Miguel Queiroz: “I wanted to bring the title back home, here at FC Porto” | OneFootball

Miguel Queiroz, a native of Portimão, in the Algarve, is one of the athletes with the longest ties to the entire FC Porto universe: he has 13 seasons to his name, only two fewer than the record holders, the football team’s goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, and the handball pivot, Daymaro Salina. All captains.

“My challenge, my personal mission was, every year that I didn’t win, to understand where I could improve to help the team. I kept putting stones in my luggage and now I’ve taken them off my back. It’s a huge weight lifted off me; it’s the first championship trophy I’ve lifted as captain,” said an emotional Queiroz. “But the stones I took out of the backpack will stay on the shelf, to remind me of all the years in which I forced myself to be better to help the team. That is my mission. And I managed to bring the title back to FC Porto, which means everything to me. I wanted to bring the title back home, which is here, at FC Porto, for myself and for all Porto supporters,” he continued, adding: “I will die a Porto supporter. It’s been many years, but it was right in the first season. I don’t even know exactly how, but the values my parents passed on to me, I felt them at FC Porto as soon as I arrived. Here, from the very first moment, I felt at home, I felt that my personal values were exactly the same as those of the city and of FC Porto.”

The promise to his mother that he could not keep

In a visibly emotional speech, the blue-and-white center, who still has one more year left on his contract with FC Porto, made a point of leaving dedications. “The last time my mother [Maria Elisabete] saw me play in a final, we lost here. I hugged her, we both cried, and I told her she would see me become champion live again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, but I’m sure she had some Algarve-style squid, made by my grandfather, her father, and that they were watching the game with a sangria and very proud of me,” he said. “I also wanted to talk about my wife [Elodie, of French origin]. Even when I doubted myself, when I thought that maybe I was the one in the wrong, my wife was always there for me and showed me the great person I am. So, and I’m grateful for this opportunity, I want to send her a big kiss and let her know that without her, I was nothing,” he said.

“For five/six seasons they’ve been telling me it’s my best one”

Having clearly underlined his personal commitment to help the team, O JOGO asked Queiroz about collective responsibility. “Human beings always tend to look to the side,” he said straight away. “But before looking to the side, although I do that too, I have always looked at myself, thinking about what I could improve. And there is something that makes me proud, which is the fact that in the last five/six seasons everyone has always told me it was my best season. I take great pride in that,” he reflected. “I try to look for my flaws in the game, see how I can grow and improve to help the team and I honestly think I’ve done that work well,” he pointed out.

“I still have a lot to give”

And what if Miguel Queiroz’s best season is still yet to come? “I believe so, I do,” he smiled, excited. “There’s a lot still to do, I’m going to turn 35, but I believe I still have a lot to give,” he replied. “I’m going to celebrate, but I don’t have much time, because in a week, even less, the national team starts. I needed a little more rest, but I’ll definitely find a way to be ready to help Portugal,” he said.

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