Now that we’ve covered Lucas Moura’s quotes when speaking to Brazilian press after his hat-trick for Tottenham last night, it’s fair to say he’s not the only who got emotional after the game.
The player’s father has also been interviewed by the local media, and had a pretty good story to tell about his family’s reaction to the final moments of the match.
“There were still a few seconds to finish. I shouted, ‘the game is not over yet!’ But the people did not hear me. At the time he scored the third, they jumped in the pool with clothes and everything,” Jorge Rodrigues told Globo Esporte.
He also spoke about his first contact with Lucas after the match: “It was by video, he was on the plane. We cried a lot. He kept staring at us, watching us cry, not believing what happened. We are all living a dream and we have not woken up to reality yet.”
This is the time when people recall the things they’ve been through, and Lucas’ father remembered when it was hard to keep up with his son’s training.
“When he started in futsal, it was a complicated routine. He trained at night, so I would come home from work and take him. Then the training ended at 11pm, midnight. I got very tired.
“One day, Lucas was 12 years old, I got really tired and called him to talk after a training session. That routine of getting home every day at midnight was hard. I asked him if that was what he wanted, because ‘Dad was tired’.
“He started crying a lot and said that football was what he liked best and wanted to continue. I cried too. We did not give up, and look where he got.”
Since they’ve been through all this far away from Lucas, Jorge now promises he will be watching the Tottenham versus Liverpool final from the stands.
“We didn’t go to the semifinal, but now we are going to Madrid. We are all anxious and very happy. He has bounced back, deserves a lot. We are living a dream.”
Just imagine if that dream can go another step. Unfortunately, there’s no swimming pools at Atletico Madrid’s stadium.
