed up the balance Torreense are trying to maintain. There was no attempt to downplay the importance of what had just happened, and the players were encouraged to enjoy a night they had earned, but the coaching staff were equally clear that European success cannot distract from the demands of the domestic season.
The phrase “twelve hours to celebrate” also captured the professional mentality behind the result. Torreense are experiencing something new, but their staff do not want the novelty of European football to become an excuse for losing focus elsewhere. Their current league position means every domestic fixture matters, and the challenge is now to transfer the confidence generated in Norway into the Liga 2 campaign. European football may provide the glamour and historic occasions, but maintaining stability at home remains fundamental to the club broader development.
Tondela next before another historic night
Torreense do at least have time to recover before returning to domestic action. Their away match against Tondela will only take place after the international break, giving Tralhão and his staff an opportunity to manage the physical and emotional consequences of the European trip. That fixture will immediately test the message Simões delivered after the win, because the club must quickly switch from the excitement of the Europa League back to the very different demands of Portugal second tier.
Five days after facing Tondela, another landmark occasion will arrive when Sunderland visit for what will be Torreense first European home match in their history. The significance of that fixture is obvious. A team that only recently earned its way into the competition through an extraordinary domestic cup run will welcome English opposition in a competitive European match, with the opportunity to build on the victory in Norway. The atmosphere around that occasion is likely to be very different from a normal Liga 2 night, but the coaching staff message is unlikely to change: enjoy the moment, compete seriously and avoid looking too far ahead.
Tralhão will once again be the man coaching the team, but because of the UEFA Pro Licence requirement, Simões is expected to continue carrying out the formal media responsibilities afterwards. It is a curious detail in a story already full of unusual elements: a coach who won a domestic cup and took a second-division team into Europe cannot appear in all of the official roles normally associated with the position, while his assistant is the public voice after the biggest nights. Simões, however, has made clear that nobody inside Torreense is confused about where the sporting credit belongs.
A night that changes Torreense European story
The victory over Lillestrøm does not guarantee anything about how far Torreense can go in the Europa League, and Simões was careful not to make grand predictions. What it does guarantee is that the club first experience of the competition will already be remembered for a historic away win. Torreense have gone from Portuguese Cup winners to Europa League participants and now to European match winners in a remarkably short period, all while continuing to compete in the second tier domestically.
That unusual combination makes their campaign one of the more distinctive stories in the competition. They do not have the resources or recent European experience of many of their rivals, yet their first result showed that those differences do not automatically decide matches. Tralhão work has already taken the club somewhere few would have expected, and the victory in Norway suggests the players are prepared to embrace rather than fear the level of competition they now face.
For one night, at least, Simões was happy to let the scale of the achievement sink in. The players had produced what he called an almost perfect performance, the supporters had been given a night to remember and Torreense had earned a victory for themselves and, in his words, for Portugal as well. But the celebrations came with a clear deadline. After twelve hours, attention would return to work, Liga 2 and the next step in a season that has already taken the club further than almost anyone could have imagined.
