May 05, 2020 – 11:55 p. m.
Francisco Henao Bolívar – Reporter for El País
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Brayan Riascos is that he is not changed by anyone. The promotion to First Division in Portugal of his National team, and the photo that he was finally taken in Funchal with his maximum idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, have him sticking out his chest because, without a doubt, he fulfilled two of his great dreams.
The Buenaventura forward, who has practically made his career abroad, told the details of 10 minutes that will be unforgettable for him, since at the Funchal stadium – capital of the island of Madeira -, he could be received this week by the Portugal’s most famous man, Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the middle of a joyous meeting, in which the promotion of his team was celebrated, news that he had just received, Riascos agreed to speak with El País.
How did you get to Cristiano to have your picture taken?
I am a huge fan of Cristiano, I was inspired by him, and when he arrived in Funchal, I knew that he started training at our team’s stadium; I spoke with my sports director to help me take a photo with him, and Cristiano humbly accepted not only for the photo, but to chat for a while.
Being Funchal very small, one assumes that you stopped by Cristiano’s house to see if he saw him …
Yes, of course … I know the house where Cristiano’s family lives; It is close to where I live, about five minutes by car. Since I went to the center a lot, I had the opportunity to stop by his house; People saw him nearby, but he often preferred to hide because journalists began to take photos of him. He kept himself locked up.
Brayan Riascos, Valle del Cauca player.
Private file
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Was there a lot of security around him?
In the beginning, yes, because there were many journalists behind him who recorded and published things; He had a lot of security, but later I saw him as normal, without so many people behind him.
Did you have to wait long for the meeting with Cristiano?
No. I understand that he gets up early to train, and we, due to the coronavirus issue, in my case, I had to work in the afternoon because we were doing it in groups. The sports director of the team sent me a message in the morning saying that Cristiano was available to have his picture taken; As soon as I saw that message, I got up from one and left the house like a madman heading to the stadium.
What did you talk about?
He told me that I was a machine because that was what they had told him, I replied that thank God things were happening; we began to gather, to talk other things; he and the team doctor made fun of my feet, that because I was not ‘garet’ like most, that I had straight feet. He was laughing a lot at that. He asked me how long I had been in Portugal and if I liked his country.
Was there a gift from him, a T-shirt, for example?
No, all I wanted was the photo and the autograph; I wanted nothing more. It was given to me, I was able to talk to him, my colleagues did not even have the opportunity to take the photo with Cristiano.
Did he tell you about James and Square?
No, rather I was the one who told him about Cuadrado, about the choke salsa that he always dances because Cristiano when he was at Real Madrid also danced it with James. He told me that he liked that rhythm, that it is very happy and that James and Cuadrado are the ones who set the pace.
What advice did Cristiano give you?
Work, that’s his word, work. He told me that in order to get to the top you had to work hard. And I know, it all depends on me, on preparing myself better, on doing things well, as he always does.
In addition to meeting Cristiano, he had the good news of the promotion. How did it happen?
My team is Nacional de Madeira, whose capital is Funchal, and we celebrated the promotion because they barely communicated that good news to us; the League considered that the first two of the B should rise due to the issue of the pandemic. The managers determined that to continue with the promotion tournament, it was best for the first two to ascend.
How was this season?
Very well, I made 12 goals, it was a great season. For now I’m going to celebrate and we’ll see if something better appears or I’m still here at Nacional.
Data
Brayan Riascos was born in Buenaventura and his path in soccer has been more abroad.
He played in the third division of Brazil with Flamengo de Guarulhos, and then went on to Trofense, from the second division of Portugal.
In 2015 he returned to Flamengo de Guarulhos, from where he was later transferred to Bragantino, from the Brazilian second division.
In 2016, he signed for Atlético Huila, the only Colombian team in which he played. Then he went to Portugal.
In 2017 he reached Famalicao, later he played with Oliveirense, both teams second. In 2018 he went to Nacional, with which he managed to ascend.
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