Dear Portuguese team,
This is the only trophy missing from our showcase. It is the only trophy that every person in Portugal wants. And although it seems unattainable, the Euro 2016 crown seemed so too until Eder scored that wonderful goal.
I can understand feeling an added weight on your shoulders this winter. You have been labeled the “Golden Generation” and you are led by the best Portuguese player in history. But, even if there is additional pressure, the pressure is not new to you. They have dealt with pressure all their lives and have handled it very well.
That’s why they’re here in Portugal’s FIFA World Cup squad, about to represent their country on the biggest stage of all. All of you have been blessed with incredible talent and have the intangible will to win necessary to also perform at the highest level.
What is truly special about this generation is that they are able to unite the nation. Everyone from your parents to your old friends from the neighborhood and even people who don’t like football will be cheering you on and leading you to victory in Qatar this winter. And the fact of being able to bring together so many different Portuguese people during a tournament embroiled in controversy over Qatar’s human rights abuses and the treatment of women and the LGBTQ+ community is very, very important.
For someone who grew up in a family of Portuguese emigrants in France like me, the national team is typified by that goal in Paris. I clearly remember Eder’s goal celebration, holding my brothers in a square full of French, with all eyes on us.
That is why this unity of the Portuguese is both tangible and difficult to understand, because it is not geographically limited. The diaspora goes far beyond our small rectangular country, and does not depend on blood, language or passport either.
As a poet once pointed out, Portugal is not just three syllables, as three syllables fail to capture the multitude of wonderful Portuguese people.
Whatever Portugal is, I know that football helps me feel it. Before you think about making history, think about that.
I wish you the best,
Rick.
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