The determination to succeed against great odds shown by Portugal in the Euro 2016 final against hosts France is a reflection of the remarkable strength of character of many of the Portuguese players forged through early life experiences.
Both holding midfielders, Porto’s Danilo and the player who did such a splendid job in that position in the final, Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho, were born in Africa. Their families migrated to Portugal early in their lives as their parents followed the migratory route of thousands each year who leave Africa in search of a better life in Portugal.
Carvalho was born in Angola , migrated early on and spent most of his adolescence playing street football in Lisbon before joining Mira-Sintra’s youth team, where his talents were spotted by Sporting Lisbon.
Danilo was born in Guinea- Bissau. His mother left early to study as a nurse in Portugal before six-year-old Danilo followed and was re-united with her.
Forward Nani has also had to overcome serious hardship growing up including separation from his parents. Born to Cape Verdean parents, he grew up in a poor suburb of Lisbon where to quote from a U2 song, the streets had no name. His father Domingos returned to Cape Verde abandoning the family, whilst his mother also left the family behind in search of a better life in the Netherlands. Raised by an auntie, he sought refuge in the twin passions of football and the Brazilian martial art of Caporeira. He had to walk eight kilometres to training when he was a youth player at Real Massama before signing with Sporting Lisbon at the age of 17. Three years later he would be on the books at United.
The unlikely match-winner in the final, Eder has also had to overcome heartbreaking beginnings. Born in Guinea-Bissau, a West African country with one of the lowest GDP per capita in the world, his parents migrated to Lisbon when he was just three but owing to their dire economic straits, Eder was placed into a foster home on the outskirts of Coimbra.
From these desperate beginnings was born his desire to become someone and make it as a professional footballer. After early success at Braga, he suffered a serious setback with a major knee injury. Recovering from the knee injury he endured an unhappy stint at EPL club Swansea before a move to Lille in France revived his career and brought him to the attention of coach Santos. The rest, as they say, is history. In the final he etched his name onto the honour roll of Portuguese Football.
Others too, such as Ricardo Quaresma and wunderkid Renato Sanches, have also overcome early poverty growing up in Lisbon’s poorest suburbs to develop into top-flight professionals.
The strength of character these players possess has been a large factor in them overcoming huge odds to succeed on the grand stage of the Euro 2016 final.
Sources: PortuGOAL.net/ Tom Kundert/ PortuGoal.net
