From working at McDonalds in Lisbon to playing in Ukraine during a war: Portuguese defender Miguel Campos thriving after hat-trick for surprise package Oleksandriya | OneFootball

Central defender Miguel Campos scored a hat-trick in the Ukrainian League last weekend, the latest stage of a remarkable journey which has taken him from the lower reaches of Portuguese football to being a surprise contender for the national title in Eastern Europe.

Oleksandriya, who have never been champions, are unbeaten so far after 12 rounds of action and sit level with Dynamo Kyiv at the top of the Premier League. Campos’ treble in the 3-0 win over Karpaty Lviv was made all the more remarkable by the fact it doubled his career total for league goals.

At 28, Campos is far from a household name; he has had to work hard for his career as a top-flight player. Starting in the second tier with Beira-Mar, he spent several years thereafter in the lower reaches of the pyramid at Gafanha, Oliveira de Frades, Olhanense, Águeda, Benfica Castelo Branco and Anadia. Campos’ first venture abroad took him to Croatian side Rudes in 2022, where he spent 18 months before a €100,000 move to Oleksandriya.

Portuguese paper O Jogo caught up with Campos after his hat-trick, asking him about his background and the decision to move to Ukraine. The country has been hugely affected by the Russo-Ukrainian war for the last ten years, particularly since Russia’s full-scape invasion into Ukraine in February 2022, which has led to tens of thousands of deaths and many displaced.

“I had some reservations, of course,” Campos tells O Jogo of the switch. “But I thought: if football is working, things can't be that bad. I saw that there were a lot of foreigners playing here, I tried to understand the reality and they assured me that my club's city had never been attacked. It's a small city, with little interest from the other side.

“At that time, Rudes was last in the Croatian league, with no great prospects of improving, and financially the offer was very good. I don't regret it. Ukraine has many good things. If it weren't in a war situation, I wouldn't have any problems making a career here. They were very quick to integrate me into the squad, to make me one of them.

“Kyiv is a city similar to Lisbon, metropolitan, modern. My city is more old fashioned. That's the worst part. But the people are very friendly, very welcoming. I'm very happy here.

“The weather is extreme. When I arrived, it was freezing cold: -10, -15. You couldn't even stand it with gloves. By May it was warmer. Food... I prefer Portuguese food (laughs)! They have a soup called borscht that's good, and also some rissoles that they call 'dumplings'.”

Bruno Alves inspiration

On the pitch, things could not be much better for Campos, whose hat-trick included two penalties but also a free-kick Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of. Or more precisely Bruno Alves, whom Campos admits has always been somewhat of an inspiration in his role as an assertive defender.

“The hat-trick? On these occasions, even the dog calls us to congratulate us (laughs)! Yes, there have been lots of messages. Even from friends or people from my hometown who didn't even know where I was playing. Now they know.

“I wasn't given the opportunity [to take free-kicks before] but I also didn't feel ready. I've been training a lot recently, especially direct free kicks, because penalties are usually more about giving confidence to the guys who play up front. I've been feeling more confident, the coaches felt I was ready and I started taking them. I usually take 20 to 30 shots at the end of training, if the goalkeepers have the patience (laughs), and I score one in three.

“I always saw myself in Bruno Alves, who was a very focused central defender, physically very strong and technically very good. I also play footvolley with my friends, I identify a lot with him. It's a question of mentality, of always wanting to improve, honing your skills. Now I want to score everything (laughs)! I want to go out on the field and take free kicks and penalties tomorrow! Now, scoring goals has become an addiction, I just want to do more and more.

“One more game like this and I'll be up there with the top goalscorers (laughs). In fact, neither I nor my teammates can remember another central defender who has scored three goals in a game. But more seriously, the goal is to help Oleksandriya maintain their status as the best defense in the league [only seven goals conceded in 12 matches].”

Oleksandriya were relegation-battlers last season, with a strong end to the campaign seeing them finish six points clear of the danger zone. The club have never won a major trophy, but did compete in the UEFA Europa League in 2016-17, becoming the first side from their province of Kirovohradshchyna to take part in European competition.

“Our ambition is to be back in Europe,” says Campos. “We are feeling confident at the moment, but we know that the championship is long and there are still many games to be played. We have to remain humble. But of course, internally we are very happy and motivated, and we are already dreaming of something more. We are exceeding all expectations.

“Did Ukraine surprise me? Yes. I didn't expect Ukraine to be such a football-loving country. There are a lot of fans, and they are very enthusiastic. I expected a very physical league, with tall, strong players and a more direct game, but it's not like that, it's quite technical. I also stand out more because I like to go out and build up, and they bought me for that reason. The coach [Ruslan Rotan] gives me that confidence.”

Humble beginnings in football

If Campos has grown in confidence, it shows in his career journey. Born in Águeda, the Aveiro man was playing district football in Lisbon at the age of 21, during which time his dream of becoming a professional was far from a formality as he juggled working normal jobs, as well as heading Stateside for university.

“At the end of 2016/17, I went to train in the United States, at an academy called Next Level, where they trained university students to try to get scholarships to study and play there,” he recalls. “I went to a university called Ohio Valley and had a great season, which lasted about three months there. We were champions, but there I didn't have enough visibility to get into the MLS draft.

“So, at the end of the season (halfway through the season in Portugal), a friend who was playing for Sacavenense (João Palhinha’s former academy club) challenged me to go and train there. I went with the idea of ​​moving up to the main team, which was in the Campeonato de Portugal (4th tier) but I ended up only playing for the B team.

“It's completely different. The quality of the players, especially individually, the style of play, much more direct. These are championships based more on individual quality and experience. And of course, the players have other jobs. I worked at McDonald's in Sacavém, I trained in the afternoon and then went in at 8 or 10 at night and left at 4 in the morning.  I earned €600. From the club, nothing. I worked at Zara, even when I was playing in the Campeonato de Portugal.

“No [I never felt like giving up] fortunately, I've always surrounded myself with people who believe in me. Even the coaches at the time always believed in me - one of them later went to Olhanense and ended up 'taking' me there.

“Today I am a completely different player than I was at the beginning of my career. I was a central defender who basically hit the ball (laughs). Today I am much more capable and versatile, I have improved a lot in terms of technique and understanding the game. I really like one-on-ones with the forward, stealing the ball, tackling, and I rarely lose balls in the air.”

Hopes for the future

At 28, Campos is certainly a late bloomer, but when speaking about the future there is a personal and collective element to his hopes. Campos hopes there will be an end to the current suffering of many people in his adopted homeland, while in terms of his playing career there are some lofty ambitions.

“In the city where I live [Oleksandriya] nothing serious has ever happened, no bombings or any kind of attack,” he says. “In Kyiv, on the other hand, it is almost common to hear the Ukrainian defense shooting down rockets or drones. Here, an alarm goes off at least every day. At first it worried me, but now it has become part of my daily life. The first instinct is to be afraid, but after a while... People get used to it and go about their normal lives.

“Honestly, it was a relief for me that [Donald] Trump won the US election, and I think many people in Ukraine feel the same way, because he promised that the war would end if he was elected. Let's hope he keeps his word.

“For my career? I think that physically I would fit in very well in the Premier League, it is a very aggressive league. And I wanted to play in the Spanish league to test myself from a technical point of view.

“Honestly, my biggest ambition is to play for Sporting. I know that it is becoming increasingly complicated, but it is still a dream.”