“In Sporting, Amorim had comfort. When he got outside, maybe...”

O lateral, who worked with Amorim at Sporting Braga and then at Sporting, by the coach's choice, admits that the move to England removed to the coach some of the comfort provided by the structure he had built in Alvalade.

“In Sporting he had a staff that gave him great comfort. When you got outside, you probably didn't have that comfort and you had to decide everything. And he likes to decide everything, but comes to a certain point when it is complicated”, said Gil Vicente's defense, in an interview with the agency Lusa.

Still, the 33-year-old player considers that the football brand of the Portuguese technician remains evident in this new chapter of the career.

“ When we look at his team, we recognize Ruben Amorim's identity. Even if we did not see him in the bank, we would realize that that team was yours ", sustained.

Amorim was just one of the Portuguese coaches of international projection with whom the side crossed a path made mainly between Sporting and Sporting Braga, in which he also highlights Abel Ferreira, Jorge Jesus, Carlos Carvalhal or Marco Silva.

“ Fortunately, I've caught almost every coach who's ever reached a great level in football. Everyone has their way of working and seeing things, but everyone gave me luggage, especially tactics, and little details that make a difference,” he noted.

Abel Ferreira appears, however, as a decisive figure in the affirmation of the natural of Nazaré, after having guided him in the juniors and in the team B of Sporting and, years later, having bet on defense in Braga.

“I had already been my coach in Sporting, juniors and team B, and it was who took me to Braga, it was decisive in my career”, he recalled.

The move to Minho, in 2017, would eventually represent a turning point for a player still looking for regular use in the top tier.

“The Braga opened my doors to be the player I am in the I Liga”, summarized the experienced side, which won by the minhotos a Cup of the League and a Cup of Portugal.

It was also in Braga that he worked with Carlos Carvalhal, at a time that he considers decisive in creating the conditions for returning to the club where he completed his training.

“The time I did with him was fantastic and gave me comfort to be comfortable and show all my potential”, he recalled.

Jorge Jesus, current national selector, guided him in the first passage by the main team of Sporting, but the lesser use limits the weight of this relationship in the course of the right defense.

“ I didn't play much, but he's an indisputable coach. We know what it is and its quality, I learned a lot”, he said.

The return to Alvalade in 2021 is pointed out as one of the “high points” of the career, and Ricardo Esgaio recalls the conquest of “unforgettable” titles.

“ Fortunately, I was able to return to Sporting and we won unforgettable successes. The national title was the one that wanted the most ", stressed.

More than a decade at the top level allowed him to also meet some of the players who impressed him most, both as opponents and within the locker room itself.

“ I remember my first derby, a Benfica-Sporting. I caught Gaitán in front and it was striking. And Brahimi, in FC Porto, was phenomenal ", he recalled.

The Argentinean would end up, years later, passing from opponent to teammate in Sporting Braga, a course in which Esgaio highlighted ‘craques’ as Ricardo Horta and Paulinho, in Minho, and Coates, Pedro Porro, Nuno Mendes, Pedro Gonçalves and Viktor Gyökeres, in Sporting.

Among so many names and titles, the arrival of the main team remained to be realized, despite the international course in the young echelons, including the presence at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“ Obviously I wanted to debut and worked my ass off to get it, but it wasn't possible. I don't keep hurt. The players who were in my position deserved to be there”, he shot.