Baia: Ronaldo is the best I have ever worked with; Costa is currently the top three goalkeepers in the world

Hupu News on November 18 Vitor Baia is a legend in Portugal. Recently, he was interviewed by "AS" during the Portuguese Football Summit, which was organized by the Portuguese Football Association. The following is the second half of Baia's exclusive interview.

You worked with the greatest players at Barcelona: Figo, Rivaldo, Ronaldo

Yes, unbelievable. Ronaldo is the best player I have ever played with, he is a beast, incredible. Fast, strong, physically amazing, and incredibly skilled. He did some incredible things in his one year at Barcelona. It's a shame because maybe if he had stayed at Barcelona, ​​he wouldn't have had the injury problems he did later. Because we know what Italian football is like, very physical, very focused on gym training, very emphasis on strength. Maybe that was harmful to him. It's a shame he didn't stay there because he was the king of Barcelona.

How did you experience the locker room reaction to Ronaldo's goal against Compostela? You were in goal for Barcelona...

Unbelievable, we couldn't believe it. On the pitch we couldn't believe what we were going through, something unique. Only those great players, only Maradona, only Pele, only Ronaldo, only Messi, only players of this level can do things.

As a former goalkeeper, do you think any goalkeeper will be able to win the Ballon d'Or in the future?

Yes, because football is global now, we can have goalkeepers who can win and become the best in the world. I would love to see that because the current goalkeepers are very complete players. The most versatile player in the penalty area is the goalkeeper. They must do everything. They must have excellent footwork and good ball control skills...

Your footwork wasn't bad back then, was it?

Yes, yes, I did what they asked me to do (laughs).

Which goalkeeper do you particularly like right now?

I like Diogo Costa, he has something special, he is outstanding. Diogo Costa is currently one of the top three goalkeepers in the world, but I find it hard to understand why he hasn't gone to another team yet. Because he will always be great in Porto, but playing in the top teams of the five major leagues... Because Diogo Costa is the most complete goalkeeper, he strikes well, has excellent footwork; he is very strong in one-on-one situations and saves penalty kicks very well. I think he's very, very well-rounded. For me, he's the best right now.

What do you think of the Portuguese team? What does Roberto Martinez bring to the table?

Roberto Martinez is doing an incredible job in Portugal, he has adapted well and integrated into our culture. He is very smart and quickly learned to speak Portuguese, which is important for communicating with the players, and he has integrated into the community. We felt like he had another Portuguese. This is the best thing you can ask for from a non-Portuguese national team coach. We are a hospitable people by nature and we received him well and then there were results, which is what we wanted. We also won the Nations League and played in all the major international tournaments.

Are we facing one of the best national teams in Portuguese history?

is one of the best in history, for sure. You can say that when you win an international trophy. In my time, there was a golden generation, but unfortunately we didn't win any major events. We have won everything we could at club level but failed to achieve it with the national team, which is what we so desperately wanted. But it didn't work out. However, the 2016 generation and the current generation did win titles for Portugal, so they are the best.

C Ronaldo is close to the 1,000-goal mark... What can we say about him?

This is incredible, a machine that is an example to all of us, to the kids who want to be football players one day. His hard work, focus, attention to detail, always emphasizing his abilities and potential and knowing how to fully utilize his talents are examples and that is why Ronaldo is a role model for everyone.