Wolverhampton Wanderers continue getting a lot of attention from the Portuguese press. On Friday there was a big story about Nuno Espírito Santo’s work at Molineux, as the current campaign could mean the redemption for both manager and club.
Newspaper O Jogo recalls the boss left Valencia and Porto without any glories, and could finally have his qualities proved if getting Wolves Premier League qualification. Wolverhampton, who ‘were big half a century ago’ would obviously benefit from that.
To talk about the club, O Jogo invited the former midfielder Silas, who played for Wolves between 2003 and 2004 and is now a football pundit in Portugal.
“Nuno Espírito Santo made a calculated bet: none of this is done blindly,” Silas told O Jogo. “He knew who he was going to work with and I sincerely hope he can get the promotion. I think he’s going to get there, but one thing I’m sure of: he’s going to have a connection with the fans as he will not have anywhere else.”
“I remember that, when he arrived in Valencia, he did a good job, but then they asked him to leave. It surely won’t be like this there.”
Silas signed for Wolves in 2003 on a €2.25m deal from União Leiria. After spending a year at the club, he was sent on loan to Marítimo, and didn’t really have a chance to return, as at the end of the spell he moved to Belenenses on a free.
He spoke about the reasons why he couldn’t succeed: “I was wrong to have learned about Wolverhampton’s history but not about the game model. Later, with the tools I acquired, I could have adapted, but not 13/14 years ago. I barely touched the ball: the game was straightforward, very much looking for second balls, and I did not have a coach to help me. Renato Sanches himself will feel it at Swansea, as will Adrien at Leicester. Sportingly, it was not a good experience and I still regret that I didn’t enjoy that stage of my career.
“In the last game that Wolves had at home, when I was there, we had already been relegated and lost 2-0 to Hélder Postiga’s Tottenham. In the end, we were in the dressing room and the coach said that we could not undress; it was necessary to return to the pitch. I thought we were going to stretch or something, but Molineux was still full, with the fans clapping. It was an incredible thing. I had already decided to leave, but then I had an idea of what I was going to miss.
“There is respect for the player and the fan, as well as great working conditions. The supporters are of Wolverhampton and no other club. I felt it when we played against Manchester United, Liverpool and other big clubs.”
Silas also claimed that in England, he had more contact with fans than anywhere else: “Usually, in home games, we had to be in the stadium an hour and a quarter before kick-off. It was during this period that the players were in the dressing rooms, preparing and listening to the coach’s speech, but we arrived half an hour earlier than was supposed to be.
“This half-hour was dedicated exclusively to signing autographs and hanging with the Wolves fans. We all did it, and with taste. The local culture is very different for the better in this respect; here, incomprehensibly, is sometimes the player himself who inhibits the approach of a fan. I played in five countries and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
