This interview with Ricardo is from the Euro 2020 preview issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe now and never miss an issue!
You represented Portugal on home soil at Euro 2004. Does losing the final to Greece still hurt 17 years on?
It hurts to think we were so close to winning it. The Portuguese people deserved that win, because of the atmosphere during the entire tournament. Luckily, the reaction of our fans made life bearable for us – every Portuguese was devastated to lose the final, but the fans were proud of our campaign because we’d never gone that far at the Euros before. Even today, people stop me in the street and say nice words about 2004.
Your best moment of the tournament was arguably the quarter-final against England. What are your memories of it?
Lovely memories – an incredible day for us as a team and for me personally. It was a tough game against one of the favourites to win the title, and that game had a bit of everything – great goals, nice saves and a lot of emotion! I have respect for England – I’m a big fan of their football culture.
Sol Campbell’s goal was disallowed late in that match. Should it have been allowed?
No! Two different England players committed a foul. Greece’s winner in the final shouldn’t have been allowed either. It makes me think what could have happened if we’d had VAR back then. History could have been different.
How were you feeling before the penalties?
Confident. Eusebio was at the stadium that night, and he was nervous because he had bad memories of Portugal losing to England at the 1966 World Cup. His presence was so important for us – we all put in extra effort to make Eusebio happy. I’ll never forget our hug after the game. We were both over the moon.
Did you expect David Beckham to miss?
Beckham was a fine penalty taker, but there were some difficulties with the penalty spot. The grass basically flew away when he took his shot – he was very unlucky. It was weird because the grass was new, but the penalty spot became this huge hole! It also hindered Rui Costa, who missed his penalty.
Then you saved from Darius Vassell...
I saw him coming and decided to do a little crazy act of taking my gloves off. It was just mind games – something different to give me extra motivation, as well as cause confusion for the opponent. I was very happy it worked perfectly! Years later, I became team-mates with Darius at Leicester – he told me he was already feeling anxious before the penalty, then it got worse when I took my gloves off!
And to top it all off, you scored the winner...
I used to practise penalties, and that wasn’t my first in a competitive match. The feeling to score that penalty was amazing, pure joy.
What was it like playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo back then, when he was just 17?
I consider it a privilege to have seen Cristiano’s development so closely. That generation of players proved a crucial part of Portugal’s growth. We now have a top quality team, we won Euro 2016, and we also have a football federation that is much better organised.
Was Luiz Felipe Scolari important, too?
Definitely. When he became the manager in 2003 he’d just won the World Cup for Brazil, so he brought a winning mentality. Suddenly, a world champion was telling us we had the quality to win things. I have great memories of working with Scolari. He’s very demanding, and his biggest legacy was showing that we could be competitive against anyone.
Under Scolari, you met England again in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup...
I remember telling him before the game that if it went to another shootout, I’d definitely save their first penalty. I said, “Mister, they will be frightened to see me again!” [Laughs]
And that’s exactly what happened – in fact, you became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a World Cup shootout...
I’m proud of that record. The most important thing was helping Portugal to advance, but it was great to make history at the same time.
Particularly as you saved from both Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard?
And Jamie Carragher! There’s a story about his penalty that people often forget. He took his penalty so quickly, before the referee had blown his whistle, and I couldn’t even move – I wasn’t expecting it at all. He scored, but it didn’t count. After that, I knew he was really nervous. I looked at him and thought, ‘You’re dead, I will save it’. Saving Lampard’s penalty had a symbolic impact, as England’s first in the shootout. Their other guys were probably thinking, ‘Our best penalty taker has missed – what will happen next?’
After denying the Three Lions again, were you the most hated man in England?! Well, maybe after Ronaldo...
People probably weren’t happy with me! I’ve got a lot of English friends and they still joke about it, but it’s always full of respect. I was treated very well in English football after that.
Did you join Leicester because Sven-Goran Eriksson was the manager?
I was having a tough time at Betis, and it was an honour to learn that such a top manager wanted me. The experience was incredible, even though things didn’t go to plan when it came to success. A shoulder injury ruined my chances, but I don’t regret going to England. My only regret is that I couldn’t stay longer.
What do you remember of their owner, the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha?
In my second week, he visited me at training. He asked how I was adapting, if I needed any help and if I wanted more plane tickets to fly my family over more often. I found that very generous. I still remember the day he invited some Buddhist monks into our dressing room before a home game. I’ve never seen a more calm dressing room! Leicester had everything needed to become a big club in England, but winning the Premier League isn’t something I could have predicted. I was over the moon when that happened – what a wonderful story.
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