Tomás Ribeiro, a 23-year-old centre-back for Grasshoppers from Switzerland, passed through the Bwin stage of the Thinking Football Summit, where he shared the main moments of his still short career. With 62 games in the 1st League at the service of B SAD, the defender spoke a little about his new adventure and also spoke of the expectations he has for the World Cup in Qatar.
How is the experience in Switzerland going?
“It is very different. It’s a championship that doesn’t have the due value, honestly, it surprised me a lot at all levels. In terms of infrastructure, it has teams with great conditions. It’s a more physical football and teams with skills that develop probably very contrary to what we are used to here in Portuguese football. But it’s a football that combines a lot of things and that, by developing other skills, also becomes an interesting championship, with many more goals, as many teams end up getting a little more disorganized, but it’s a very competitive championship. We usually joke and compare to the Premier League and the Championship, because you never know who can win, whether at home or away, there is a lot of unpredictability. This ends up making the championship, for those watching from the outside, more fun, although for those who are playing, especially me as a defender, it sometimes gets complicated there, because nobody likes to concede a lot of goals and it’s much more fun to score a lot .”
At the age of 23, how was this move to Switzerland?
“It was a change that I felt I already needed and when the proposal came up I was super interested, not least because I had some colleagues who were already in Switzerland, some with whom I had already played and they helped a lot in adapting. I had the misfortune of suffering an injury, but they at Grasshoppers helped me with everything, with the house and everything I needed at a family level. It turned out to be a very easy adaptation and as I said the championship is very interesting. I am really enjoying being there, it has been a very good experience.”
Is the goal to stay there for a while longer, or is it going to return to Portugal?
“You never know. The market is very volatile and now with the World Cup different things can happen, but at the moment I am focused on my work at the club. As I said, at the beginning I suffered the injury and my focus on the return was to gain my space and demonstrate my value. I remain focused on that, as this is the only way to plan good things for the future.”
What perspectives do you have for the World Cup in Qatar?
“It was something that, being away, we’ve talked about a lot lately, realizing who’s in better conditions to win. In terms of the squad, I think Portugal is certainly the most balanced and the prospects can be very good, expectations are also high, depending on the quality of the players we have and the technical team. Of course, we already know what football is like and we have to go game by game.”
In our national team there are many players from Liga Portugal and others who passed through there and are now world stars. Does that also say a lot about the quality of our League?
“Without a doubt. The Portuguese player attracts much more than the League itself, unfortunately. The Portuguese League is still little recognized. The quality of the Portuguese player and the Portuguese coach is something that is worked on at home. The quality of the Portuguese player is so attractive for so many clubs and we have already seen many comments from great coaches like Guardiola and Klopp, recognized worldwide and who have already spoken highly of the Portuguese player. There is a certain imbalance here, as the Portuguese player is very good and recognized, but the Portuguese League still does not have the due recognition.”
