‘Let them win now’

• Luke Blijboom

  editor NOS Sport

He only needs to enter the steps of the Estádio José Alvalade during Sporting Lisbon’s home games to be reminded by bystanders of that one day: May 5, 2005.

Or better: the 122nd minute of the semi-final of the UEFA Cup between AZ and Sporting Clube de Portugal that took place at the time.

In the eighty official matches that Miguel Garcia played for Sporting Clube de Portugal, he scored two goals. One of those two hits meant the 3-2 eighteen years ago with which the elimination of AZ became a fact. It earned him a nickname that will stick with him for the rest of his life.

The Hero of Alkmaar. The Hero of Alkmaar.

He was not a player of name or fame. Not even, he laughs. “Yet there is not a Sporting supporter who does not know me.”

It was a goal that changed his life forever, says a telephone call from Lisbon, where he now works in the world of real estate. The former right back (40) buys old buildings in the center of the Portuguese capital, renovates them and then sells them again.

Besides that goal, made with the head from a corner kick, Garcia mainly remembers two things from that memorable semi-final, 24 hours after PSV’s elimination in the Champions League by AC Milan.

The 8,000 crazy supporters in the Alkmaarder Hout. And the wrong attitude with which Sporting started the game.

“We played in a very small stadium where the audience sat on top of the field and raged the whole game. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t get into our game for a moment. On the one hand because we could hardly walk on that soggy , heavy field.”

“On the other hand, I dare to say that now, because we may be underestimating AZ a bit. It was a club that we did not know at all. We should have known better. A club does not just end up in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. “

Sporting previously eliminated renowned clubs such as Feyenoord, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United in the UEFA Cup tournament. Garcia says he has no concrete memories of the duel in De Kuip in February 2005.

“I only remember that after one of the goals we were greeted with a huge beer shower from the stands.” The fact that the Sporting players were pelted from the stands, the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo heard a fireworks bomb explode next to him and the match was eventually stopped for twenty minutes, Garcia displaced.

While Sporting was wary of big-name clubs, the tough opposition in AZ’s semi-final came as a complete surprise to the Portuguese.

“Of the clubs we feared, to our surprise we had won that UEFA tournament relatively easily. We played our two most difficult games against the easiest opponent on paper. Even at home in Lisbon we only managed to win 2-1.”

Garcia: “AZ’s game just didn’t suit us. The defense was very stiff and the players were very strong with the ball at their feet. AZ created a lot of chances, I remember. Again, we had not counted on so much opposition for a moment “This was by far the best team we faced that year. Tactically very strong. I am not surprised that Co Adriaanse became FC Porto’s trainer the following year.”

The elimination of Sporting, Garcia still clearly remembers, was actually already a fact on the late evening of May 5th. Until the Portuguese got a corner after two hours and two minutes of play.

“In youth, as a defender, I often had to go forward when a corner kick was given. That way I scored quite a few goals as a young player. In Alkmaar I was suddenly instructed to attack together with our keeper. strengthen.”

Garcia did as he was told. With his head he headed in the liberating 3-2 at the near post from a not so tight corner kick from the Chilean substitute Rodrigo Tello. “The rest is history.”

The physically tough encounter against Adriaanse’s team provided Garcia with a second lasting memory, in addition to that all-decisive goal. “At one point I was hit by a shoe above my lip. There is still a scar from the four stitches that had to be done.”

At the airport in Lisbon, the players were welcomed by thousands of supporters the day after the match. However, a personal drama also played out on the banks of the Tagus that day.

During the match in Alkmaar, Portuguese television commentator Jorge Perestelo was so overwhelmed in the stands by the unexpected goal that he became unwell and died once at home in Lisbon. At the autopsy, doctors concluded that his emotional outburst of 24 hours earlier had retroactively killed him.

The goal also brought Garcia little luck. In the final of the UEFA Cup, Sporting lost 3-1 to CSKA Moscow, even in their own stadium.

Six years later, Garcia, this time in the shirt of SC Braga, was in the final of the Europa League. A stunt of jewels, although he once again missed out on a grand prize. In Dublin, the victory went to arch-rival FC Porto with minimal difference.

Garcia was already the prototype of the football nomad at that time. In 2007 he moved from Sporting to the Italian Reggiana, for which he did not play any official matches. He continued his quest for happiness with Olhanense, SC Braga, Orduspor, RCD Mallorca and, in India, NorthEast United and Sporting Clube de Goa. He scored four times in 269 games.

If his schedule allows, Garcia will sit in front of the TV on Thursday to watch the second semi-final of the Conference League between AZ and West Ham United. Which of the two clubs does he hope to progress to the final in Prague? “AZ.”

“AZ and West Ham are two teams that are equally strong. West Ham is not doing well in the Premier League at the moment and AZ must take advantage of that. The odds are fifty-fifty. There is no clear favourite.”

The reason for Garcia to hope for an Alkmaar victory is the status of both Dutch and Portuguese football. “There are excellent players in both countries. The problem is that we only train football players. As soon as someone stands head and shoulders above it, he is sold to Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona or Real Madrid. That is very unfortunate. “

“So let AZ win. As far as I’m concerned, the big money doesn’t always have to prevail everywhere.”