Without traveling to Reboleira since 2008/09, Sporting returns, this Friday, to a home where they are traditionally happy, but on a date dangerous to the green and white universe. The approach of a mythical duel in our football motivated us to take a trip back in time that served to draw two strong conclusions. The first associated with 26 years of only home victory of Estrela da Amadora in front of the lions; the second related to the executioner of that magical night for the tricolores: Renato Anjos.
«It’s better to score one goal against a big one than ten goals against a smaller one»
One of the good names of the I League of the 90s and beginning of the millennium, the conversation with the zero zero became a reality after my friend, Chaínho, made himself available as a valuable bridge for established contact.
“That was a crazy week!” he exclaimed, in a kind of summary of the memories that he unpacked in the following minutes: «I often say to my friends: it’s better to score one goal for a big one than ten for a small one. We are much more remembered, much more seen.”
Anjos and Chaínho in the company of several companions from 1997/98 @Arquivo Pessoal
A happy and glorious evening that was not dissociated from the «heartburn» fermented by the technical choice of an old acquaintance: «I have a history with Fernando Santos [então treinador do Estrela]… I was on the bench and I had terrible heartburn. Then he put me inside and… it looks like it was a vitamin.”
«Opportunities appeared and I was in the right place at the right time. It was a very cool thing. Even today, my friends and the people I talk to remember Renato who scored the goals for Sporting”, he assured, now that he is no longer linked to football – he currently works as a salesman for a hygiene products company.
«The one most similar to me is Kikas»
At the launch of Friday’s duel, Renato considered that the 26th anniversary of the event “has no impact”, in a “very difficult game”, where his “faith” in victory remains strong. Challenged to establish a parallel with one of the forwards in the current squad, the answer came immediately.
«The one most similar to me is Kikas. A fast player who likes to play on the counterattack. I was fast, I liked to play with my head, so the closest thing to me is Kikas,” he assured.
«We beat the big three that year»
The three points allowed rise to fifth place, pushing the Lions to seventh place. A sign of the sporting success that would culminate in European qualification for the following season, also based on the spirit of the working group: «We had a very funny team, it was a family. We still get along today.”
“We had an extraordinary season. Estrela’s goal has always been not to go down. We accomplished this in plenty of time [de antecedência] It is we beat the big three that year”, he recalled, also guaranteeing that, “in terms of visibility”, that night of March 29, 1998 was the peak of a career that lasted until 2007: “Every day there were interviews, all week there was talk about Renato .»
A certificate that attests to the conviction that his first spell at the club was the most memorable of his career: « My time at Estrela were the best years in the I Liga, after a season at Alverca where I scored 36 goals.»
A record that aroused our interest in collecting the missing statistics of the executioner of lions. A still unique feat that will serve as a warning to Rúben Amorim’s pupils and additional motivation for Sérgio Vieira’s disciples. Then carefully follow the 8:30 p.m. this Friday…
