Miguel Queiroz: Proud to captain the national team | OneFootball

Miguel Queiroz, a native of the Algarve and with more than ten years of service at FC Porto, stated that leading the Portuguese national basketball team – which will be present at Eurobasket 2025 – is one of the greatest sources of pride in his life.

“What do I feel about being the captain of this team? First of all, a lot of pride, I am truly very proud to be the captain of the national team,” the Portuguese number 11 told Lusa news agency, as he reaches the final phase of the European Championship with 121 games for the main team.

The responsibility does not weigh him down: “It ends up being something natural and at the same time easy, for me, because of the teammates I have. It’s a group where we all know each other very well, where I know perfectly when I have to speak, when I don’t have to speak.”

“That’s why it’s an enormous pride, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of in my life,” emphasized the 34-year-old player, who debuted for the national team on July 13, 2013, shortly after Portugal’s previous participations in the European Championships (2007 and 2011).

A long road had to be traveled to bring Portugal back to a fourth final phase, with the Portuguese team also having participated, by invitation, in the 1951 edition.

“We went through a lot to get here. There was a time when we didn’t have 12 players to play a last qualifying game for a European Championship,” he recalled, adding that a lot has changed, as “this new generation showed great ambition, from the very beginning, to be back at Eurobasket, to raise the level of Portugal.”

The process was demanding: “It was a lot of work, many defeats, many frustrating trips, long trips with heavy losses, which always hurt us. Those were tough moments that gave me experience, that gave us experience, so we could win many games now in this phase.”

“I don’t like to compare, but this generation really has enormous pride in playing for Portugal, has great ambition, they are young and want to do something for Portuguese basketball, and for themselves. For the team to rise in level, it always helps when you want to be a better player, it always helps if everyone does that,” he highlighted.

The building of this group didn’t happen overnight: “the first years were difficult,” but “from training camp to training camp,” it started to “grow” and “the level rose a lot,” with it also being fundamental to have a defined goal.

“I think the most important fact is that we had a very clear objective and everyone, from the beginning, took it on as a great goal. That focus was decisive in achieving this qualification,” he reinforced to Lusa.

Portugal secured a place in the final phase and will face some of the best European teams: in Group A, in Riga, they will compete against Serbia, Turkey, hosts Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Estonia, needing to finish among the top four to advance, a goal they clearly define.

“Our goal is to get through the group stage,” he stated, without hesitation, adding: “We have to focus game by game, first the Czech Republic. If I start thinking I’m going to win three games… I don’t think that’s the way we should go, I think we have to go for the first game. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

And about the importance of the first match in a short competition, he stressed: “It’s extremely important, of course starting well is always very good, it gives us more confidence, even greater confidence, to face the following games. But it’s not decisive.”

“We have to play, think that it’s just another basketball game, on a big stage, and we have to have that mindset, we have to have the courage to understand, without being too nervous, but also to understand that we have to take steps forward, and I think the team will be able to do it,” the captain assured Lusa.

For that, a supernatural performance is not necessary, but rather reaching maximum performance: “When the training camp started, I told my teammates that our best at that moment was not enough, but I was absolutely sure that when the European Championship arrived, our best at that moment would come. And that’s what I believe in.”

“We have to be better every day, we have to give our best every day. Here there’s no 110%, there’s 100%. Give 100% every day, so we can grow gradually. We don’t need to grow a lot, it’s one step at a time. We’ll be prepared and I’m sure that our best on August 27 will be enough,” Miguel Queiroz concluded.

The final phase of the 2025 European Championship, which will be the 42nd edition of the tournament, will take place in Latvia, Cyprus, Finland, and Poland, between August 27 and September 14.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.