Pedro’s mother was still in Cuba, and she stayed there for a while until she finally joined the rest of the family a few months ago.… And the homesickness intensified … “Several times those closest to him saw him crying when he found out that the domestic dog in Cuba, the husky, had died,” says Ana Oliveira. In Portugal he had a dog again, a king.
Family is a key concept that defines the personality of Pedro Pablo Pichardo, a highly competitive athlete and true “patriarch” of his clan. “This is the most important thing in your life,” guarantees the director Benfica Olímpico. “Pedro is a very purposeful person, very smart, very restrained. He does not have an intense social life, he lives a lot for his daughter, his wife, father, mother … this is understandable, I see this in many leading athletes, in the enormous attention to his work and his inner family. … In addition, things have become more complicated in our time of pandemic. “
But no man is an island, and there is a person outside the family circle to whom Pedro Pichardo opens his heart. “It’s like a brother. I have three brothers, he is just another one, ”explains 52-year-old Jose Pereira, head of the sports department of the municipality of Setubal, physical education teacher and football coach.… “It’s a privilege and pride to be friends with Pedro. If I could do more for him, I would do it, but he doesn’t need … “
