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| Tuesday, 24 March 2009 11:59 |
Man United youngster Evandro Brandao admits divided loyalties ahead of Porto tieStriker an avid Dragons fan He may be on the books at current European champions Manchester United, but Evandro Brandao says he has mixed feelings when it comes to the Red Devils’ Champions League quarter-final clash with FC Porto.Brandao, 17, is currently in the English club’s academy set-up, having been at Old Trafford since a 2006 move from modest club Walsall. The son of a Portuguese father and an Angolan mother, Brandao’s family moved to Britain when the youngster was just six years old. However, as his team prepare to host Porto at the Theatre of Dreams in two weeks’ time, Brandao admits that he still holds strong connections with the Portuguese game, and in particular the current national champions. “I was always an FC Porto fan,” he told Maisfutebol. “It is going to be a bit of a tangle of feelings for me. I cannot choose, as both clubs are very important to me. Whoever wins will be worthy. “My friends at the club think that this will be an easy one for Manchester United, but I made a point of reminding them what happened in 2004. Afterwards, I showed them some videos of Hulk and they were impressed. Nobody knew him, but now everybody says he is the best Porto player. “Without doubt Manchester United have a very strong team, but I honestly believe that Porto can win. If Porto can successfully annul the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo, I think they will have a great chance of leaving Old Trafford with a result. “The atmosphere (at Old Trafford) is incredible. To see that crowd all get behind their team for ninety minutes will make anyone shudder. The Porto players need to forget about that, cover their ears and think only about the match. “Would I go to the final if Porto get there? I would want to go to Rome, but if not I will be at home, dressed in the colours of FC Porto.” Brandao, who turns 18 in May, is yet to make his first-team debut for Alex Ferguson’side, but has had brief experiences of first-team life: "At the beginning of the season I had several training sessions with the seniors. I remember the first time Anderson came out of the changing rooms and he told me that he was going to draw inspiration from Ronaldinho that training session. He then spent the whole time trying to nutmeg his opponents," said the smiling Evandro Brandao. “The future? I have a contract until the end of June. At this stage, my agent Jorge Mendes is taking care of everything. I have to wait and see what happens. “Would I like to play in Portugal? If one day I get that opportunity, I expect to take advantage of it. I am Portuguese; of course I’d like to play there.” Add your comment |
