Miguel Queiroz on title returning to the Dragão: “A huge weight off me” | OneFootball

Center Miguel Queiroz did not hold back in praising the spirit of sacrifice shown by all his teammates throughout the playoff run, while also admitting the relief brought by a title that, given FC Porto’s inconsistency at the start of the season, at one point seemed unlikely.

“A crooked stick never straightens is a saying we definitely need to change. This team started badly, but showed great character and turned things around. We suffered some very difficult defeats, namely against the two teams that were relegated, but we had the clarity to understand what was wrong, put our egos aside and bounce back. It is a great victory for the whole group. We worked tirelessly and had a brilliant playoff run,” said the Porto captain, before acknowledging the weight of the triumph against Benfica: “It is my greatest victory. When I came to FC Porto, my challenge was to help bring the club back to the top division and become champions again. I came, I saw, and we won. In my first two years we were champions in the Proliga and in the League, but then came the 10-year gap in which I could not become champion again. During that period, the motivation was that with every year I did not win, I tried to understand where I could improve to help the team win. I kept carrying all those stones in my baggage, and today a huge weight has been lifted off me because this is the first championship trophy I have lifted as captain. I am going to take all the stones out of the backpack, but they will stay on the shelf so I never forget all the years when I pushed myself to be better in order to help the team.”

In a reflective tone, he also extended that assessment to his family circumstances, without it diminishing his desire to keep helping FC Porto achieve new feats. At 34, he has been tied to the club since 2013/14, when he arrived at Dragon Force.

“The last time my mother saw me play a final live, I hugged her and we both cried after the defeat against Benfica. I promised her she would see me become champion again. Unfortunately that was not possible, but I am sure that now she is with my grandfather eating Algarve-style squid and drinking sangria, full of pride,” said Miguel Queiroz, before looking ahead to his ambitions: “Before looking to either side, I always looked at myself first, and the satisfaction is that every year, over the last six seasons, people told me it had been my best season. Now I believe my best season is still to come, especially because there is still a lot to do. I am 35 years old, but I believe I still have a lot to give,” explained the Dragons captain, without hiding that he needed to “rest a little longer” before joining up with the national team: “In a week the national team starts and I needed a bit more rest, but I am sure I will find a way to be ready to help Portugal.”

Benfica and heart

The anxiety linked to winning the title and the many swings in the score in the decisive game against Benfica were also highlighted by Miguel Queiroz, especially because the center did not hesitate to admit that it was a match with more emotion than rationality on both sides.

“Game 4 was all heart from both sides. Benfica were playing for their lives and so were we because we knew we had to close it out at home. Because of all this, it was a game with too much anxiety. We played a lot with our hearts and not so much with our heads,” Miguel Queiroz revealed, admitting that “these kinds of games are the hardest to play”: “After watching the game more calmly, I will understand it better, but what I felt out there was that it was almost everyone wanting to be the hero, trying to solve things somehow. It was very complicated because we felt we had to close it out at home, and on the other side was Benfica giving everything to stay alive.”

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