Pepe on the verge of becoming the oldest player to play at EURO

Pepe is aiming for his 5th EURO in his career. Photo: Facebook character

“Pepe is 41 years old, but he approaches EURO 2024 as if it were his first time,” teammate Joao Palhinha said of Pepe, who was born on February 26, 1983. At 41 years and 109 days, Pepe is the oldest player to compete at EURO 2024, ahead of Ronaldo (Portugal, 39 years and 130 days) and Luka Modric (38 years and 277 days).

The gap between Pepe and the youngest player of the tournament Lamine Yamal (16 years 337 days) is 23 years, 4 months, 16 days. That shows the perseverance of the former FC Porto midfielder. EURO 2024 will be the 5th European Championship that Pepe has participated in - a record only less than Ronaldo (6 times).

If used at any time at EURO 2024, Pepe will become the oldest player ever to play at EURO, surpassing the achievement of goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly (Hungary, 40 years and 16 days).

Some other records at EURO 2024 include Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal, 38 years 53 days) being the oldest player to win the tournament; Ivica Vastic from Austria (38 years 257 days) being the oldest player to score in the tournament or Leonardo Bonucci (34 years 71 days) being the oldest player to score in the final... Pepe can break all of the above records if he plays, scores in the final and helps the Portuguese team win the tournament.

To date, Pepe has played 137 matches for Portugal, a record only behind Ronaldo (207 matches) and Joao Moutinho, scoring 8 goals since 2007. His tenacity, composure, fighting spirit and extensive experience make the 1983-born central defender highly regarded. He is considered a treasure of the Portuguese team at EURO 2024.

“When he is fit, Pepe is a very important player for us, both on and off the pitch,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez, a point that FC Porto coach Sergio Conceicao fully agrees with.

“I have been in football for 32 years, 20 as a player and 12 as a coach, and I can assure you that Pepe is the most fighting player I have worked with,” he said.

At this time, Pepe has left FC Porto and become a free player. He is still sought after by many clubs. Among them, Al-Nassr, where Ronaldo is playing, could be his potential destination. But for now, Pepe will focus entirely on EURO 2024.

He may not be a starter for Portugal (Goncalo Ignacio and Ruben Dias are likely to start) but Pepe's experience and fighting spirit will be very useful for the home team.

Pepe and the Portuguese team will have their EURO 2024 debut against the Czech Republic, taking place at 2:00 a.m. on June 19.

Source: https://laodong.vn/bong-da-quoc-te/pepe-truoc-cot-moc-tro-thanh-cau-thu-lon-tuoi-nhat-thi-dau-tai-euro-1354556.ldo