The 41-year-old Pepe of Portugal, who is the oldest player to have ever participated in a European Championship, was one of the finest players in Saturday’s victory over Turkey, according to coach Roberto Martinez, who also called the veteran a wonderful example.
The Porto centre back, who turned 41 in February, broke the record for the oldest player in the competition when he played in his nation’s opening Euro 2024 match, a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic.
When he faced Belgium in the round of 16 of the 2016 European Championship, Pepe was 40 years and 86 days old, breaking the record set by Hungary custodian Gabor Kiraly. Pepe was also a member of the squad for Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Turkey.
Not only that, but he was excellent in Dortmund, leading Martinez’s team to a victory that secured their spot in the knockout rounds by organising the back line with Ruben Dias.
Martinez stated, An impartial observer seeing the match would never guess Pepe is 41 years old when he watched him performing.
The way he approaches the game and competes, he sets an excellent example for professionals.
Martinez responded, He uses the 24 hours to be a professional footballer, in response to the question of how Pepe keeps up his high level of play when most players his age have long since retired.
Everyone is aware of athletes who, at most, dedicate two hours a day to their preparation. They go about their daily lives normally the rest of the time and hope to retire eventually.
That’s not what Pepe does. He gives himself a day to recover. He makes sure he follows the proper sleep patterns while he is not healing.
The goal is to play for another year, and everything is down to the last detail. Then there’s simply that passion for the game, emphasising strategy and opponent knowledge, Martinez continued.
Although Pepe was born in Brazil, he moved to Portugal as a young youngster and obtained naturalisation before going on to represent his country.
‘GENETICS NOT AMAZONABLE’
In 2007, at the age of 24, he made his debut for the national team, sharing the pitch with 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.
As the second oldest outfield player to compete at the Euros, Ronaldo is actually only slightly older than Pepe.
With one less than Ronaldo, Pepe is currently competing in his fifth European Championship. Both were essential members of the French team that won Euro 2016.
He sets a fantastic example, but the body must naturally follow. “I don’t think you can buy genetics like that anywhere, Martinez quipped about Pepe, who participated in 34 games for Porto in the recently concluded season, including seven in the Champions League.
I believe that by doing what he does every single day, he sets an example for other new players on how to prolong their career.”
Portugal is among the favourites to win another European Championship in Germany thanks to the expertise of Pepe and Ronaldo, who were once teammates at Real Madrid, as well as Martinez’s tremendous depth and exciting new potential.
After their victory on Saturday, they easily advanced to the round of 16. They still have one group match left, which is against Georgia on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen.
In light of many alterations he may be considering ahead of a last-16 match in Frankfurt on July 1, the coach may be inclined to rest Pepe.
Goncalo Inacio, 22, and Antonio Silva, 20, two exceptionally talented young defenders who are waiting in the wings, are among the many players in the dressing room who deserve to play. “We are first in the group, and we can make changes in the next game, which for me is very important, Martinez stated.
They demonstrated that at the pre-tournament training camp in Portugal. We must provide them with chances to demonstrate their competitiveness.
