PortuGOAL Figure of the Week: Nacional’s Zé Vítor piles on the pain for Porto | OneFootball

Before getting into the Figure of the Week, it’s only right to make an exception and throw out two honourable (club) mentions: O Elvas C.A.D. and FC Tirsense.

These are two Campeonato de Portugal (4th division) clubs, one of whom is destined for the semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal and to make history given that they have been drawn against each other in the quarter-finals. Never before has a club from the fourth tier reached the last four of the Portuguese Cup. The Magic of the Cup.

Now, good things come to (some of) those who wait. FC Porto squandered an opportunity to lead the Liga Portugal at the halfway stage of the season as two first-half goals gave Nacional a thoroughly deserved victory on a sunny afternoon in Madeira, resuming the game from the 15-minute mark after it had been abandoned on 3 January due to typical Choupana late-afternoon fog.

Zé Vitor was vital in securing the result at both ends of the pitch. As one of most consistent performers for the newly promoted side from “the Pearl of the Atlantic”, the centre-back is the PortuGoal Figure of the Week.

How we got here, and the questions that this summer will answer

José Vítor Lima Cardoso, despite being born in Goiânia, a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, would make his professional debut for América Mineiro from the city of Belo Horizonte of Minas Gerais.

Two curiosities: The club nickname is Rabbit (Coelho), and the cities are *checks Google Maps* 31 hours apart by car.

He made his professional debut in the heated Clássico das Multidões. This would serve as revenge, as Zé Vítor left home at the age of 17 to take the plunge from Paraíba to Betim. For Betim, Vítor would reach the final of the Under-17 Championship, and lose to Atlético-MG.

Despite the apparent early successes, Zé Vítor’s career in the Brasileirão Série A never took off. In fact, across spells additionally at Bahia and Tombense (Série B, relegated in Zé’s final season), Vítor only appeared in more than ten league matches once.

Vítor has evidently found his footballing home in Madeira, therefore, fuel for the fire of the Portuguese vs Brazilian football debate. The reformulated FIFA Club World Cup should provide some answers in the process of diminishing some egos.

His stats against Porto reveal an old-school defender

A vintage performance for the ages. A lesson in classic, impeccable box-defending and aerial ability to make the difference at this level in both 18-yard areas.

Porto may have only been able to conjure up sporadic benign threats with serious difficulties in constructing moves to reach the final-third, but his dominance within the Nacional backline allowed the Madeiran minnows to sit compact and withstand eventual blue and white pressure while remaining relatively unfazed and unharmed.

You can only beat what is ahead of you. Despite leaping unopposed for his goal, Zé Vítor still had to dispatch his effort and did so efficiently.

Zé Vítor has played 94% of Nacional’s fixtures back in the top-flight of Portuguese football and is certainly the stabiliser with his intelligent positioning and constantly decisive interventions to act as a leader in the backline. Despite disciplinary and mobility concerns, these performances will have Portuguese-speaking clubs eyeing him up.

Coach Tiago Margarido instils belief

Ahead of the current season, talented 36-year-old head coach Tiago Margarido had less than 11 senior players to field, highlighting the frequent turnover at clubs at this level in Portugal. Currently 14th in table will be a satisfactory position, as the team continues to gel and show positive signs.

“(Tiago Margarido) has showed us the way, with commitment, desire and ability. We got this result thanks to that,” said Zé Vítor post-match.

“There's no secret. Merely, you must want it, work hard, chase it and work every day. On the pitch, that’s all we did, and we won the game.”

With this belief, this week’s PortuGOAL Figure of the Week will certainly be the frontman in the efforts to secure more victories and maintain Nacional in the top flight.