Portuguese winger Gonçalo Borges had one of his best moments in the shirt of Dutch giants Feyenoord at the weekend, scoring a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw with Twente in Rotterdam.
Former FC Porto man Borges has struggled to make an impact during the first half of the season under Feyenoord boss Robin van Persie, but the 24-year-old has been more productive over recent weeks as he settles in Dutch football. Borges now has three goal involvements from his last six appearances in which he has played longer than a few minutes.
Borges’ strike in the 74th minute against Twente was reminiscent of Ricardo Quaresma, with the trivela finish used to cancel out Daan Rots’ first-half opener for Twente. Speaking after the match, Borges admitted Quaresma is an inspiration, while discussing a tough first part of the campaign in the Netherlands following his summer move from Porto.
“The goal? This is what I do when I’m feeling free, feeling confident and being myself. This is why I came. It was a good goal and important for the team.
“Quaresma? He’s a big friend of mine. I speak with him a lot. He’s my idol, him and my brother. All of my family likes him a lot. Everyone cheers him a lot. It was a proud moment for me. I did this in Porto a few times. So it was good, and many more to come.
“It was a bit hard,” he told ESPN NL. “Because the first six months in a new club, new country is always hard. In the middle of this first half-season, my grandma also passed, who I was really connected to. So it was not an easy six months, but I try to respond on the pitch when I play.
“I keep humble, I keep working hard. That’s what I’ve been doing. I try to get all the pieces to be 100% on the pitch. And I’m proud of myself for everything I’ve accomplished and survived in these first six months.”
Gonçalo Borges met buitenkantje rechts! 😍#feytwe pic.twitter.com/I3Z3XnRBrW
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) December 21, 2025
By Sean Gillen
