Ex-Benfica midfielder was king at Hearts: I miss the club | OneFootball

Bruno Aguiar recalled the days when he wore the Hearts shirt, Benfica’s opponent this Thursday, August 13, in the Europa League. “It’s already been 20 years!” remembers the former player, who swapped the Luz for Edinburgh in January 2006.

Having won the title with Benfica the previous season under Giovanni Trapattoni, Bruno Aguiar moved to Hearts after losing his place in the Eagles’ squad. The arrival of Ronald Koeman at the club and an injury at the start of the 2005/06 season limited his playing time, opening the door to a move to Scotland.

“I once played against Celtic when I was still a junior, and the Hearts coach at the time saw me play in that match. On top of that, my agent knew the Hearts president, and things fell into place,” the former midfielder told the newspaper Record.

Now, two decades later, Bruno Aguiar is preparing to watch from the stands the clash between Hearts and Benfica, the two clubs he holds especially dear. “It was a mix of emotions when I saw the draw. It’s always good to see these two great clubs again; the downside is that one of them will be knocked out.”

Bruno Aguiar quickly fell in love with the club and the way the fans live football: “It’s a fantastic club, the fans are very close to the team. They support them until the very last minute, it’s a very different mentality. I miss the club.”

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