THE BALL – «These are honest tears, with a lot of soul»: Ricardo Nascimento was already adored in Seoul and talks about the victory over Portugal (South Korea)
Ricardo Nascimento may have gone from being the most beloved Portuguese in Korea after Paulo Bento’s feat when he managed to seal the Asian team’s qualification for the round of 16 at the limit, precisely in a victory over Portugal, which also happened in 2002. The former midfielder , now 48 years old, and coach of Canedo, in the district of Aveiro, was a hero during his spell at FC Seoul between 2005 and 2007, earning an emotional farewell to the South Koreans, who saw him as an emotion in the championship in those years.
There were tears and an airport storm when he left, as well as chants that made him the most accomplished player in South Korea. Ricardo Nascimento did not lose this game, he followed closely and, even in the midst of a Portuguese defeat, he won the heart of victory and the overflowing joy of many friends.
“I was on the phone with a South Korean friend, really delirious. I just laughed…because he was euphoric scratching something in Portuguese. It was a lot of soul, a lot of wanting. A lot of good people do this, it was a supersonic victory for the Koreans », he praised, analyzing the match better.
«Portugal entered very strong with good ball circulation. Definitely Vitinha is a player who adds more. The team was organized for 20 minutes, then the Koreans gradually resisted to balance the game with very quick transitions and managed to tie before the break. They managed to organize themselves better for the 2nd half, which was almost equal to the beginning of the game. The difference was in the speed, Portugal entered better but with a slower circulation and the Koreans through their accelerations were trying to surprise. Thus, they scored the winning goal. I would like to highlight the good positional game he played, combined with such transitions», praises Ricardo Nascimento… surrendered to the celebrations for qualifying.
«But there is a lot of the soul of a people there. It’s amazing! It was honest tears that match joy that took the streets.
I was moved to see these festivities», confessed the former creative of Boavista and Rio Ave, who did not doubt the success of Portugal.
“They finished first, that’s the most important thing. They lost the game they could have lost, Portugal’s future in the competition looks very good to me», he highlighted.