Defesa
central (que também pode alinhar a médio) de elevada estatura,
nasceu no Canadá mas optou pela nacionalidade portuguesa. Aos
16 anos tentou a sorte no Benfica, mas só aos 18 conseguiu concretizar
o sonho de jogar no país dos seus pais, quando assinou pelos
juniores do FC Porto (chegando também a alinhar pelos séniores
da equipa "B" em quatro partidas).
No seu verdadeiro primeiro ano como sénior foi cedido ao Tourizense
e, na reabertura do mercado, chegou a ser referenciado como reforço
do nosso clube, o que só aconteceria na época seguinte.
Bastante castigado pelas lesões na primeira parte da temporada,
foi já na parte final, com Diamantino Miranda ao comando da equipa,
que efectuou mais jogos a titular.
Steven estreou-se por Portugal na categoria de sub-19, frente à
China, em Abril de 2006. Integraria depois a Selecção
Nacional de sub-20 que nesse ano venceu a primeira edição
dos Jogos da Lusofonia, em Macau (juntamente com os agora colegas Pedro
Correia e Manuel Pinto). Foi, depois, um dos convocados para o Campeonato
Mundial de sub-20 disputado em 2007 no seu país natal, o Canadá
(alinhou apenas numa partida, frente á GÂMBIA),
mas a sua presença não passou despercebida
à imprensa local. No artigo que abaixo reproduzimos (na língua
original), Steven e a sua mãe, Alice, falam da carreira do atleta
e as razões porque optou jogar por Portugal e não pelo
Canadá. Mais abaixo encontra também uma entrevista ao
site oficial do nosso clube. |
Alice
Vitoria used to feel sorry for her youngest son.
She'd field calls from Steven's soccer buddies, who were inviting him
to see a movie in Woodbridge or hoping to hang out.
But Steven would usually turn them down. Instead of popcorn and a flick,
he'd go to the schoolyard behind his Mississauga house, put up an old
mesh net a teacher had given him, and practise striking his soccer ball.
"This kid would go up a little step ladder and he would be on it
with a bungee cord trying to make a perfect net," Vitoria's mother
said.
"I'd say, `Steven, you know, the kids are calling. Maybe you should
take a break and go with them.'
"And he'd say, `Mom, I really don't want to go.' He gave up a lot
of personal stuff."
"I'm not gonna lie, it takes a lot," Vitoria, 20, and living
in Portugal, said on the eve of playing for that country's under-20
World Cup squad. "I worked a lot to get to where I am today. We
can't just sit and wait for things to happen. We have go to after our
dreams."
Vitoria's dream – as he sprinted behind his house at 6 in the morning
or fired shots into the net after school – was to play professionally
in Portugal.
That Vitoria, a dual citizen, would don national team colours as a central
defender so quickly was a surprise to him.
Vitoria was born in 1987 in Toronto to immigrant parents from the Azores
and showed a passion for soccer from a young age.
"All he did was want to play soccer all the time," said his
brother Jason, 22. "He slept with a soccer ball, too."
His family moved from Toronto to Sudbury, then Mississauga, where Vitoria
was a lethal house league striker, sometimes potting 10 or 12 goals
a game as a midfielder. He then went on to play rep soccer for Woodbridge
Strikers.
At 16, with his heart set on a career in Portugal, he spent two months
with Lisbon-based Benfica.
Vitoria says that while he was in Canada, he was never approached about
playing for the national team.
At 18 and in his graduating year of high school, Vitoria missed his
prom to travel back to Portugal, this time "for good," as
he put it.
It was actually for a tryout with a third division team but soon he
was trying out for first division powerhouse FC Porto.
At 6-foot-5, Vitoria stood, literally head and shoulders above the other
players, so Porto's coach asked, "Can you play centre-back?"
"I wasn't going to say no, I wanted the chance to play," says
Vitoria.
A jubilant Vitoria signed a contract with the club. He played his first
season with their junior team and last season was on loan to second
division squad Tourizense.
It was shortly after signing that he says Canada finally took notice.
Under-20 coach Dale Mitchell sent a fax to FC Porto requesting that
Vitoria play for Canada at this tournament, his mom says. But Vitoria,
like Owen Hargreaves (England) before him, chose to play for Portugal.
"To be honest, when I was there for the 18 years that I lived there
... I played soccer for a while, right?" he said. "I was never
asked ... no one really bothered with me and then after I signed here
in Portugal that's when all of a sudden everyone started caring.
"I had the opportunity to represent Portugal and to be honest I
didn't have to think twice ... it was a dream of mine and my family
... not to choose over Canada but to take this opportunity of representing
Portugal."
Vitoria, who arrived with the team on Wednesday, said he is delighted
to be playing two opening-round matches at home in Toronto.
"To have all this happen and then in my hometown it's something
really special for me and my family," he said. |
