'Chico' Conceiçao, Portugal's firebrand: illustrious surname, Cristiano Ronaldo's endorsement, and "inspiration" for decisive goals

"We need players capable of deciding matches at crucial moments, and Francisco is that." These aren't the words of Roberto Martínez after his goal in the Nations League semi-final against Germany , five minutes after coming on, which kick-started Portugal 's comeback. Nor were they the words of Sergio Conceiçao , his father and first professional coach, who instilled in his son the verticality of the wingers of old. Francisco, Chico , Conceiçao (Coimbra, 2002) carries in his genes the agitation of the last Portuguese player who scored a hat trick against him at Euro 2000. The man who surprised in Munich hadn't even been born.

It's the reflection of someone who doesn't want to lose a different kind of player, a dagger on both flanks, capable of electrifying a team. The phrase comes from another coach, André Villas-Boas , but this time in his role as president of Porto . Chico is a gem that he wants to keep or sell at a premium after two loan spells to Ajax and Juventus that have earned the club €20 million and given the player experience... and a place in the national team, with whom he has ten appearances and scored two unforgettable goals.

Roberto Martínez recruited him in the last window before the European Championship. He made his debut in March with good results for Porto after returning from a less-than-fruitful spell in the Netherlands. He took a 60% pay cut to return to O Dragao and the club compensated him with a 20% stake in a future sale. He couldn't have been more accurate. He became a full international and finished the season with 43 appearances, eight goals, and eight assists. What he didn't imagine was that his appearance for Portugal would have a similar impact to his debut with Porto.

In February 2021, with Covid still raging, his father called him up to play for the first team in two matches: against Benfica, in which he didn't get any playing time, and the derby with Boavista . In the 77th minute, they were losing 1-2, and Conceiçao Sr. looked at the bench. It was time to turn the game around, and Chico was his weapon. He made no mistake. Porto equalized with a penalty, and the lad created another, which Oliveira, this time, hit the post. The young Conceiçao didn't flinch and kept looking until, in the 89th minute, he unleashed a low shot that the goalkeeper saved but couldn't prevent Evanilson from tapping it in. The Conceiçao family, father and son, embraced each other in a tearful embrace. Sergio had, in one of his four sons, all footballers, the best of his heirs. However, VAR came along to muddle the situation and disallowed the goal. Still, it was a proud afternoon for the coach. "It was his job, to come in and do what he did," he simply stated.

The coach could have said the same thing about this "natural firebrand" in the duel between Portugal and the Czech Republic at the European Championship. The Portuguese hadn't even won yet, and Roberto Martínez looked for what he expected of him: "He has an eye for goal. He's very direct and has a lot of spark." That his surname wasn't his name's name was evident when he sent him onto the field in the 90th minute, and in the 92nd, he scored the winning goal. The image of Cristiano Ronaldo's hug that night in Leipzig was iconic. His shot breathed life into the star, who made his professional debut the same year Chico was born, and who sensed that this could be his last major tournament.

Doubts about Juventus and the Club World Cup

In this Nations League, where he has missed matches due to injury, he has made few starts despite a notable season at Juventus , where he was loaned out after the European Championship for ten million. He has played in 37 matches and scored five goals. He wanted to try his luck in Serie A, like his father did at Lazio and Inter , but his continued contract is up in the air. The Italians wanted to keep him, but are currently reluctant to pay 30 million , so he could return to the banks of the Douro.

The transfer market has just opened. Conceiçao has a Club World Cup ahead of him—which he will play with Juventus—where his goal against Germany has placed him in the watch group. "It was a moment of inspiration," acknowledged the winger, who played 32 minutes, enough to spark a comeback completed by Cristiano Ronaldo, who once again embraced him like a little brother.

In the final, he will face two earthquakes in Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal . He crossed paths with the Barça star in October 2023 during Porto 's 1-0 defeat to Barça in the group stage. That night, the goal came from the absent Ferran Torres .