Sérgio Oliveira etched his name into FC Porto fan folklore with his performance (and that free-kick) against Juventus in the round of 16. Now, if injury allows, he will be hoping to play a part in dragging his hometown side into the semi-finals, as the Dragões attempt to overhaul a first-leg deficit against Chelsea. Here he chats about his boyhood club and the city’s special aura.
I think I was already born with that feeling. I’ve practically been a club member since birth. It was an uncle of mine who enrolled me at the club; he was a die-hard Porto fan and that’s when this love story started.
It’s a city that overflows with a special connection among the people; there is a special aura, not just at the club but also in the city. There is a very strong sense of camaraderie between the people in this part of the country. I think that the essence of this region is the mental strength to work through hardships, and the club as well. I think that it’s from hardship that great warriors are born – and there are many in this region.
When you are nine years old, your dream is to be a football player. And with Porto being my boyhood club, the club I supported, to play for them was the best of both worlds.
Perfectly. I can’t remember how old I was, but I remember celebrating Costinha’s goal [that knocked out Manchester United in the round of 16]. I was watching the match at my uncle’s place and it was an incredible sensation. Even though it was a very difficult competition to win, taking on clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, we were the club that year.
I think that my career has been a normal one for someone that came through the youth ranks of a big club. Kylian Mbappé, for example, has a World Cup under his belt and has been playing at the highest level since he was 18 – but that’s not the norm. The norm is, perhaps, a career like mine, with difficulties, with loans, developing both as a professional and as a person. Whoever thinks that it’s a straightforward path can forget that notion, because it never is and it will never be. There will always be difficulties, failures, but you have to get back up again and work every day – and one day, success will be yours.
When you’re on the pitch and something like that happens, I don’t think you realise just how big of a deal it is, or how it may affect the fans in that precise moment. Of course, we were ecstatic about making it to the quarter-finals. For an hour we had one player less and we still succeeded; it was a match played in the usual FC Porto style, so to speak. We went in strong and fought for it. It was an epic moment.
I don’t think any player will ever get used to playing without fans. At a certain point it almost feels like a training session. It takes away the joy and excitement, that moment when you celebrate a goal and you get goosebumps. I think it’s very bad for football that fans cannot be present.
It’s about always winning. Every match is there to be won and sometimes people say, “But that’s the case at every club.” But here it’s really like that – no other result is possible. Sometimes I’ll say to my teammates who recently arrived from abroad, “We’ve got to win the Champions League because if we don’t, people will be upset. It’s not about whether it’s against Liverpool or Manchester City; if we lose it’s not fine. It’s never fine”. The feeling of losing isn’t good, while the feeling of winning is great. It’s about winning, winning and winning.
Sérgio Oliveira etched his name into FC Porto fan folklore with his performance (and that free-kick) against Juventus in the round of 16. Now, if injury allows, he will be hoping to play a part in dragging his hometown side into the semi-finals, as the Dragões attempt to overhaul a first-leg deficit against Chelsea. Here he chats about his boyhood club and the city’s special aura.
I think I was already born with that feeling. I’ve practically been a club member since birth. It was an uncle of mine who enrolled me at the club; he was a die-hard Porto fan and that’s when this love story started.
It’s a city that overflows with a special connection among the people; there is a special aura, not just at the club but also in the city. There is a very strong sense of camaraderie between the people in this part of the country. I think that the essence of this region is the mental strength to work through hardships, and the club as well. I think that it’s from hardship that great warriors are born – and there are many in this region.
When you are nine years old, your dream is to be a football player. And with Porto being my boyhood club, the club I supported, to play for them was the best of both worlds.
Perfectly. I can’t remember how old I was, but I remember celebrating Costinha’s goal [that knocked out Manchester United in the round of 16]. I was watching the match at my uncle’s place and it was an incredible sensation. Even though it was a very difficult competition to win, taking on clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, we were the club that year.
I think that my career has been a normal one for someone that came through the youth ranks of a big club. Kylian Mbappé, for example, has a World Cup under his belt and has been playing at the highest level since he was 18 – but that’s not the norm. The norm is, perhaps, a career like mine, with difficulties, with loans, developing both as a professional and as a person. Whoever thinks that it’s a straightforward path can forget that notion, because it never is and it will never be. There will always be difficulties, failures, but you have to get back up again and work every day – and one day, success will be yours.
When you’re on the pitch and something like that happens, I don’t think you realise just how big of a deal it is, or how it may affect the fans in that precise moment. Of course, we were ecstatic about making it to the quarter-finals. For an hour we had one player less and we still succeeded; it was a match played in the usual FC Porto style, so to speak. We went in strong and fought for it. It was an epic moment.
I don’t think any player will ever get used to playing without fans. At a certain point it almost feels like a training session. It takes away the joy and excitement, that moment when you celebrate a goal and you get goosebumps. I think it’s very bad for football that fans cannot be present.
It’s about always winning. Every match is there to be won and sometimes people say, “But that’s the case at every club.” But here it’s really like that – no other result is possible. Sometimes I’ll say to my teammates who recently arrived from abroad, “We’ve got to win the Champions League because if we don’t, people will be upset. It’s not about whether it’s against Liverpool or Manchester City; if we lose it’s not fine. It’s never fine”. The feeling of losing isn’t good, while the feeling of winning is great. It’s about winning, winning and winning.
Sérgio Oliveira etched his name into FC Porto fan folklore with his performance (and that free-kick) against Juventus in the round of 16. Now, if injury allows, he will be hoping to play a part in dragging his hometown side into the semi-finals, as the Dragões attempt to overhaul a first-leg deficit against Chelsea. Here he chats about his boyhood club and the city’s special aura.
I think I was already born with that feeling. I’ve practically been a club member since birth. It was an uncle of mine who enrolled me at the club; he was a die-hard Porto fan and that’s when this love story started.
It’s a city that overflows with a special connection among the people; there is a special aura, not just at the club but also in the city. There is a very strong sense of camaraderie between the people in this part of the country. I think that the essence of this region is the mental strength to work through hardships, and the club as well. I think that it’s from hardship that great warriors are born – and there are many in this region.
When you are nine years old, your dream is to be a football player. And with Porto being my boyhood club, the club I supported, to play for them was the best of both worlds.
Perfectly. I can’t remember how old I was, but I remember celebrating Costinha’s goal [that knocked out Manchester United in the round of 16]. I was watching the match at my uncle’s place and it was an incredible sensation. Even though it was a very difficult competition to win, taking on clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, we were the club that year.
I think that my career has been a normal one for someone that came through the youth ranks of a big club. Kylian Mbappé, for example, has a World Cup under his belt and has been playing at the highest level since he was 18 – but that’s not the norm. The norm is, perhaps, a career like mine, with difficulties, with loans, developing both as a professional and as a person. Whoever thinks that it’s a straightforward path can forget that notion, because it never is and it will never be. There will always be difficulties, failures, but you have to get back up again and work every day – and one day, success will be yours.
When you’re on the pitch and something like that happens, I don’t think you realise just how big of a deal it is, or how it may affect the fans in that precise moment. Of course, we were ecstatic about making it to the quarter-finals. For an hour we had one player less and we still succeeded; it was a match played in the usual FC Porto style, so to speak. We went in strong and fought for it. It was an epic moment.
I don’t think any player will ever get used to playing without fans. At a certain point it almost feels like a training session. It takes away the joy and excitement, that moment when you celebrate a goal and you get goosebumps. I think it’s very bad for football that fans cannot be present.
It’s about always winning. Every match is there to be won and sometimes people say, “But that’s the case at every club.” But here it’s really like that – no other result is possible. Sometimes I’ll say to my teammates who recently arrived from abroad, “We’ve got to win the Champions League because if we don’t, people will be upset. It’s not about whether it’s against Liverpool or Manchester City; if we lose it’s not fine. It’s never fine”. The feeling of losing isn’t good, while the feeling of winning is great. It’s about winning, winning and winning.
Sérgio Oliveira etched his name into FC Porto fan folklore with his performance (and that free-kick) against Juventus in the round of 16. Now, if injury allows, he will be hoping to play a part in dragging his hometown side into the semi-finals, as the Dragões attempt to overhaul a first-leg deficit against Chelsea. Here he chats about his boyhood club and the city’s special aura.
I think I was already born with that feeling. I’ve practically been a club member since birth. It was an uncle of mine who enrolled me at the club; he was a die-hard Porto fan and that’s when this love story started.
It’s a city that overflows with a special connection among the people; there is a special aura, not just at the club but also in the city. There is a very strong sense of camaraderie between the people in this part of the country. I think that the essence of this region is the mental strength to work through hardships, and the club as well. I think that it’s from hardship that great warriors are born – and there are many in this region.
When you are nine years old, your dream is to be a football player. And with Porto being my boyhood club, the club I supported, to play for them was the best of both worlds.
Perfectly. I can’t remember how old I was, but I remember celebrating Costinha’s goal [that knocked out Manchester United in the round of 16]. I was watching the match at my uncle’s place and it was an incredible sensation. Even though it was a very difficult competition to win, taking on clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, we were the club that year.
I think that my career has been a normal one for someone that came through the youth ranks of a big club. Kylian Mbappé, for example, has a World Cup under his belt and has been playing at the highest level since he was 18 – but that’s not the norm. The norm is, perhaps, a career like mine, with difficulties, with loans, developing both as a professional and as a person. Whoever thinks that it’s a straightforward path can forget that notion, because it never is and it will never be. There will always be difficulties, failures, but you have to get back up again and work every day – and one day, success will be yours.
When you’re on the pitch and something like that happens, I don’t think you realise just how big of a deal it is, or how it may affect the fans in that precise moment. Of course, we were ecstatic about making it to the quarter-finals. For an hour we had one player less and we still succeeded; it was a match played in the usual FC Porto style, so to speak. We went in strong and fought for it. It was an epic moment.
I don’t think any player will ever get used to playing without fans. At a certain point it almost feels like a training session. It takes away the joy and excitement, that moment when you celebrate a goal and you get goosebumps. I think it’s very bad for football that fans cannot be present.
It’s about always winning. Every match is there to be won and sometimes people say, “But that’s the case at every club.” But here it’s really like that – no other result is possible. Sometimes I’ll say to my teammates who recently arrived from abroad, “We’ve got to win the Champions League because if we don’t, people will be upset. It’s not about whether it’s against Liverpool or Manchester City; if we lose it’s not fine. It’s never fine”. The feeling of losing isn’t good, while the feeling of winning is great. It’s about winning, winning and winning.
Sérgio Oliveira etched his name into FC Porto fan folklore with his performance (and that free-kick) against Juventus in the round of 16. Now, if injury allows, he will be hoping to play a part in dragging his hometown side into the semi-finals, as the Dragões attempt to overhaul a first-leg deficit against Chelsea. Here he chats about his boyhood club and the city’s special aura.
I think I was already born with that feeling. I’ve practically been a club member since birth. It was an uncle of mine who enrolled me at the club; he was a die-hard Porto fan and that’s when this love story started.
It’s a city that overflows with a special connection among the people; there is a special aura, not just at the club but also in the city. There is a very strong sense of camaraderie between the people in this part of the country. I think that the essence of this region is the mental strength to work through hardships, and the club as well. I think that it’s from hardship that great warriors are born – and there are many in this region.
When you are nine years old, your dream is to be a football player. And with Porto being my boyhood club, the club I supported, to play for them was the best of both worlds.
Perfectly. I can’t remember how old I was, but I remember celebrating Costinha’s goal [that knocked out Manchester United in the round of 16]. I was watching the match at my uncle’s place and it was an incredible sensation. Even though it was a very difficult competition to win, taking on clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, we were the club that year.
I think that my career has been a normal one for someone that came through the youth ranks of a big club. Kylian Mbappé, for example, has a World Cup under his belt and has been playing at the highest level since he was 18 – but that’s not the norm. The norm is, perhaps, a career like mine, with difficulties, with loans, developing both as a professional and as a person. Whoever thinks that it’s a straightforward path can forget that notion, because it never is and it will never be. There will always be difficulties, failures, but you have to get back up again and work every day – and one day, success will be yours.
When you’re on the pitch and something like that happens, I don’t think you realise just how big of a deal it is, or how it may affect the fans in that precise moment. Of course, we were ecstatic about making it to the quarter-finals. For an hour we had one player less and we still succeeded; it was a match played in the usual FC Porto style, so to speak. We went in strong and fought for it. It was an epic moment.
I don’t think any player will ever get used to playing without fans. At a certain point it almost feels like a training session. It takes away the joy and excitement, that moment when you celebrate a goal and you get goosebumps. I think it’s very bad for football that fans cannot be present.
It’s about always winning. Every match is there to be won and sometimes people say, “But that’s the case at every club.” But here it’s really like that – no other result is possible. Sometimes I’ll say to my teammates who recently arrived from abroad, “We’ve got to win the Champions League because if we don’t, people will be upset. It’s not about whether it’s against Liverpool or Manchester City; if we lose it’s not fine. It’s never fine”. The feeling of losing isn’t good, while the feeling of winning is great. It’s about winning, winning and winning.
Sérgio Oliveira etched his name into FC Porto fan folklore with his performance (and that free-kick) against Juventus in the round of 16. Now, if injury allows, he will be hoping to play a part in dragging his hometown side into the semi-finals, as the Dragões attempt to overhaul a first-leg deficit against Chelsea. Here he chats about his boyhood club and the city’s special aura.
I think I was already born with that feeling. I’ve practically been a club member since birth. It was an uncle of mine who enrolled me at the club; he was a die-hard Porto fan and that’s when this love story started.
It’s a city that overflows with a special connection among the people; there is a special aura, not just at the club but also in the city. There is a very strong sense of camaraderie between the people in this part of the country. I think that the essence of this region is the mental strength to work through hardships, and the club as well. I think that it’s from hardship that great warriors are born – and there are many in this region.
When you are nine years old, your dream is to be a football player. And with Porto being my boyhood club, the club I supported, to play for them was the best of both worlds.
Perfectly. I can’t remember how old I was, but I remember celebrating Costinha’s goal [that knocked out Manchester United in the round of 16]. I was watching the match at my uncle’s place and it was an incredible sensation. Even though it was a very difficult competition to win, taking on clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, we were the club that year.
I think that my career has been a normal one for someone that came through the youth ranks of a big club. Kylian Mbappé, for example, has a World Cup under his belt and has been playing at the highest level since he was 18 – but that’s not the norm. The norm is, perhaps, a career like mine, with difficulties, with loans, developing both as a professional and as a person. Whoever thinks that it’s a straightforward path can forget that notion, because it never is and it will never be. There will always be difficulties, failures, but you have to get back up again and work every day – and one day, success will be yours.
When you’re on the pitch and something like that happens, I don’t think you realise just how big of a deal it is, or how it may affect the fans in that precise moment. Of course, we were ecstatic about making it to the quarter-finals. For an hour we had one player less and we still succeeded; it was a match played in the usual FC Porto style, so to speak. We went in strong and fought for it. It was an epic moment.
I don’t think any player will ever get used to playing without fans. At a certain point it almost feels like a training session. It takes away the joy and excitement, that moment when you celebrate a goal and you get goosebumps. I think it’s very bad for football that fans cannot be present.
It’s about always winning. Every match is there to be won and sometimes people say, “But that’s the case at every club.” But here it’s really like that – no other result is possible. Sometimes I’ll say to my teammates who recently arrived from abroad, “We’ve got to win the Champions League because if we don’t, people will be upset. It’s not about whether it’s against Liverpool or Manchester City; if we lose it’s not fine. It’s never fine”. The feeling of losing isn’t good, while the feeling of winning is great. It’s about winning, winning and winning.
