“It's the happiest day of my sporting life”, says Fernando Cardinal | OneFootball

Fernando Cardinal was introduced as captain of FC Porto’s futsal team, in a moment that the 41-year-old pivot places at the very top of his sporting life. On the court at Dragão Arena, he spoke about the responsibility of the armband, the ambition to earn promotion to the Second Division right away, and a connection to the club that began long before he ever stepped onto the court. Emotional, he summed up the impact of the day and assured: “There are no words for this moment.”

Porto’s new number 7 arrives as one of the pioneers of a new sport within the Club, carrying a personal story built on Porto devotion, futsal and persistence. Fernando Cardinal presented himself with a message that ran through the entire conversation: the pride of wearing blue and white does not lessen the demand to live up to the shirt.

The first impact of the presentation was openly emotional. Cardinal did not hide that the fulfilment of this moment goes beyond any expectation he might have nurtured throughout his career.

“It’s an indescribable feeling. This is, without a doubt, the happiest day of my sporting life,” he said. “I’m very emotional, very happy, I feel a pride that barely fits in my chest. I feel privileged to wear this shirt and to represent the club of my heart, to be one of the pioneers in this sport, and I can’t wait to start training.”

The captain once again placed this moment above all the others he has lived in futsal. The FC Porto shirt, he explained, gives the moment a different dimension.

“This is the best moment of my career, without any doubt. It’s right at the top. This moment surpasses all the others, because wearing the FC Porto shirt and representing the club of my heart is a completely different feeling,” he described. “That’s the feeling I’m living right now, I’m speechless. I’m on cloud nine. Emotionally, I’m in the best phase of my career. I’m truly very happy and I can only thank FC Porto for the opportunity.”

It was not just a presentation, but the fulfilment of a long-held wish. Cardinal’s emotion comes precisely from that meeting point between a long career and the club he has always followed.

The day began with the anxiety of someone waiting for a signature and everything it represents. After the medical tests, the priority quickly shifted to work.

“When I woke up this morning, I felt anxious for the moment of signing the contract, appearing on the Club’s social media, doing the medical tests and, thank God, everything went well,” he explained. “Now the most important thing is to start training so I can prepare well enough to live up to this Club, as always. Today is a special day and I’m going to sleep wearing the shirt.”

The eagerness to begin does not hide the symbolic weight of every detail. Even the chosen number carries a particular memory from his international career.

“I’ve always liked the number 9 and I played many years with it. The first time I went to the national team, in my first international call-up, I was number 7. That was a very special moment and I always played with number 7 for the national team, so I started to like number 7,” he said. “Here I’m going to continue with number 7, which I like very much.”

Number 7 will therefore be the visible sign of personal continuity in an entirely new chapter. But the deepest novelty lies in the very creation of an FC Porto senior futsal team.

Cardinal recalled that for years he heard about the possibility of the Club entering the sport, without the project ever moving forward. He even lost hope, but now sees this moment as an opportunity he also considers important for Portuguese futsal.

“I never imagined this, because FC Porto didn’t have futsal. People talked about it year after year, but it never moved forward and I ended up losing hope. I kept working, I played for many clubs, I went through the best leagues in the world, many countries and different cultures,” he acknowledged. “And, honestly, I had lost hope of being here today, but since God is great and wonderful, He gave me the opportunity to be here. I want to thank the FC Porto Board for opening this sport, a very important move for the Club and for Portuguese futsal. Even at European level. For a Club with FC Porto’s history, it is important to have futsal.”

For the pivot, the creation of the team is an answer to an absence that for a long time seemed definitive. And it is also the chance to bring onto the court a family feeling built since childhood.

Cardinal’s Porto devotion was passed on to him by his parents and is tied to the first images he remembers of FC Porto. Speaking about that path, he paid tribute to his family.

“It was my parents who passed Porto devotion on to me. It’s a very strong feeling. My family were always Porto supporters, my father played here and my first images of FC Porto are of going to the stadium with him,” he recalled. “I know they are up there watching. My father, my mother and my brother are proud, absolutely certain, that I am living this moment and fulfilling my dream.”

His memories of the club are therefore linked to a childhood spent in the stands and to celebrations that remained engraved in him.

“I remember going with my father to the Estádio das Antas, I stood in the stands with him. I remember being at the swimming pool and my mother coming to get me and saying that we were champions. We became champions at Luz, Timofte scored a goal, and we went to celebrate,” he said. “Those are the images I keep in my memory.”

That connection did not remain stuck in the past. Cardinal describes himself as someone who followed FC Porto through its great triumphs and intends to continue doing so whenever his commitments as a player allow.

“I’ve always been passionate about FC Porto. I don’t think I need to say much… it has been obvious throughout my whole life. For many years I followed FC Porto in many triumphs. The greatest joys of my life were given to me by FC Porto,” he stressed. “I was at the Champions League final, the UEFA Cup final and the Europa League final. I was present at FC Porto’s greatest triumphs, I always followed the Club and I will continue to follow it when I don’t have training or matches, because I can’t skip training to go watch FC Porto. If it’s a European competition, I’ll talk to the Board and the coach so they can give me permission. That’s easier.”

The new captain therefore speaks of moving from the stands to the court without giving up a fan’s perspective. The Club’s sports sections are part of that relationship, now reinforced by his move into futsal.

“I follow the Club’s sports, last season I was here watching the roller hockey match against Sporting and now I will certainly follow them much more,” he said.

It is at Dragão Arena that Cardinal is already picturing the scene he would like to find. His imagination is full of goals, a packed arena and a concentration that will have to withstand the emotion.

“I can only imagine the arena full at a futsal match with me scoring lots of goals. It will be difficult not to sing during the match, but I have to control my emotions well and stay focused,” he admitted.

His enthusiasm does not take him away from high standards. At 41, Cardinal says he feels ready for the challenge and points to physical care as one of the reasons he is still playing.

“I still feel ready and physically well, that’s why I’ve never announced the end of my career. One thing would be if my body no longer allowed it, but as long as I’m ready and my body holds up, I’ll stay calm,” he assured.

Asked about his age, he replied with confidence in his abilities and in the tests he had undergone. Even so, he distinguished gym work from the specific demands of futsal.

“I usually say that age is just a number. I know my abilities, I know what I’m capable of and I’m physically well. The tests proved that I’m in great shape. I have a good heart, the doctor said he hadn’t seen a heart like this in a long time,” he explained. “I’m very happy and I’ve always taken great care of myself, but a gym session is different from a futsal training session. But I’m going to prepare myself to the fullest, I know I’m capable and I know I will live up to it.”

That physical confidence goes hand in hand with a competitive profile with no middle ground. Cardinal identifies ambition, goals and a refusal to give up as the traits he wants to place at FC Porto’s service.

“I’m a very ambitious player, I score a lot of goals and I never give up on a play. I have a lot of grit and I never quit, and I think that fits perfectly with our Club,” he defined.

That idea of commitment extends to the way he sees every match. For the pivot, the shirt demands the pursuit of victory, regardless of the scoreline.

“Commitment. We have a commitment to the Club and we have to take care of everything until the very end. Whether it’s 0-0 or we’re winning, we have to be ambitious and always want more,” he summed up. “We know no one wins all the time, but we always have to fight to win.”

Before reaching this moment, Cardinal also carried the mark of Bairro do Aleixo, where he was born and raised. He speaks about that place with pride, nostalgia and awareness of everything he lived there.

“That neighbourhood taught me a lot. If I am who I am today, I can say that I learned a lot there. I lived many things there, the happiest and saddest moments of my life. It made me grow through everything I went through, through what I saw,” he recalled. “It’s an enormous pride to have been born and raised in Bairro do Aleixo, it will always stay in my memory. Unfortunately it no longer exists today, much to my regret, but I was very happy there.”

According to him, his path in futsal was a choice sustained by his passion for the sport, his grandmother and his siblings. It is a journey he presents as the result of guidance and work.

“I usually say that God guided me down the right paths. Everyone knew Bairro do Aleixo and knows what happened there. I lost my parents very young, and my grandmother took care of me. I always had a passion for futsal, I started training at Miramar and they really liked me,” he explained. “I continued in futsal and still had my friends. Whatever my friends did, I was with them, but I had no problems with that and they would never stop being my friends. Whatever they did, to me everything was always fine. What mattered was that I knew what I had to do and the path I had to follow if I wanted to be someone in life. Thank God, He guided me with the help of my grandmother and my siblings.”

Aleixo is still present, even after the towers disappeared. Cardinal still passes by there and makes a point of showing his children the place where he was born.

“It never left me, I pass by there many times. I showed my children, the younger ones, where I was born and raised. I’ve shown them videos and I’ve taken photos there,” he said. “Now the towers are gone and when I pass by it’s a very difficult moment, a huge nostalgia. I start remembering things from the past, reliving happy moments I lived there. The school that no longer exists, the field that no longer exists… I pass by with great sadness, but I always make a point of going there.”

He believes competitive longevity does not happen by chance. Cardinal left a message aimed at younger players, centred on nutrition, rest and the desire to train.

“Getting to the top is not difficult, the difficult part is staying there. At 41 I feel very well, but it’s all the result of my work over many years. My diet, my rest, my desire to train. That isn’t easy,” he analysed. “Nowadays, more and more, I think young people aren’t prepared, but they should be, to give longevity to their bodies. If they want to play for many years, they have to prepare themselves. Above all in nutrition, rest and training. If I’m here at 41, it’s all the result of my work.”

His career has also left him with matches and goals he keeps as special memories. Among the episodes he recalled were moments with the national team, with ElPozo Murcia and in play-off finals.

“There are many, some were special. I can give the example of one at the World Cup in Colombia. We were losing 1-0 against Colombia, I equalised in the last second with 15,000 people in the stands. It was a unique moment to score in the last second at the World Cup for the national team,” he remembered. “At ElPozo Murcia we qualified for a final when I scored a goal in the last second. When I won my first Champions…”

As for his favourite goals, he did not choose just one. He preferred to leave a collection of references that helps explain the weight of the memories he has built up.

“That’s more difficult, because there were many. For the national team, we played a friendly against France, I really liked that goal. Against Brazil, also for the national team,” he said. “Then, in the play-off finals against Benfica, I liked the goals I scored at Luz. I have many special goals.”

The armband is the new symbol of the responsibility he takes on at FC Porto. Cardinal says he is ready, but refuses to reduce leadership to a sign worn on the arm.

“It’s a huge pride and a huge responsibility. I was very proud when I received the armband and I felt enormous satisfaction. I’m prepared for this responsibility. Honestly, I think it makes perfect sense. It’s a pride to be the first captain of FC Porto futsal,” he assured. “It’s an enormous pride and I’m ready for this moment. But I don’t need the armband to be captain, a captain is made by example. I prefer to lead by example rather than demand things from my teammates. That’s the way I’ll go.”

He explained that leadership will be built on equality and mutual help. Experience is a resource he wants to share, but without losing sight of the fact that the path will be collective.

“I believe FC Porto will build a very competitive team to win and achieve its objectives. I want my teammates to understand that I’m here to help them. I’m the same as them, I’m no different. Here we are all equal, we will all row in the same direction and with the same objective,” he stressed. “I want them to understand that I’m here to help them with my experience, but I will also need them to help me. We all have to row together, in the same direction, to be stronger.”

The first sporting objective has been defined with no room for ambiguity. The ambition is to go into every match to win and to achieve promotion to the Second Division right away.

“The objectives are clear: whoever wears this shirt and represents the FC Porto institution has to go into every match to win. Naturally, the main objective is to earn promotion to the Second Division right away,” he said.

Cardinal also wants to follow the youth setup, convinced that he can be useful to the Club’s young players. It is a natural extension of the responsibility he is taking on within the new structure.

“When I have time I’ll follow the youth teams, because I think I’m an added value for the Club. I’ll follow our young players closely and I’ll do it with great pleasure, of course,” he said.

The top is the horizon, but not a shortcut. The captain asks for steady steps, focus in training and in matches, and confidence in the conditions he sees around the team.

“I think we can reach the top and that is our objective, that’s why FC Porto created futsal. But we have to go step by step, because we are still at the beginning. I usually say first you start, then you improve,” he analysed. “With this structure, with everything I have seen around me here, I don’t think we will lack anything. The most important thing is to stay focused on training and playing so we can achieve our objectives. There are no limits to where FC Porto can go.”

For the fans, he left a direct invitation. Cardinal believes the new team will find a decisive strength in the stands.

“My message is clear. FC Porto fans never fail and they will certainly be very happy about the creation of futsal. Many of them wanted this for many years. As a fan and as a futsal player for our Club, I want to invite them to come to every match,” he appealed. “They will be a great help to us and I’m sure they will always show up.”

The home debut already occupies space in the new captain’s imagination. And the dream, he guarantees, is bigger than what he can put into words.

“I’ve already imagined my first match, but no one has any idea what I’ve imagined already. That dream will absolutely come true,” he said.

It is with that certainty that Fernando Cardinal closes a day he defines as one of the happiest of his sporting life. Between the emotion of arriving at FC Porto and the ambition to start playing, the captain does not hide the privilege he feels.

“This is one of the happiest days of my life in sporting terms, without any doubt. I’m very emotional, very happy, very proud. I feel privileged,” he concluded. “There are no words for this moment.”

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