Oscar Duarte (Catarina, Costa Rica, 1989) picks up the phone from his home in Jeddah. His voice conveys pause and happiness, the former perhaps due to the effort made in his last game, the latter surely due to the result obtained. His Al Wahda, a club he joined a year ago, eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the semifinal of the Saudi Arabian King’s Cup. To make matters worse at the house of the almighty, a fairy tale for one of the most modest clubs in the country. And Óscar Duarte was not just another footballer in that match: he assisted on the winning goal, he saved a goal from under the sticks and was voted MVP of the match.
Can’t you ask for more?
It’s not every day you qualify for a final, especially when you’re in a modest team, you face a great team and with one less for 30 minutes. This final is savored more like that. Everything went perfect. I applaud my teammates, because a team like ours rarely goes as far as we have.
And eliminating Cristiano’s Al Nassr at home.
That gives it more relevance, more impact. Since Cristiano arrived, the media attention has increased. Logical. But Al Nassr, here, is not only Cristiano, Talisca or Luis Gustavo are also very good. But we showed that on the pitch, in the end, we are eleven against eleven.
Cristiano scored four goals for them in February, thorn removed?
Stopping Cristiano is always difficult, whether you face him in Europe or in Arabia. I played against him in Spain and he is still great. His presence in Arabia is good for football in the country. And in summer more will come like him. It is a motivation and a claim, now we all see more.
“Cristiano has given more relevance to football in Arabia, more repercussions; now they see us more in the world and that is good for everyone”
He says that in summer they will go more like Cristiano…
Sure, because they are betting heavily on football here. All the teams have 8 foreigners and they want to take advantage of that to raise the level. That will give him a plus, because the local footballer is also good, they have surprised me, they have good technique and a lot of speed. If there aren’t many Saudi players in Europe, I think it’s because their non-EU status stops clubs from recruiting them, but I assure you that there are many who have the level to play there.
How do you rate your experience in Arabia?
I arrived a year ago and very well. I assure you that I did not expect to play a final here. I live in Jeddah, with my family. It’s a different culture, but people are respectful. The country is super safe and the adaptation cost us less than expected. Perhaps what was most important was adapting to the schedules, because here, due to the heat, training is almost at night. The facilities are good, the stadiums are usually quite full of people, although the clubs still have to become a bit more professional. But they will.
Will it continue there?
I have a contract and my idea is to continue, because I am delighted and so is my family.
How did you get the offer from Al Wahda?
My idea was to continue in Levante. They were supposed to send me a renewal offer, but it never came and I couldn’t wait any longer. Several teams came out, including Al Wahda. My representatives knew the city and football in Arabia, because they had previously had relationships with clubs here. That helped me make the decision. The negotiation was fast, because this culture is one of hasty decisions.
“I was waiting for a renewal of Levante that supposedly they had told me was going to arrive… but it did not arrive and I agreed to come to Arabia”
Do you follow the Spanish League from a distance?
Clear. Hopefully Levante will rise and see if Espanyol manages to stay. I usually watch all their matches and several more, because the matches here are usually played on Thursdays and Fridays, so I have free weekends to watch football.
Are you already dreaming of the final?
Today we were already talking among our colleagues about the desire we have for that day to arrive, although we still don’t know when it will be played. It depends on the King’s schedule. We have been told that it will surely take place in three weeks.
Well good luck.
Thank you. Pure Life.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/3XNVVKDDYFGVZK3SSGSOBGIOUU.jpg%20360w,https://img.asmedia.epimg.net/resizer/38brEan_21jwHmaddiiLEtJZEtQ=/480x0/filters:focal(1903x1223:1913x1233)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/3XNVVKDDYFGVZK3SSGSOBGIOUU.jpg%20480w,https://img.asmedia.epimg.net/resizer/ug2dKWXWFMH3lvHPd8SQXNFWUgs=/644x0/filters:focal(1903x1223:1913x1233)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/3XNVVKDDYFGVZK3SSGSOBGIOUU.jpg%20644w,https://img.asmedia.epimg.net/resizer/CDxyxjGT3OpRzIaL2eB-K3t30QI=/736x0/filters:focal(1903x1223:1913x1233)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/3XNVVKDDYFGVZK3SSGSOBGIOUU.jpg%20736w,https://img.asmedia.epimg.net/resizer/5olj6CWaHNeUTdf0Nyak5wHEHnE=/1288x0/filters:focal(1903x1223:1913x1233)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/3XNVVKDDYFGVZK3SSGSOBGIOUU.jpg%201288w "Óscar Duarte: \"Stopping Cristiano Ronaldo is always difficult, be it in Europe or in Arabia\"")