Ricardo Nascimento may have ceased to be the most adored Portuguese in Korea after Paulo Bento’s success in limiting the Asian team’s qualification to the round of 16, precisely in a victory over Portugal, which also happened in 2002. The former midfielder, now 48, the manager of Canedo in the Aveiro district was a hero during his tenure at FC Seoul between 2005 and 2007, earning an emotional farewell to the South Koreans, who at the time saw him as a league deity .
There were tears and a storm at the airport when he left, as well as chants that made him South Korea’s most accomplished player. Ricardo Nascimento didn’t lose this match, followed closely and, even amidst a Portuguese defeat, he managed to warm his heart with success and the overflowing joy of so many friends.
“I was on the phone with a South Korean friend, really delirious. I just laughed as it was euphoric to scratch something in Portuguese. There was a lot of soul, a lot of longing. Many good people do it, it was a supersonic victory for the Koreans », he praised analyzing the match better.
«Portugal entered very strongly with good ball circulation. Surely Vitinha is a player who adds more. The team organized themselves for 20 minutes, then the Koreans gradually began to balance the game with lightning-fast transitions and managed to equalize before the break. They manage to organize themselves better for the 2nd half, almost the same as the beginning of the game. The difference was in speed, Portugal entered better but with slower circulation and the Koreans tried to surprise with their accelerations. Thus, they scored the winning goal. I underline the good positional game they played, combined with these transitions», praises Ricardo Nascimento… surrendered to the celebrations for qualification.
“But there is much of the soul of a people there. Is fantastic! They were honest tears that match the joy that took the streets.
I was moved to see these celebrations», confessed the former creative of Boavista and Rio Ave, who does not doubt Portugal’s success.
“They finished first, that’s the most important thing. They lost the game they could have lost, Portugal’s future in the competition looks very good to me », he underlined.
