Eustáquio: “I’ve played for good clubs, but nothing compares to FC Porto” | OneFootball

Stephen Eustáquio had “the pleasure of playing for good clubs in Portugal, but nothing compares to FC Porto.” Having completed an adventure in which “every game was a final,” always with the “humility to try to help the team and with the great responsibility of playing for a big club,” the Canadian international midfielder will remember “the atmosphere at Olival, where everyone is focused on making FC Porto national champions,” and the “huge shock” of the “rare defeats”: “I don’t think I had ever been through an experience like that, where losing felt like the end of the world.”

“Today we are a very cohesive team and it will be very hard to beat us,” says “a fan who played for FC Porto and a club member who will keep following the team” from now on: “If they win, I win too, just like all the fans. As for the fans, I ask them to keep supporting us. We have really enjoyed this unity between the team and the fans. I think the fans feel represented by the way we play on the pitch, by the spirit and effort we put in. We are always the team that runs the most, gives the most, and chases the result the hardest. When we have the responsibility to go after the win, no matter the stadium, it will always be easier for us. I hope the fans help the players, because they truly deserve it.”

Arriving during the pandemic “It was a difficult time for the country, but a moment of great happiness for me. When the possibility of joining FC Porto came up, I was not infected with covid-19. Then, when the president gave the green light, I went to take a test, because at the time I was going to the national team and had to do it in order to travel, and I found out I had covid-19. That’s why the presentation was done at home. It’s an interesting story and one I still remember today.”

The most defining moment of his career “It was a huge transition. I had the pleasure of playing for good clubs in Portugal, but nothing compares to FC Porto. It was the moment when I felt I deserved to reach this level, but at the same time knew I had to work very hard because the demands were much greater. I still remember every game and every opportunity feeling like a final for me. Back then, playing one, five or ten minutes was a great reward, and it was with that humility that I embraced coming to FC Porto, to try to help the team as much as possible, and I did it with great pleasure, knowing the huge responsibility that comes with playing for a big club like FC Porto.”

The Porto spirit “There are two key moments. When you walk into Olival and everyone is focused on making FC Porto national champions—I think that’s a huge shock, because the reality is that the responsibility is enormous—and also when FC Porto lose, which happens rarely. The atmosphere at Olival and at the Dragão afterwards is a real wake-up call. I don’t think I had ever been through an experience like that, where losing felt like the end of the world, and that is how it has to be at FC Porto. Going through that alongside players like Pepe, Otávio, Uribe or Marcano, who at the time were major figures in the dressing room, was a great experience and a huge learning moment. I tried to absorb as much of that as possible for the remaining four years I was here. I think I’m vaccinated now.”

The responsibility of leading “It was a great responsibility. I had already experienced being one of the captains of my national team, but being captain of a national team is different, because we are together only a couple of weeks a year. Being captain of a club like FC Porto is something else. The demands were very high. I can’t say whether I was ready or not, but the truth is that I embraced the challenge with the greatest sense of responsibility and with all the strength I had at the time. That year we went through one of the most difficult seasons in the club’s history, and it was a huge challenge. I had the pleasure of being part of the group of captains with great men like Cláudio Ramos, Iván Marcano and Diogo Costa. We tried to do the best job possible and tried to help one another. Looking back, I think we did a good job, because today FC Porto are national champions. Today FC Porto have a super cohesive and united dressing room. Today FC Porto are embraced by the fans, and that is what we want. It was a very difficult time back then, but it made perfect sense in getting us to where we are now.”

A united group “I think everyone respects me, especially in the dressing room. When there is any difficulty or when certain players need help, they know they can come and talk to me. That also gives me enormous satisfaction. When the youngsters come into the dressing room, they look at me and it seems they always have a bit of fear and respect, but I show them that they can be completely at ease with me and with the group of captains. I think that is important for the group to be cohesive. I always tried to show, through my actions, that we have to reach certain standards professionally and also personally, as men. We always tried to demonstrate that. Right now I’m one of the oldest, both in age and in time at the club, and that is a satisfying moment. We have been through many difficult times, but also many victories. I think that today we really are a very cohesive team and it will be very hard to beat us.”

From wearing the shirt to the role of supporter “I’m a club member, just like my girlfriend and my daughter. I was already a fan who played for FC Porto; now I will be a club member who follows the team, like so many others. I think it will be a little hard when it’s matchday and I’m not going through the pre-match routine and being with the team, giving my feedback or helping on the pitch. I suffer more outside the pitch than on it, but being able to share this passion with the fans will be a good and new experience.”

The most special trophy “There were some titles in which I played a more active role, others not so much, but the trophy that fills me with the most pride, personally, is the League Cup, the only one we have. Before we won it, people used to say that we couldn’t win that cup and that one day it would disappear and FC Porto would never manage to add it to the honours list. When we played that Final Four in Leiria, I managed to score in both games, against Académico de Viseu and against Sporting. There is an image of when I score in the final where I start running and saying, ‘This is it, this is it, this is it.’ I truly believed that was the time we were going to win it, and the truth is that we did. The fact that I was able to contribute so actively to winning that title was one of the most special moments.”

The thousandth goal at the Dragão “That goal was very good. I still remember Zaidu had the ball and played it into space for Galeno. Tactically, they were already higher up, and I knew that Galeno was a very direct player and very strong one-on-one, so if he beat Witsel in the race he would have the chance to enter the box with a big advantage. He laid the ball off to me perfectly and my only thought was to hit it as hard as possible. Thank God I managed to beat Oblak, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and make it 2-0, which helped us get to 12 points that year. It was a source of great pride to help the team get through the Champions League group stage and score the Dragão Stadium’s 1,000th goal, especially against such a strong team as Atlético de Madrid.”

The comeback in the 2024 Super Cup “That game was special and historic. It is almost unbelievable to think about what we did. In the first half things were very difficult and Galeno’s goal ended up giving us a bit of momentum. Sporting were the national champions and, even with the score at 3-1, it was going to be very difficult to turn it around, but we always believed. I just felt I had nothing to lose, I wanted to take risks and change the game. We managed to score two goals in two minutes, I was able to help with an assist, and from the moment we made it 3-2 and went after 3-3, I had no doubt that we were not going to lose that game. And that’s how it was: we turned it around in extra time, but even if it had gone to penalties I was sure we would win.”

The death of his parents “They were difficult moments. I also had a moment of great happiness, which was the birth of my daughter. When we are committed to a mission as strong as playing for FC Porto and bringing joy to the fans... I think I didn’t have the grieving time I should have had, but I think it was beneficial for me. Having to return to Olival to train with my teammates, because there was a bigger goal, which was to win, helped me a lot to get through that moment. Life is like that, it can be gone in an instant, and those are things a player does not expect. I spent much of that season taking care of my mother, together with my family, but I always went to train and play with the same spirit; it never threw me off. Always chasing victory, helping my friends and playing for FC Porto helped me through that process. Added to all that was also the fact that the team was always there. If you look at the images from my parents’ funerals, FC Porto players were there, directors, the club structure and the president. Everyone was part of the process. That shows the great unity this club has, not only in the easiest moments, but also in the hardest ones.”

A word for teammates and fans “I will keep following them as always. If they win, I win too, just like all the fans. As for the fans, I ask them to keep supporting the team. We have really enjoyed this unity between the team and the fans. I think the fans feel represented by the dynamic we show on the pitch, by the spirit and the effort we put in. We are always the team that runs the most, gives the most and chases the result. When we have the responsibility to go after the win, no matter the stadium, it will always be easier for us. I hope the fans help the players, because they deserve it.”

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