‘Vasco are giants’ – Star praises club, dreams of call-up

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·14. Oktober 2025

‘Vasco are giants’ – Star praises club, dreams of call-up

The forward Nuno Moreira, one of the great standouts for Vasco this season, gave a lengthy interview to the Portuguese newspaper “A Bola”. The player spoke about his dream of playing for the Portuguese national team, praised the greatness of Cruz-Maltino—whom he compared to the giants of his country—and showered compliments on his teammates and coach Fernando Diniz.

+ Coutinho and Nuno Moreira become pillars for Diniz and lead Vasco’s marathon of matches

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Forward compares the club to the giants of Portugal

Trained at Sporting, Nuno stated that the scale and, especially, the pressure of playing for Vasco are very similar to playing for one of the big clubs in Portugal. He declared:

“It has the scale of the big clubs in Portugal. It has more fans (…) but the pressure at the club, from the inside out and from the outside in, is very similar (…). Vasco is huge, it’s used to fighting for titles.”

Vasco player dreams of the Portuguese national team

The good phase in Brazilian football, with eight goals and seven assists, makes Nuno Moreira dream of a chance with the Portuguese national team.

“It’s a goal, a dream. (…) I believe that coming here has helped me see that it really is a possible dream,” he said.

Praise for Diniz, Coutinho, Rayan, and Léo Jardim

The Portuguese forward also gave an internal analysis of the squad. He praised the work of Fernando Diniz, stating that all the players “have improved with him.” About Philippe Coutinho, he said it’s a “pleasure to play with him” and that he is a “truly different player.”

He also praised the potential of Rayan:

“He’s 19 years old and has a physical strength like I’ve never seen. (…) He will have a brilliant future.”

Finally, he described goalkeeper Léo Jardim as “the most professional player” he has seen at the club, stating that he deserves a chance with the Brazilian National Team.