Nani outlined his intention to give Melbourne Victory supporters "a beautiful night" as the derby against Melbourne City arrives on Saturday.
Portuguese winger Nani has experienced derbies in some of the world's great football cities, having played for Sporting CP, Manchester United, Lazio and Fenerbahce during an illustrious career.
Now an A-League derby awaits the 35-year-old, and he says the occasion will be comparable to his previous experiences of gunning for local bragging rights.
"A derby is a derby. You need to take it the way it is, you need to win," Nani said.
"Derbies are there to win, not to lose, because if you lose, it is the worst day of your life. You cannot go out. I don't feel in the mood to walk around, and you know you feel the shame.
"This is a moment of pride, so you want to give your fans a beautiful night, special feelings, and make them feel we are the best in the country."
Nani said hosts Victory will need to put in an almighty effort to earn all three points in front of a sell-out crowd at AAMI Park.
"We know it's a tough game," he said. "They are a strong opponent as well, so to win we need to give everything we've got and let's wait for the game and see what we can do."
Victory began the season with a 3-2 win over Sydney FC, before falling 1-0 to Western City Wanderers last week.
Last season saw Victory finish one point behind their neighbours, who topped the table in the regular season. Melbourne City then went on to lose to Western United in the Grand Final.
Melbourne City have begun this campaign with two wins, an early indication they should be challengers again.
Nani sees Victory as underdogs this weekend, saying Melbourne City "have a fantastic squad".
"I think probably they've been showing they're better than us on the field, the way they've been performing," Nani said. "So, it will be very tough for us. We need to be a compact team, we need to work very hard, and then try our best to beat them."
At the age of 35, Nani says he is putting in the hours to get in the best possible shape for his latest career challenge in Australia.
Asked if he might produce one of his famous backflips should he grab a derby goal, Nani said: "Yeah, why not? Let's see. I let the environment and the moment make the decision. So, what comes in the brain, we will do."
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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