Yuri de Souza, Portuguese-Brazilian veteran of Ponferradina, from the Spanish second division, was on the verge of being the protagonist of a «scandal» in the King’s Cup when he scored the goal that forced the prime-divisional Spanish team to go to extra-time and then penalties in the game of 16th of the second Spanish competition.
The Catalan team, clear favorites in this tie, went all the way to El Toralín Stadium and took the lead right after opening the game, in the 4th minute, in a move designed by former Benfica player Raul de Tomas and submitted by Pedrosa.
However, the Spaniard ended up relaxing in the final moments of the game and that’s when the 39-year-old Luso-Brazilian appeared, who spent practically his entire career in Portugal.
Two minutes from the end of the game, the experienced forward was brought down in the area by Sergi Gómez and, in the conversion of the maximum punishment, fired with a low shot. A goal that forced the Spaniard to play another half-hour.
At this point, it is worth talking a little more about this Portuguese-Brazilian who is a real phenomenon in Spain. He was born in Maceió, Brazil, but never played in South America. He traveled to Portugal as a child and started playing for Marialvas, then trained at Maia and, as a senior, he played for Boavista, Gil Vicente and Estoril-Praia before to emigrate to Spain in 2005.
In Spain, he played for Pontevedra, Las Palmas and, at this time, at the age of 40, he is making his 13th season at Ponferradina, a club in the province of Léon, in northwestern Spain. In total he has scored more than two hundred goals in Spain and is the third best scorer among the three main Spanish divisions, just behind…Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
It should be noted that Yuri grew up alongside Igor, the 41-year-old brother who was also in Spain and still plays in Portugal, with Maia Lidador.
Returning to Tuesday’s game, the Catalan team accelerated the game again in the extra half-hour, at a time when Yuri was already suffering from muscle problems, and had several opportunities to resolve the tie, but the tie remained until the end and the game was even decided on penalties.
In the penalty shoot-out lottery, Ponferradina missed three kicks (Yuri didn’t score) and the Spaniard made use of his greatest experience to progress to the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.
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