The Futsal World Champions landed in Lisbon, met with some of their families among the crowd waiting at Umberto Delgado Airport, and traveled to Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras, where they were greeted by various elements of the team. Portuguese Football Federation, including Fernando Santos. After dinner, in scarves on their heads and in the tidiest shirts, Jorge Braz’s group went to the Belém Palace to be decorated by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

At the ceremony, the President of the Republic left an opening speech to Fernand Gomes, President of the Portuguese Football Federation. “He has been serving Portugal on this mission for almost ten years. And by a lucky coincidence, we won everything or almost everything. It is difficult to understand that we have not won, and it is more difficult to continue winning at such a speed, ”said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressing the players. “Some were already here in 2018 when they won in Europe. We were the best in Europe, we needed to be the best in the world. Today we are the best in the world. And you know how I say this over and over again, because some of our compatriots always lack self-esteem. I was very impressed because that’s what Jorge Braz said before the final. I said that we deserve to win because we are the best in the world. Testimony said. We deserve it. We deserved it and won, ”he added, then highlighting the features of futsal that Portugal has explored.

“Baby – an example of life”: the emotions of the only layman who became the world champion in restaurant management.

“Futsal is a very popular sport. Not in the sense of the one who observes, but in the sense of the one who practices it. It became very popular in a short time because it doesn’t have a 100-year history. All over the world there are girls and children, children and teenagers playing futsal, there are parents, grandparents who support them, friends, clubs and municipalities. Every Portuguese feels that there is additional motivation to practice this method. You feel like you have an opportunity and you cannot let it go. This is done by example, this is not a theory, this is not teaching, this is practice. Your victories motivate our children and youth. Then there is the second characteristic – creativity. It is a method that addresses creativity, and creativity can be learned, but it is either there or not. In this confined space, physically constrained, constrained by a set of rules, creativity is critical. More than in other sports, the difference is per second, per minute. And we are creative, we are talented, ”continued the President of the Republic, who also praised the work of the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, João Paulo Rebelo, and the Minister of Education, Thiago Brandao Rodrigues.

Later, Marcelo greeted Portuguese students who are in Lithuania under the Erasmus program and are constantly present in the stands of the national team matches. “It was not easy either in overtime or in penalties. And now you see the fiber. But this is also a picture of our history. We were preparing to win trials, but then they were won in decisive minutes or seconds. This was not possible without preparation, but preparation alone would not have been enough. Here you see the capacity for psychological resistance. The fact is that we have made history. Every Portuguese and every Portuguese knew your names one by one and depended on your state of mind, your intervention, every move, every stronger input of the opposing player. And we won “, said the president of the republic, who also left words to coach Jorge Braz before devoting a few minutes exclusively to Ricardinho.

“Everyone deserves it, but Ricardinho deserves it because he was already history. This was already in history, and we decided to leave it to go down in history for the last time. He has been ranked the best in the world so many times that his career has been made. The tendon didn’t help, and we all started discussing the Ricardinho tendon as a national issue. He is stubborn, will not miss this moment. And he made the right decision. For him, this is a special hug, which is not goodbye, this is goodbye. It is still there because it is another fundamental spirit of the Federation and this team: nobody is forgotten, nobody is thrown away. Still present. They may not be on the pitch, but they are on the bench, they are in the technical team, they belong to one whole, and this is a great lesson for Portugal, ”said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, opening the door to the continuity of the Portuguese captain’s career that he he himself neither confirmed nor denied.

Last tango Ricardinho, champion and MVP: “Six months ago I was in a hospital bed. This is the best day of my life. “

After the President of the Republic and after everyone, between the technical team and the players, received the corresponding awards, Ricardinho also took the position of the group representative. Without cheating, after addressing Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and apologizing for dedicating the entire speech to his colleagues, he made short but very emotional sentences. “I am speechless, but more than ever, I will be the representative of this team. It is with great pride that we are here again to be adorned after conquering the world. Thank you for everything that you give to our country. Being your captain is pride, but, as everyone understands, leadership is shared by everyone, we are all captains. You are and will be an example for thousands of children. Here we were already called geniuses, but for me we wrote the name of Portugal in golden letters on the most beautiful page in the history of futsal. You are historical “, shot by Ricardinho.

Fernando Gomes also took the floor in front of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Ricardinho at the beginning of the ceremony. The President of the Portuguese Football Federation announced that the 3rd stage of Cidade do Futebol, where the pavilion of national futsal teams will be built, will begin in early 2022, and underlined the scale of the feat achieved in Lithuania. “We often say that nothing we have achieved is more important than what has not yet been achieved. We all work under this motto. Winning a truly global world championship in sports, in which more than 150 countries practice it, is a feat that will take time to realize. It is a feat that starts with mothers and fathers encouraging their children to play sports. Follow the clubs where the lights are on until late at night for boys and girls to play sports. This country will live more moments like yesterday, only if it has the humility instead of looking up at the sky when it wins, first look at how to expand our base, ”said Fernando Gomes.

It was a magician’s dream, and it came true after his successor gave an encore (chronicle of Portugal’s world title).

“Mr. President, I have brought you here European beach soccer champions, world beach soccer champions, European soccer champions, European futsal champions, champions of the Football League of Nations. They are now world futsal champions. This group of champions has built one of the greatest achievements ever achieved by Portuguese team sports. I meet them one at a time, as well as their coaches and many club officials. I know that, in addition to the pride that everyone feels, there is a responsibility to be eternal ambassadors for every boy and every girl who yesterday asked their parents to do this sport, ”concluded the President of the Federation.