Most people came to the stadium because of Cristiano Ronaldo but it was Pepe who was applauded by everyone after Portugal’s victory over Turkey in the first match of Euro 2004, where he set his own record.
Türkiye passed the ball into the penalty area, Pepe headed it clear. Continuing a cross, Pepe headed the ball away again, the cheers grew louder again and again. So Türkiye passed the ball into the penalty area for the third time, Pepe headed the ball for the third time. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said after the match: “If you are a neutral fan following the match and watching Pepe play, you will never believe that he is 41 years old.”
That’s why even though most people came to see C.Ronaldo, even rushing down to the field to find a selfie with him, Pep still left his mark. With 5 minutes left in the match against Türkiye, the BVB Stadion Dortmund audience stood up to applaud his almost perfect performance: timely, determined. Participated in corner kicks 4 times, created a goal, had a further four recoveries, seven clearances and a ball possession accuracy of 97%.
But the number people really think about is 41 years and 113 days. It’s been 41 years and 121 days now. There is no one older at the Euros. Most likely there won’t be anyone. In Portugal’s opening match, Pepe surpassed the previous record of Gabor Kiraly, who was a goalkeeper. Now, Pepe still produces a performance like this, as impressive as any in his 18 years playing for Portugal, which debuted against Arda Guler, his opponent in Euro this time, only two years old. Before the match, he hugged and kissed a former teammate at Real Madrid, who has long since retired: Hamit Altintop is currently the director of the Turkish football association.
It was Pepe’s 139th match for the country where he first arrived in 2001 with five euros in his pocket and a choice: go buy food or call his mother. Before that, Pepe was just a pampered child, surrounded by sisters, and slept in his parents’ bed until he was 17 years old.
Pepe was born and raised in Brazil, with the name Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira. But then he chose to go to Portugal to compete and serve until now. To explain why Pepe has come such a long way, coach Martínez said: “He is a role model, a professional. The way he reads the game is a great example for Portuguese football and football in general. He uses 24 hours to become a professional soccer player. It’s easy to say but we all know players who usually only have two hours a day for football, then live a normal life and one day retire. Pepe is not. He always wanted to play another year, and play another year. Just living endlessly for the game. He forces his body to obey.”
The way Pepe works hard on the football field makes it form a “nightmare” playing style for his opponents. People don’t like that style of play, so they often call him “the butcher”.
But that is just one aspect that Pepe intentionally exposes for everyone to see. On the opposite side, when midfielder Antonio Rudiger joined Real Madrid, he declared Pepe his idol. “People often say on the field he is a monster, don’t say that, he is very kind.” On the day Real Madrid won their 10th Champions League a decade ago, Pep did not play because he asked coach Ancelotti to remove his name because he felt he was not physically fit. Pepe doesn’t want the team to take risks with him. Ancelotti agreed and later called Pepe an example of altruism.
Pepe then left Real Madrid because he was simply getting older and the team had a much younger Raphael Varane. But time passes, 11 years later, Pepe is present at Euro 2024 and Varane is. If he is present, he will still play and be a support for his young teammates and Ronaldo. Why? Since a 41-year-old like Pepe is still useful for Portugal, why not Ronaldo? Pepe helps Ronaldo forget the troubles of age, so that Ronaldo can keep the joy of playing football even if he doesn’t score.
