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The Bulgarian international Radi, considered the most outstanding player in the history of Chaves, for whom he was the top scorer in the Portuguese league, lived a week of deep mourning for the death of his friends Nicola Spassov and Vítor Oliveira, having been one of the great pillars of the first climb achieved in Paços, in 1990/91, of the Matosinhense technician, who died suddenly in the last week.
«I said goodbye to two men who are in my heart. First I talk about Spassov, the youngest of two, whom I had known for more than 45 years. We left the youth team in Lokomotiv Sofia for the first team. We have been living in Portugal for many years, although we have never been partners. Whenever we had days off, we bonded anyway. Us and families. I didn’t know a more positive person than him. He was a great striker and he was a great coach, “he sums up, also paying tribute to Vítor Oliveira.
«I arrived very late in Paços, already in a veteran phase. I did my preparation only because the championship had already started. He invited me to help. In the first training session I do some physical tests and Vítor bets me on the immediate match. I remember the great relationship I had with the players. He was a friend and a man who understood football like few others, ”he praises, illustrating the coach’s wisdom.
«I only worked with him for a year but he had the idea of making me play the center-back in the last match of the championship, at Varzim’s house. He had never played in that position in Portugal, in Bulgaria sometimes. I don’t know if he had that perception of having been one of the most versatile players in Bulgarian football, as a right-back, center-back, midfielder or forward. He told me that the central defender was going to play in a game where the goal was not to lose. And we got the 0-0 draw that served for the climb. He did an incredible reading, he guessed what was needed, in the most decisive match “, recalls Radi, now 64, also sad to see the greatest player among the greatest, Diego Armando Maradona, against whom he played in the World Cup Mexico 1986, even before coming to Portugal, to Chaves.
«He had already played against Maradona in Argentina in a friendly in 1982, but 1986 was his peak. I joined the game during midfield. It was very difficult, I thought he was closer to the ball but all of a sudden he appeared and disappeared with the ball. He was a genius. I had the feeling that he and his teammates from Argentina arrived with a few extra kilos to the competition and that was Argentina’s secret. They ended up not losing as many kilos as the other teams and reached the decisive stage in the best weight. I remember we lost almost ten pounds in the first week of training. This influences the way you play and robs you of some strength. Then we see Maradona with England, all the football fans woke up that day with the hand of God and the brilliant play. But he deserved to score those goals and Argentina deserved to be world champion, ”says Radi.
