A BOLA – “I never imagined that I was experiencing so much joy in Benfica” (Benfica)

With his gray beard and the calm experienced by those who live in the interior of Brazil, in Ribeirao Preto, 350 kilometers north of Sao Paulo, ex-striker Jonas was the protagonist of the Brazilian TV show, Polyragem, by SporTV. The protagonist, in fact, was Benfica, because next to him was Arthur, a former red-haired goalkeeper and now captain of Alverca, and in the role of the interlocutor, Roger Flores, who passed through Luz at the start of the millennium and is the presenter of the program.

It was Roger who started the discussion about what united the three former athletes, Benfica. “I passed the club at a very turbulent time, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, in a very big political battle, where the stadium was demolished, there was not even a dressing room, and we changed clothes in the garage, and then we took a bus and I didn’t even know the destination. If the training is going to be in Jamor, or somewhere else. Even the club today has one of the largest training centers in the world … ”said the presenter.

“Seixal got started and reached four-time champion FC Porto,” said Artur, who seized the opportunity to provoke his teammate. “We were trying to break that dominance that was tough.” “Not Jonas, he’s already chewed on everything [risos]». He concluded his speech by saying, “But he rode the waves with a lot of merit.” “I couldn’t imagine living so much joy in Benfica,” the striker agreed. “It was because of the structure, because of the Brazilian friends, Artur himself, Luisau, Julio Cesar, we had almost a team of Brazilians, from defense to attack.”

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