Kiwior: Memories of Dragão aren’t great, but that will change | OneFootball

Jakub Kiwior, after being officially announced as a new signing for FC Porto, joined the Polish national team camp and explained the journey that led to his arrival at the Dragons.

Referring to the club as “a great organization,” the 25-year-old defender revealed the conversations he had with his compatriot Jan Bednarek and highlighted his ambition to turn around less pleasant memories. “I’ve already lost two games at the Dragão, my memories aren’t good, but now that’s going to change,” recalled Kiwior, who started in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at FC Porto’s ground in 2024 – when Galeno scored that stunning goal… – and in Poland’s heavy 5-1 defeat to Portugal in November last year.

The first impressions at his new club were positive. “FC Porto is a top-level organization. I’m curious to discover more. I was with Bedi [Bednarek] when I was having blood drawn for medical tests. He told me many things about the club and the city. I hope I can spend a lot of time with him on the pitch,” said the center-back, who can also play as a left-back. The player also shared a curious memory from his presentation: “FC Porto gave me three shirts from my presentation. They told me it was a keepsake to put in a special place at home. And I told them: ‘It’s good you’re already decorating my house, even though I don’t have one yet,’” he said with a smile.

Uncertainty in the Arsenal farewell

The negotiations between FC Porto and Arsenal dragged on for several days, leaving Kiwior uncertain about the exact moment of his farewell to the London club. “It was hard to say goodbye to Arsenal because I didn’t know when it would actually happen. If I had known the exact day in advance, I would have had time to prepare. In my last three days there, I didn’t know which one would really be the last. Fabrizio Romano dropped the ‘here we go’ and I started getting dozens of messages and calls congratulating me. Training was about to start… The players saw it on their phones and asked me why I was getting dressed if it was already done,” the player recounted.

“I refused to say goodbye then, because I still didn’t have information about what could or couldn’t happen. The next day I went back already knowing I could say goodbye. I went to the pitch to say farewell to my teammates and the coach [Mikel Arteta]. They made a farewell tunnel and it was tough… Not everyone I wanted to say goodbye to was there, I still had to make a few calls,” he added.

Smiles exchanged with a Porto legend

At the Polish national team camp, now under the guidance of Jan Urban, Kiwior met Josef Mlynarczyk, FC Porto’s goalkeeper during their 1987 European Cup triumph. In the vlog released by the Polish federation, you can see the former keeper exchanging a few words with the Dragons’ new signing.

Moments later, Mlynarczyk shared a cheerful moment with Kiwior and Bednarek and exclaimed in perfect Portuguese, “so many Porto fans!”

Mlynarczyk chatting with Kiwior at the Polish national team camp

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