The sacrifice of a grandfather to bring his grandson to the First Division
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Girona“I owe almost everything to him for getting here. If you want to make the jump, you have to have your own means to go to training and games, and there was a time when my parents were working and couldn’t take care of it. Then my grandfather appeared. He is the one who took me everywhere.” The words of Cristian Portugués, known in football as Portu, narrate the emotional relationship he had with Antonio Portugués. A story that could be the story of any grandson with his grandfather. Accustomed to caring tenderly for the new generations, what would we do without the grandparents? The Getafe player, living history of Girona, returns to Montilivi (10 p.m., Movistar LaLiga), where the Girona club will look for their first win of the season after falling in the opener in Valencia. The last two signings, Javi Hernández and Reinier, could have minutes.
Port i Grandpa, as everyone knows him, shared much more than a desire inside the car that took them to the pinnacle of state football. “Here we have it, the place for which we have fought so much”, the striker told him, in a report issued by Movistar in 2018, while showing him his locker in the Girona dressing room. “How many of your colleagues, good footballers, haven’t made it”, answered Antonio. The origins must never be forgotten. Even today, Portu is the footballer who has worn the Girona shirt more times in Primera (71). In total he was there for three seasons, from 2016 to 2019, he played 115 games and scored 29 goals. He arrived on a free transfer from Albacete, with whom he was relegated to Segona B, and was a fundamental part of the squad for the first white-and-red promotion. Already in the elite, the footprint of his duo with Cristhian Stuani will remain forever. His name sounded strongly for the selection and even Julen Lopetegui, selector at the time, let himself be seen in Montilivi to follow him. He was the real revelation of the League and he was about to be called up.
With the relegation to Segona, he also left money in the coffers: Real Sociedad, the club that loaned him to Getafe this summer and with whom he lifted a Copa del Rey, paid 10 million. It is the second highest sale of the Catalan entity. The break between the two parties occurred on June 18, 2019. “It seems like it was yesterday when I put on the Girona shirt for the first time. Step by step we have grown arm in arm, sharing joys and sorrows. The club and the fans have given me everything and I can proudly say that I gave myself up too. You are part of my family”, wrote Portu in the farewell statement.
Top scorer in both wins against Madrid
Beloved in Girona, he was the author of the two goals with which the Girona team beat Madrid twice, at Montilivi and at the Santiago Bernabéu. “It is the most important goal of my life”, said a Sports world regarding the first triumph, that immortal 2-1 by Sant Narcís. “I wasn’t thinking about anything, just running to where my teammates were, who deserved the goal as much as I did.” The victory was celebrated as a title. Perhaps it was the most relevant in terms of media, but the most transcendent in symbolism, without a doubt, was in Balaídos on September 29, 2017 in a three-way tie between Girona and Celta. “I was very clear for whom it would be my goal-scoring debut in Primera”. As soon as the ball entered, Portu approached the first camera he found and shouted: “Grandpa, it’s coming for you; this is for you”.
The sacrifice, translated into countless kilometers on the road, in thousands of prepared sandwiches, in infinite confidences, has been compensated by the joy of having achieved it. “Knowing that you have scored a goal for Madrid, Barça, Atlético de Madrid or Valencia… I have already paid”, repeated the grandfather, with an emotion that also invades Porto. “I will tell my children that he was a great person and gave everything for his grandchildren. This has come to light because of me, but he has taken care of us all the same, he has taught us everything he knew. He is the best grandfather you can have.”
