Blast From The Past - Joao Moreira

Portugal. Football. Portugal. Football. Sounds good?, sexy football, Eusebio, Luis Figo, Conceicao, Euro 2004, Christiano Ronaldo etc. Back in the late 90's, Swansea experienced it's very own slice of the Eusebio legacy when Jan Molby's dubious transfer dealings cough £109,000 for Watkin cough were again in evidence as Joao Moreira made his way across the continent to join the Swans. Joao was signed from Portuguese giants Benfica for £50,000 in August 1996. Quite what part Benfica he came from is open to interpretation; early reports indicated it was the reserve Hockey team. Whatever his role at Benfica, big things were expected of him at the Vetch. Joao spoke little English, and tended to keep himself to himself on the training ground. He soon came out of his shell after he realised that the universal language of footballers was the same everywhere i.e. bollocks. Moreira went on to make 20 forgettable appearances for the Swans before moving on. His final game for the Swans ended in tears. He made his farewell appearance in the 1997 play-off final against Northampton. Moreira summed up his feelings as follows: "One of my dreams was to play at Wembley. But as it turned out, it was the most disappointing game of my life. We played well but, unfortunately, it all fell apart in the last minute. Amazing things like this tend to happen in football." Touching, I'm sure you'll agree. After leaving us, Moreira allegedly spent three seasons with French Premier Division outfit Lens, something I find hard to imagine, although it appears he only started one game for them, which I find less hard to imagine. When my sister was a student, she shared a house with other students (as you do) on King Edward road, and for some reason Moreira was also a tenant in the house. He was tidy and always did the washing up apparently, another example of the professionalism brought to the country by these foreign stars… Quite where he is now, I don't know, or care. So long Joao, You came, You saw, You shuffled around a bit, And went away again.

Submitted by Ed Rowlands

Photo: Action Images

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