Nuno Matos gets it.
Like much of the soccer world, Matos watched in awe as Cristiano Ronaldo gave an epic performance to help Portugal qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil on Tuesday. Unlike other observers, Matos had the job of using his words to bring Ronaldo’s feats to life for radio listeners back home in Portugal.
Matos’ play-by-play call matched Ronaldo’s awesome moment. His excitement grew steadily toward delirium after each of Ronaldo’s three second-half goals. Listeners of Portugal’s Antena 1 had the pleasure of hearing Matos’ call live, and the Internet has allowed millions more to experience the joy Matos and Portugal felt, as a clip of his commentary has gone viral.
Matos switches between Portuguese, English and what sounds like religious tongues during the call, punctuating it with cries of “O Brigado [thank you], Ronaldo,” “Samba Ronaldo” and, of course, the obligatory extra-long shouts of “goooooooal.” It was a perfectly appropriate way to celebrate a performance in which a genuine superstar outgunned a rival talent (Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic) in the final game of a World Cup qualifying playoff series. A performance that can’t be matched deserves an emotional and hilarious call like this.
See Ronaldo’s hat trick and hear Matos’ commentary in the video below.
Click here to relive the Ronaldo-Ibrahimovic duel in our live blog>>
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