Armando Pinto: “I couldn’t read yet, but I’d scan papers just for FC Porto” | OneFootball

The 39th Dragões de Ouro Gala is approaching and once again puts Futebol Clube do Porto’s Members at the heart of the decision. The online vote will choose the winners in the Member, Footballer, and Indoor Sports Athlete categories, each with four nominees. Votes can be cast until 11 a.m. on September 29, 2026.

The ceremony is scheduled for October 7, starting at 9 p.m., at the Super Bock Arena. Among stories of dedication to the club, football figures, and indoor sports standouts, Futebol Clube do Porto presents a group of candidates spanning different generations and different ways of living the blue-and-white universe.

In the Member category, the four nominees stand out for different paths, united by constant presence and their connection to FC Porto. Memory, the road, the stands, and a lifetime of devotion all come together in this choice.

Armando Pinto, Member 4350 A, counts preserving FC Porto’s history among his greatest passions. A deep expert on the club’s past, he has been the author of the “Memória Porto” blog since 2012, where he shares moments, personalities, and images from blue-and-white life, and has also contributed voluntarily to the newspaper “O Porto” and the magazine “Mundo Azul.”

“I still didn’t know how to read, and I was already looking at newspapers just to see FC Porto,” he says.

Tomané, Member 8842, is a well-known figure in supporting the club’s teams. A regular presence at football and indoor sports matches, he follows FC Porto at home, away, and in international competitions.

“Since 1982 I’ve watched FC Porto all over Portugal, and since 1986 all over the world. FC Porto day is everything,” he says.

Luísa Novais, Member 40160, has made constant support her personal hallmark. She is present at home, away, and international matches, has a 100 percent attendance record at the women’s team’s games, and balances that passion with her work as a university professor at FEUP and the University of Minho.

“There is nothing I identify with more than FC Porto,” she admits.

Maria José Carvalho, Member 44075, at 82 years old still maintains a regular connection with the Dragão Stadium, where she holds a season ticket. She goes alone, but finds a true stadium family among the fans in the nearby seats, after having lived through the days of following football by radio.

“FC Porto is my second family. Being a Porto supporter is something very special,” she says.

The four journeys shape a category where belonging cannot be measured in just one way. Between preserving memory and unconditional presence, the decision will rest with the Members.

In football, the list brings together Jan Bednarek, Victor Froholdt, Jakub Kiwior, and William Gomes. Leadership, defensive consistency, energy, and decisiveness support the four candidacies for Footballer of the Year.

Jan Bednarek arrived at FC Porto in 2025 and quickly embraced the blue-and-white culture and identity. A leader on the pitch, he was voted Defender of the Month six times over the season and scored the “title-winning goal.”

Victor Froholdt was named Best Player and Best Young Player of the 2025/26 League. Tireless and combative, he established himself as one of the team’s leading figures, adding important goals to the energy with which he won over the stands.

Jakub Kiwior completed the “Polish wall” built in front of Porto’s goal. His place in the League’s Team of the Year matched his rapid rise as a key part of the team, marked by class and quality.

William Gomes, in his first full season in Portugal, established himself as one of the group’s standout players. He scored 13 goals, finished as the squad’s second-highest scorer, and saw his strike at Alvalade, in the 2-1 win, voted the League’s Goal of the Year.

The football vote pits protagonists with different kinds of impact against one another, from defensive solidity to creativity in the final third. What they share is the recognized weight all four carried in the team’s journey.

In the Indoor Sports category, the nominees represent handball, basketball, roller hockey, and volleyball. Rui Silva, Tanner Omlid, Gonçalo Alves, and Natalia Paszkowska go into the vote after seasons marked by longevity, titles, and breakthrough performances.

Rui Silva is a reference point in handball and at FC Porto. In 2025/26, in his 12th season in blue and white, he reached the milestone of 500 matches for the club, adding that mark to the Dragão de Ouro he won in 2021.

Tanner Omlid was one of the major figures in the basketball title triumph, which had eluded FC Porto since 2016. In his fourth season serving the club, he strengthened his bond with the fans through a combative style of play.

Gonçalo Alves, winner of a Dragão de Ouro in 2022, was the captain who lifted the fourth Champions League title in the history of FC Porto roller hockey. The goals, many of them spectacularly executed, remain the most recognized expression of his game.

Natalia Paszkowska made an immediate impact in volleyball. In her very first year at FC Porto, she stood out among the main figures of the team that won the National Championship and the Portuguese Cup.

The final category brings together a long-standing reference, two protagonists of collective triumphs, and an athlete with immediate impact. It is this contrast between continuity and novelty that the Members will have to resolve in the vote for the 2026 Dragões de Ouro.

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