Luisão: The Return of the Heroes, episode 4

LUISÃO

Sport Lisboa e Benfica's Members selected 20 of the Club's players who stood out during the 20 years of the new Cathedral, celebrated on October 25. Luisão was one of those chosen for The Champions Wall at Estádio da Luz. 

FIRST DAY 

"Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to play in the first game, that goal by Nuno Gomes... I stayed on the bench because I had a muscle problem. But that was my first impact at Estádio da Luz, in terms of the game. I thought it was incredible, incredible!"

BEST MOMENT

"The goal against Sporting [on May 14, 2005]. After many years without winning the Portuguese championship, that move was decisive. It was the most memorable, it was the first."

NOSTALGIA

"I miss everything. We work hard so that when we get to the stage, which is the Estádio da Luz, we can show what we're capable of. We're not always well, we might have a family problem, be a bit sad, or the week hasn't gone well. In there [on the pitch] everything changes. When I think of the Estádio da Luz, good memories come to mind."

A STORY 

"There's a game where Talisca came on in the 85th minute after a corner kick. And, on the counter-attack, I ran backwards across the pitch so we wouldn't concede, passed him, complained and he opened his arms to me on the pitch. Then I ran into the tunnel to catch him. Luckily for him, he went for the doping test. These are things that the fans don't realize. The game is very heated, there are lots of stories. Even with Jonas, before we went to Brazil, in a game where we were winning 3-0... He lost the ball, I scolded him, and we went from here to the airport without talking. We only made up before getting on the plane. And we really are friends. Those are the stories that happen in there, nobody notices, and they stay in the world of football."

THE WALL OF CHAMPIONS

"It means a lot! I didn't expect it, I was surprised when they told me. Apart from being part of a gigantic club, respected all over the world, where great stars and great people have worn the jersey... Even in these 20 years at the Cathedral, with spectacular players, even better than me, being chosen by the fans after I stopped playing five years ago is another gift that Benfica is giving me, one of the many it has given me. It shows that I planted something in the hearts of the fans, who remember it to this day."

MEMORY

"[Goal scored against Sporting on May 14, 2005] It feels good. Incredibly, when I go out in the street, before the 'good morning', 'good afternoon' or the question about whether I'm Luisão, they talk about that play. And the question is always the same. It's been so long.I didn't think I could get to the ball, honestly, but that's what happens in there."