Portugal has a new hero: Francisco Conceição. The Porto winger was the author of the goal that gave the 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the final moments of the match, earning three points in Group F of Euro 2024 and cementing Portugal’s status as a title contender.
For Francisco Conceição to make a name for himself in football was not easy, being the son of former player Sérgio Conceição, who until recently was his coach at the Portuguese champions. It was his father who gave him the opportunity to make his first-team debut in 2021, and although that path to becoming a professional player was full of obstacles, including a disappointing stint at Ajax, Francisco settled in last season at the Dragões.
READ MORE
++ The footballers born in Brazil who played for Germany, host and favorite in the Euro
++ Brazilian-born footballers who won the Euro
++ Which Brazilian clubs are World Champions?
That story seems to be in the family DNA. Sérgio Conceição also did not find it easy to make a name for himself. After spells with Porto and other Portuguese clubs, in 1998 he was transferred to Lazio where he had a dream debut: scoring a goal for a 2-1 victory over Juventus in the Italian Super Cup final.
At that time, in his first experience outside his country, he was so unknown in Italy that they confused him with Flávio Conceição, the former Brazilian midfielder who was then shining at Deportivo La Coruña and later signed for Real Madrid.
“I made my debut, scored, and won my first Italian trophy. No one knew me, they even called me Flávio,” Sérgio Conceição recalled in an interview with Lazio Style 1900, the official magazine of the Italian capital club. “From that moment on, they found out my name. It was an unforgettable moment, I showed the whole world that I could do something important in Italy,” he added.
Sérgio later represented the jerseys of Parma and Inter Milan, among other teams. He was also part of Portugal’s squad at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
