Jordan: We were worthy winners

The Portuguese star earned the adidas Silver Ball award scoring seven goals and providing four assists at Paraguay 2019

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019 is now a part of history, and Portugal’s players have been celebrating their second global triumph in four years.

One of those players, Jordan, approaches with a gold medal around his neck, firmly clutching his adidas Silver Ball, which he does not look ready to let go of anytime soon.

“I don’t think I’ll sleep with the trophy, as it’s a bit hard, but maybe I’ll do it with the medal!” the talented Portuguese told FIFA.com, while breaking into laughter.

The second-best player of the tournament, still barefoot and sporting the No5 jersey he wore during the final, manages to find a moment of lucidity amid all the emotion.

“This is the perfect way to end a fantastic year, bearing in mind we also won the Euro Beach Soccer League and the European Games,” he said. “It’s a great source of pride to represent your country in such a way.”

Jordan was also a member of the national squad that secured the world title at Portugal 2015. “That was very special, because we won in front of our own fans, but doing it again so far from home is a unique feeling,” he explained. “Repeating something like this will be increasingly difficult.”

And what about the final itself? “The game was just as even as we thought it was going to be, but we were the better team overall,” said the 28-year-old. “Without taking anything away from Italy, I felt like we were worthy winners.”

He added: “The key to our success was playing well in the crucial matches. This is an experienced squad, full of players who knew what it was like to be crowned champions, and that made the difference.”

Jordan, a huge fan of beach soccer who missed the birth of his own daughter in 2016 because he was playing in a tournament, scored a memorable hat-trick in the final. In total, he contributed seven goals and four assists in Paraguay.

That statistic certainly raises eyebrows given that he had only scored six goals in his three previous World Cups combined. But he is quick to stress his team’s collective effort rather than talk up the individual feats that brought about his award.

“Of course the award is important – you’re the second-best player at a World Cup, where all the greatest players perform, after all,” he said. “But I can’t take all the credit: I’m surrounded by some of the most talented footballers around, and that makes it a lot easier to take on additional responsibility.”

In the tunnel waiting for Jordan are Portugal legend Madjer, whose eyes are still red from having broken down in front of the press while discussing his final World Cup match, his coach, Mario Narciso, and the rest of his team-mates.

He concluded: “We’ll have time to think about the future. But now it’s time to celebrate. We’ve worked so hard for this and we deserve to enjoy to.”

Source: FIFA.com

Photo: Getty Images