Ricardo Nascimento may have ceased to be the most beloved Portuguese in Korea after the feat of Paulo Bento, when he managed to seal the Asian team’s advance to the 1/8 finals at the limit, namely in a victory over Portugal, which also happened in 2002. The midfielder, now 48 and coach of Canedo from Aveiro District, was a hero during his time at Seoul from 2005 to 2007, earning an emotional farewell to the South Koreans who saw him as the deity of the championship. in those years.
When he left, there were tears and a storm at the airport, as well as chants that made him the most experienced player in South Korea. Ricardo Nascimento did not lose this game, he followed it closely and even in the midst of the defeat of the Portuguese managed to warm his heart with the success and joy of many friends that overwhelmed him.
“I was on the phone with a South Korean friend, really delirious. I just laughed… because he was scribbling in Portuguese in euphoria. There was a lot of soul, a lot of desires. So many good people do, it was a supersonic win for the Koreans,” he praised, better analyzing the match.
“Portugal came out 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 began to balance the game with very fast transitions and managed to level the score before the break. They managed to organize better for the 2nd half, which was almost equal to the beginning of the game. The difference was in speed, Portugal went better, but with slower circulation, and the Koreans tried to surprise with their accelerations. Thus, they scored the winning goal. I note their good positional play combined with such transitions,” praises Ricardo Nascimento… surrendered to the qualification celebration.
“But there is a lot of the soul of the people. This is amazing! These were sincere tears that matched the joy that swept the streets.
I was touched to see these holidays,” said the former creative of Boavista and Rio Ave, who has no doubts about 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 tournament seems very good to me,” he stressed.
