Rafa: “I want to win even more and I want to win it all again” | OneFootball

Rafa put an end to the speculations and renewed his contract with FC Porto for another season, with two additional seasons as an option. Eager to “continue winning and bringing titles to the Club” and to be remembered as “an example for his work and dedication,” the 34-year-old hockey player expressed the “pride and satisfaction” he feels living “a dream come true.”

During the first season under Paulo Freitas' command, Rafa states that “the adaptation has already been made” and that the goal is to “continue on the path forged in recent games.” “No matter how good a regular phase we have, the title will be decided in the playoffs,” recalls number 9, who assures that the team will “face it with maximum confidence” to “win even more and win everything again.” “That's why we decided to extend this connection,” confides the winner of the Dragão de Ouro in the Pavilion Sports category.

At the Arena as at home“This renewal means a lot to me, here I feel at home. This is where I want to be, this is where I feel good. Knowing that year after year FC Porto continues to count on me and my work is very gratifying, without a doubt, because I was always told that more difficult than reaching this level was being able to stay here for many years and the truth is that the years go by and I'm still here. That fills me with pride and satisfaction.”

Dragon since 2009“When I arrived, I was a kid full of dreams and being able to make my entire career here was one of those dreams. Fortunately, this has happened until today, because even in the three years I spent away, I was always contractually linked to FC Porto. Today I look back and, maybe, all the dreams I had have already been achieved. But I don't want to stop here, I want to continue winning and bringing titles to FC Porto. Only with this mindset does it make sense to continue here.”

From José Rafael to Rafa“At the time, I asked for the name on the jersey to be Rafa for some reason, and at the time I didn't have the standing to complain about the name José Rafael. Maybe it was a rite of passage, but they are jerseys that I keep with great pride and that remind me of the squad I was part of, with many of my idols at the time. Now I look back and realize that these jerseys are already many years old, and continuing here is, without a doubt, something spectacular.”

The group of captains“It was something that came naturally, it's the normal course of things and life. I came here very young, had the opportunity to learn from many of my references, ended up being loaned out to gain experience and first division rhythm, and when I returned, I returned to a project that was starting from scratch, with many new people. Many of those who were new at that time are still here, but we all had to grow. Today I see myself as I saw my references at the time, with that extra role of helping those who are new, trying to pass on a bit of the experience I gained over the years so that they feel as good as possible, as they did with me at the time. They always made me feel very good and I try to convey the values of FC Porto to them, so they know what the Club is, what it is to play for FC Porto, and the responsibility of wearing this jersey. Both I and my older colleagues have done this in an evident way and we have managed to win titles. People feel good when they arrive here and, when that's the case, everything is much easier on the field.”

References in hockey“FC Porto has always had great players and it's wrong to look at just one because the important thing is to learn from everyone and take a bit from each to improve. But there are names like Reinaldo Ventura and Filipe Santos who are, without a doubt, references in national roller hockey. Pedro Gil himself, Edo Bosch… these were the ones I caught in my first year here and they are players I always got used to seeing on television since I started liking roller hockey, and being able to be alongside them was a dream come true.”

Work and dedication“I like people who work with me to have the notion that I always try to do things as best as possible, I always try to make the maximum effort, to pass on these types of values of daily work and that only with effort can great achievements be accomplished. That's why I always say that the recognition that comes from within, from the people I live with daily, is the most important. Obviously, we all like to be cherished by the fans, but the fans only see what happens on the weekend and not the whole process during the week. That's how I would like to be remembered by the younger ones, knowing that I help them in whatever they need and being an example of work and dedication.”

Influential coaches“When I arrived, the coach was Franklim (Pais), who is also a reference, and being able to work with him was also something that marked me. I was able to learn from all the coaches I had, especially at FC Porto, and all are important to our process. In recent past, I highlight Ricardo (Ares), who was here for four years and in all of them, we won important titles, such as the three championships and the Champions League, a trophy that FC Porto had been seeking for a long time. Here I go straight to the titles, but we also don't live just for titles, we also live from day to day, from the work itself, from the personal relationships we create, and Ricardo, for being the last and for what we achieved, marked me in a very positive way, along with his entire technical team.”

Favorite titles“The Champions League is undoubtedly special for everything it symbolized for the Club, for the time we spent without winning, and for all the lost opportunities, namely in finals that FC Porto played for 33 years, if I'm not mistaken. There were many finals, we never managed to bring the Champions League back to the Dragon, including after some finals lost at home, and for all that, the Champions League is undoubtedly special. And also because it is that title that we all dream of since we were little. The National Champion title from last year, for everything I went through during the season, was also very special and everything that came after that, like the award I ended up receiving from Zerozero and the Dragão de Ouro, which is also very much linked to that title. As you can imagine, it was not an easy phase of my professional and personal life as well. I'm talking about the injury, of course, I didn't know how I would return, I wanted to come back as best as possible, but I didn't know how long it would take. Meanwhile, things also didn't go the best way, but the truth is that when we were all together, we managed to lead the team forward and we managed to reach a Champions League final. Unfortunately, we lost on penalties, but we managed to win a title that was very important to us. My third favorite title was probably the first one I won after returning, because in the first two years I had the privilege of being able to learn and be close to my idols and win with them, but I only felt it was really important when I returned after three years on loan. The first title is the Portuguese Cup in Ponte de Lima, when we won the final against Benfica.”

The golden years“It's very complicated to repeat the Deca feat. Nowadays we compete in a very competitive championship, we have several teams that can fight for the title, and I think the championship is much more competitive than in other years. If we are not at our best, especially in away games, it is possible to lose points on any field. The championship is more demanding, and there is still the issue of the playoffs. I'm not saying it's impossible, because it's not, but of course, it's quite difficult. Proof of this is that there hasn't been a National Roller Hockey Championship in a few years.”

The speech at the Dragões de Ouro“I was much more nervous than in the Champions League final. We are not used to speaking in front of so many people, I didn't know if I was going to win or not, and it was a moment of nervousness. When I heard my name, the nervousness passed momentarily – I thought ‘okay, I won,’ but right after it came back, because I had to go up on stage and give a speech, something I'm not used to doing. The Dragão de Ouro is in my house, in a place where I see it every day and where all the people who go there can also see it.”

The arrival of Paulo Freitas“The ideas are different, the training method is different, and we have to adapt. That's the truth, we have to adapt to the new concepts, to the new coach, and, although the group has known each other for a few years, that also ends up helping. The coaches' ideas are different and there is always a period of adaptation. I think it took a while for us to assimilate what Paulo asked of us, even because we often resorted to what we had from other years, but I think it's normal. I believe the adaptation has already been made and I believe we will continue on the path we have been building in these last games.”

Intact ambitions“In the championship, we are not in the place we want, but last year it was already proven that in the playoffs everything starts anew. That's the truth, no matter how good a regular phase we have, the title will be decided in the playoffs. Obviously, the home factor is always a big advantage, but the two teams that reached last year's final did not have the home factor in the semi-final and we even ended up being champions away from home. We want to maintain this line, we want to improve, we want to be consistent, and after the regular phase, we will do the math. We will face the playoffs with maximum confidence.”

The championship format“When I finish the regular phase in first, I would prefer the season to end right away. The playoffs are more demanding and I believe that having a final phase with many games between the best teams is more appealing to the public and better for the show, but it becomes more tiring for us. We also like this type of game and it ends up being good for hockey and we also have to understand that it is important to promote the sport so that people increasingly like to watch roller hockey.”

Goodbye to the national team“It was a very considered decision. I loved being in the national team, but I think it's time to think about other things. It's something that also takes away some time from our holidays and it's time I want to take advantage of more and more to be with my family. The years go by and in that short period of time, we suffer a great physical wear because for a month we have to prepare in the best possible way for a week-long competition. I want that to stop conditioning my season at the club. Playing at home, with great chances of winning, always seemed like a good way to leave and fortunately, that happened. Above all, these were the three factors that weighed the most in the decision.”

Ambitions for the future“My individual goals are always collective goals. I want to win more. I have already won everything I could win with this jersey, but I want to win even more and I want to win everything again. That's why we decided to extend this connection.”

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