Jardel: “I have two Portuguese sons, one supports Benfica, the other Porto” | OneFootball

Many years have passed, but few have matched Jardel's numbers in Portuguese football: 239 goals in 251 games for FC Porto, Sporting, and Beira-Mar.

«At FC Porto, I saw that the ball would come, and I stayed calm, I just said ‘put the ball in the area, and I'll take care of it’. And it came with Capucho, Drulovic, Sérgio Conceição. I was born to score goals, not to play well. When people on the street tell me ‘you played a lot’, I say ‘the ones who played a lot were Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Deco’. I scored goals», he notes to Sem Filtros, a podcast by Liga Portugal.

«The stadiums where I most liked to score goals were, obviously, Estádio do Dragão and Estádio José Alvalade. FC Porto and Sporting are like two children to me», he says. The forward admits that when he thinks of Portugal, his first memories are the four years serving FC Porto.

His record includes four national championships, three Portuguese Cups, and four Super Cups, and at 52 years old, he continues to fuel the rivalry.

«I also liked scoring at Estádio da Luz, just so Benfica fans wouldn't be too sad», he says, laughing. It's certain that, he recalls, he was «close to wearing the Benfica jersey twice», once before signing with FC Porto in 1996 and then in 2000, when he was an electoral promise of Manuel Vilarinho.

«When I go to Portugal, I receive a lot of affection, and here in Fortaleza, there are many Portuguese. Portugal is a home to me, I have two Portuguese children, who were born in Porto – one a Benfica fan and one a Porto fan (laughs). (…) Even Benfica fans show me affection on the street», he says.

During the conversation, Jardel also mentions his experience in Turkey, playing for Galatasaray [in 2000, between FC Porto and Sporting].

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.