Stuttgart legend on Porto clash: “FC Porto are well coached” | OneFootball

Many remember names like Sérgio Pinto, Roberto Pinto, or the more famous Meira and Domínguez, but another player was the first Portuguese to play in the Bundesliga: Víctor Lopes. It was at Stuttgart, in the 1984/85 season, that this midfielder, at 20 years old, made his debut under the command of Helmut Benthaus in matches against Bochum and Leverkusen. In the same team, there were prominent figures such as Karl-Heinz Forster, Allgöwer, Buchwald, and the iconic Klinsmann, two world champions in 1990. Later, Víctor would continue his career at Ulm and Mainz, where he formed bonds with Klopp.

FC Porto’s trip to the home of the current holder of the German Cup, in a match that could decide a spot in the quarter-finals, excites Víctor, who still lives in Germany but visits Portugal regularly – also due to the biennial gatherings of the Portuguese Wine National Team. At 61 years old, the former player reminisces about his time at Stuttgart.

“It was a tough school where I had to have a lot of determination to play and fulfill my dream. I became a professional and played in the stadium as part of the main team, full of great players. It was a team that had just won its first German league in 1984 with its pillars, the Forster brothers, the excellent Siggurvinson, and Allgöwer,” assures Víctor Lopes, who knows Stuttgart's records and their top focus. “They won championships in 50 and 52, but it wasn’t the Bundesliga yet, which was only founded in 1963. That championship I witnessed up close was very special and celebrated for a long time. There was an influence from the players I mentioned and also from Buchwald. Klinsmann joined with me, we knew each other from junior matches between Stuttgart and Stuttgart Kickers, and he quickly developed. We’re talking about true legends,” he recounts, focusing a bit more on the striker as “a laid-back forward,” something that became a “decisive factor” in making his way.

“FC Porto acts like an Italian team”

Lopes, who grew up in Germany without denying his roots, says he carries “a Portuguese feeling.” His career left him with many lessons. “My heart beats to our rhythm. I had very high expectations, gave up many things, but we always depend on other factors. You can have will, ambition, talent, never give up, but you have to count on the coach, who may or may not encourage you. I didn’t always have that luck, but the ambition remained intact,” he guarantees. “A coach once tried to correct me by saying I played too much with my heart, and I replied that without passion I couldn’t be a footballer. I shouldn’t have said that, but I did because I’m a fanatic about fair treatment. I was sent to the bench, but I wasn’t a coward. I insisted on being treated properly, maybe that’s why I was seen as a revolutionary,” he maintains.

The former player keeps a permanent connection to Stuttgart, even though his time at the senior level was short. “It marked me because it gave me my debut in the Bundesliga and I’ve been playing for 26 years with the veterans, a team that has remained unbeaten since then. I regularly go to the stadium to watch games and chat with Cacau, the Forsters, Hansi Muller, or Buchwald. I sit at the legends’ table with them. I also don’t say no to veterans’ matches at Mainz, always hoping for another meeting with my friend Klopp,” says Víctor Lopes, who emigrated with his family from the Lisbon area at the age of eight. Despite his long life in Germany and the bonds formed with Stuttgart, the Portuguese maintains a patriotic spirit. “I’ve actually been a Sporting fan since I was 6, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want FC Porto to advance. Honestly, I don’t really follow the Portuguese league, because the arguments over nothing tire me out!” he stresses, letting slip a curious observation: “I see FC Porto as very well coached, playing and acting more defensively, because of their Italian coach. They score a goal and immediately hold back the intensity to manage the game. They’ve faced problems with injuries. My son, yes, he’s a Porto fan, and knows all the strong points. When we’re in Portugal, he makes me go to Dragão,” he jokes, identifying some strong elements of Porto’s defensive wall and mentioning Diogo Costa. Despite this, he considers that Stuttgart seems to have a superior squad and that could be decisive, although he recognizes that FC Porto is very strong in international matches. “May it be an exciting first match and may the best team win,” he concludes.

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