thaisiambet-Ronaldo mourns death of coach who discovered him

( thaisiambet )Cristiano Ronaldo mourns the death of the coach who discovered him and several other top Portuguese players thaisiambet

Aurelio da Silva Pereira, who has died aged 77, founded Sporting Lisbon’s recruitment and training department in 1988 and was responsible for developing Portugal’s best players.

The list of players discovered and nurtured includes Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma.

“One of the greatest icons of world-class training has left us, but his legend will live on forever,” Ronaldo posted on social media.

“I will never stop thanking him for everything he did for me and so many other players. Aurelio, thank you for everything. Rest in peace.”

Aurelio Pereira is partly responsible for Portugal’s greatest footballing success, with the Euro 2016 winning side featuring 10 players he founded, nicknamed the “Aurelios”.

thaisiambet In 2017 he was awarded the Lisbon Medal of Sport and in 2018 UEFA honoured him with the Order of Merit for his contribution to the development of Portuguese and European football. ( thaisiambet )