Covering the journeys of Portuguese players and coaches in today’s football means following the game in all corners of the world. The exploits of Luso talent on the pitch and in the dugout extends far beyond the brilliance seen weekly in Europe’s major leagues and most visible continental competitions.
There are few major footballing regions where Portugal has not recently made its mark. Yet, amidst the hundreds of exports who take to the pitch each week, there was a certain charm about the story of a Portuguese forward scoring a hat-trick earlier this month for the world’s oldest professional football club.
Rúben Rodrigues bagged his treble at the beginning of April for England’s Notts County, the famous side from the East Midlands, who currently play in the National League - the 5th tier of the country’s deep football pyramid. Rodrigues has been in fine form all season, but his three goals away at Southend caught the attention of media back his homeland for the first time.
The 25-year-old has never played in Portugal, where he was born in Oliveira de Azeméis before his family emigrated to the Netherlands when he was a child. A modest ascent through the Dutch ranks led to a move to Notts County in the summer of 2020, since when Rodrigues has become one of the Magpies’ standout players as they continue to battle in the promotion play-off positions.
Maisfutebol caught up with Rodrigues shortly after his Man of the Match showing with the primary aim of exposing a new name to their audience. Rodrigues has 15 league goals this season – already an improvement on last term’s tally of 12 – but it was his journey to the famous Meadow Lane which became the focus of conversation.
“My parents are Portuguese, I have an older brother who was born in Portugal and only my younger brother was born in Holland,” Rodrigues explained. “I went to live in Holland when I was four and a half, almost five years old. I don't remember much from that time.
“My parents emigrated to the Netherlands to go to work. They went first, by bus. I stayed in Oliveira de Azeméis with an aunt. My brother stayed with a friend of my mother's. After a few months I went to live with them in a town called Best. First, I went to an international school to learn the language, then I went to school. My brother stayed in Portugal for two more years to finish school, then he came to join us.
“We lived in Holland, but in our house, everything was Portuguese. We spoke Portuguese, we ate Portuguese food, we watched Portuguese football. I really like Portugal and the Portuguese; I think the Portuguese are good people. I am very proud when Portugal plays well, I like to see Portuguese teams doing well in Europe, I have many Portuguese friends, I go to Portugal every year, my grandmother still lives in Portugal and I feel Portuguese.
“My Portuguese club? Benfica. It's my father's club and everyone at home is Benfica,” Rodrigues said, before revealing a trip to watch the Eagles host Liverpool would be his first-ever visit to Estádio da Luz. “My teammate who is from Liverpool and is on loan at Notts County is coming with me."
Curious beginnings
Notts County were founded 160 years ago and were one of the 12 original members of the English football league in 1888. Having famously been relegated from the top flight the season before the modern Premier League was formed in 1992, the club’s descent down the divisions in recent decades does little to change their status as a household name in English football culture.
Asked by Maisfutebol how the short trip across to Britain came about, Rodrigues revealed his football journey initially developed by chance and endured plenty of setbacks before leading to a professional career.
“The story of how I started playing is curious,” he said. “My parents didn't know the Dutch language, so we spent a lot of time at home and played in the garden. One day a man went to do some work at a neighbour's house, he saw me playing with my father and my brother and asked my father if I was in a club. 'So, he's always here playing in the garden, he's not on any team?' My father said no I wasn’t in any club and then it was that man who took me and signed me up for the club back home, which was called Boskant.
“I went there when I was eight. Then I had a trial at PSV Eindhoven, I was there for six months, but they didn't want to keep me. I went to Den Bosch for a few months, but I didn't stay either. So, I went back to Boskant and stayed there until I was fifteen, and Den Bosch called me again and I was there for two years, but I was very young, I didn't have the maturity I needed and then I left.
“I went to a club called Wilhelmina. I stayed there for four or five years. And that's when things started to go well for me, I had seasons of scoring 40 goals or so. Then I went to VV Gemert, where I also scored a lot of goals and Den Bosch signed me again.
“Notts County noticed my statistics, saw that I had scored a lot of goals for several seasons and called me to go there to train. I went with my agent and it was a big change. For the first time I went to live alone, in a different country. My life had already started to change when I signed for Den Bosch, but the move to Notts County was the big change.”
Beto wasn’t the only Portuguese to get a hat-trick this weekend. Rúben Rodrigues scored three for the world’s oldest club Notts County in England.pic.twitter.com/ZshYKgG0PN
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen16) April 4, 2022
Midlands Firmino
Rodrigues’ goal tally is increasing with each season, leading to speculation of a move up the English ladder, with Lincoln City of League One and Championship sides Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Blackpool of the Championship thought to be admirers. However, despite the improvement in finding the back of the net, Rodrigues believes he is not a pure striker.
“I am a more mobile striker. Other players play a little more fixed in the penalty area and I get more involved in the game. I drop deeper in the field and I like to participate in the creation of the game.
“I'm a striker like Roberto Firmino, who likes to get involved in the game, drops into midfield, manages to make long passes and creates assists for the other players, especially for Salah and Mané. I'm a little like that too.”
And where does Rodrigues dream of showing off his qualities? Portuguese football, naturally. And he tells the Maisfutebol he has faith it will happen one day. For now, County have a promotion play-off place to worry about…
Original interview via @sergiolpereira for Maisfutebol
By Sean Gillen
