Arriving these days at Estádio Dr. António José Eusébio, in Moncarapacho, is still intersecting with many conversations about the recent rise of the Algarve team to Liga 3. The «historic feat» as everyone calls it – president, coach and players – is still very much alive and “will never be wiped out". But the future is uncertain because, despite the joy, Moncarapachense still doesn't know where they will play next season.
May 29, 2022 is the date that Moncarapachense fans will never forget. It was in the heart of Estádio do Restelo, against a favorite Belenenses, that the emblem of the municipality of Olhão made history.
The 0-1 victory, with a goal from Nuno Silva, guaranteed their promotion to Liga 3, making Moncarapachense the first Algarve team to compete in this competition created last year.
Nemésio Martins, president of Moncarapachense, confesses that he is still “internalizing” what happened last Sunday.
“This takes time, but we have enjoyed this good feeling. People have come to congratulate us and there is an involvement of the village here», he tells the report of Sul Informação.
Sitting on the substitutes' bench, while training for the youth teams takes place, Nemésio confesses that, at the beginning of the season, he was far from imagining that it would be possible to move up from the Portuguese Championship to Liga 3.
«It wasn't even in our goals, which were just getting maintenance, but things were happening», he says.
Captain Pedro Caeiro is one of the faces of the joy that is experienced these days in Moncarapacho.
“I think sometimes we still don't really understand what we've done. It is a feeling of accomplishment: the work of these 10 very long months has been rewarded», he tells Sul Informação, minutes after arriving at the Stadium for another training session.
The central defender does not hesitate to describe the promotion as «a beautiful page in the history of Moncarapachense».
«The union that we have, despite being a very young group, was very important. We have players with a lot of talent and the unity, the camaraderie and the relationship that we have made this season incredible”, she adds, smiling.
One of the main workers in the promotion was Ivo Soares.
The coach, who took Moncarapachense from the District to the Portuguese Championship and now from the Portuguese Championship to Liga 3, tells the Sul Informação, some of the secrets of this success.
Minutes before starting to guide the training, the coach explains that, throughout the season, the Monza, as he is affectionately called by fans, was «exploring and improving the method of play and training».
“We had a very good first phase. We gave our players more skills, making them feel that it was possible. The athletes received this message and we always played to win”, he says.
The working group that was formed was also «a great help».
“We choose players for their quality as footballers, but when we sign them, we don't see their character. What is certain is that, this year, I was lucky to have this addition, with players with incredible ambition”, he adds.
For many players, this was the first division climb achieved.
This despite the fact that the squad has names like Tiago Maia, former Olhanense goalkeeper, or André Dias, left defender with I Liga experience at the service of Rio Ave.
«Liga 3 is a level above, we worked hard for this, but we have our feet on the ground», guarantees Ivo Soares, whose continuity «is not yet closed», according to him.
In the club itself, there is now a scenario of uncertainty.
The rise to Liga 3 was an unprecedented, historic feat, but it entails more responsibilities. At the head, the need to play in a stadium with grass, when, in Moncarapacho, the floor is… synthetic.
To apply for the third tier of Portuguese football, Moncarapachense had to indicate a field where to play. The José Arcanjo Stadium, in Olhão, home of Olhanense, was chosen, but the pitch itself is not in the best condition.
“Let's see what to do. From Saturday, after the Algarve Cup final, we will think about it», adds Nemésio Martins.
On the table, he reveals, is the possibility of putting grass at Estádio Dr. Antonio Jose Eusebio.
“The pitch here was not difficult, but the problem is the team that trains every day. We are going to try to study the possibility of putting turf here and putting this synthetic elsewhere», reveals the president of Moncarapachense who sets as his objective, next season, the maintenance in Liga 3.
Nemésio Martins explains that the Portuguese Football Federation has a support line and the Algarve Football Association itself «is also involved because it doesn't have a club in Liga 3».
And the Câmara de Olhão?
In statements to the Sul Informação, the mayor António Pina says that the Chamber is “waiting” to meet with the management of Moncarapachense.
This Thursday, June 2, at 18:30 pm, the club will be received at the Paços do Concelho for a tribute from the municipality, since Moncarapachense has even become the club in Olhão in a higher division of Portuguese football - the historic Olhanense is in the Portuguese Championship and did not make the climb.
What is certain is that, for Moncarapachense, it would be «very important» to play in “their” village.
«This is our home», says Nemésio Martins, while pointing to the entrance of the Stadium.
«It makes no sense to go to Olhão and it is unbearable to be always playing in an Algarve Stadium, for example», he adds.
For Ivo Soares, although he still doesn't know if he will continue to lead Moncarapachense's technical command, it is also important that the team plays at home.
«It is not good for anyone to walk with the house on their back: the mystique is lost, that thing of playing on the field itself», he considers.
Nemésio Martins is peremptory: «the reason the club exists is to play here in Moncarapacho».
«I wasn't expecting such a rapid rise: three years ago we were in the District. The life of a club in a small village is complicated, but we have made a path and we have a good thing: we can pay little, but everyone receives", he concludes.
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