Which former nominee for the ‘Ballon d’Or’ award scored one of the most memorable goals in the history of the Portuguese national team ?

The man behind the crossbar

Eight years ago, at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Ricardo Quaresma – a former nominee for the ‘Ballon d’Or’ award – scored one of the most memorable goals in the history of the Portuguese national team.

At the time, the winger was already 34 years old and heading into the final stretch of a career marked by moments of pure individual brilliance.

Born on 26 September 1983 in Lisbon, Quaresma started out at Sporting CP, where he came through the youth ranks and was part of a generation that won three titles in the early 2000s. He then had a spell at Barcelona before returning to Portugal to play for Porto, where he enjoyed a very successful period and won three consecutive Portuguese League titles. It was there, in fact, that he received his only nomination for the Ballon d’Or in 2007.

He then moved to Italy, where he was part of the championship-winning Inter Milan side, helping the club to win two Serie A titles and the 2010 Champions League.

By the time the 2018 World Cup came around, Quaresma was past his prime and was in the midst of his second spell at Beşiktaş in Turkey. Even so, he continued to rack up titles, with two domestic league titles to his name.

For the national team, he had also already secured his place in history: he was part of the Euro 2016-winning squad, Portugal’s first major title.

For all these reasons, Fernando Santos took him to the 2018 World Cup as one of the squad’s most experienced leaders.

And it proved to be the right decision.

The perfect setting

It was 25 June 2018, at the Mordovia Arena in the Russian city of Saransk.

Portugal were facing Iran in the third and final match of the World Cup group stage.

All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo, a global icon and five-time Ballon d’Or winner. In the first two matches, he had scored all of Portugal’s goals – in the 3–3 draw with Spain and the 1–0 victory over Morocco.

As a result, the Iranian defence was entirely focused on neutralising CR7. And, in that respect, the plan actually worked: Ronaldo failed to score.

However, Iran ended up overlooking another key figure in the Portuguese attack: Ricardo Quaresma.

The hallmark of a career

Shortly before half-time, the winger received the ball on the right, played a one-two with Adrien Silva and, from outside the box, unleashed a trivela shot – using the outside of his right foot – full of curl, power and precision. Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand didn’t stand a chance.

That shot, struck with the outside of the boot, is known worldwide as a ‘trivela’.

In Brazil, the shot is known as the “três dedos” (three fingers), as it is struck with the three outer toes of the foot.

Throughout his career, Quaresma has practically become synonymous with this type of move, scoring spectacular goals and often being dubbed the “King of the Trivela” in Portugal.

When asked how many trivela goals he had scored, Quaresma admitted there were so many he couldn’t recall the exact number off the top of his head: “You’ll have to check on YouTube (laughs). Honestly, I don’t know how many I’ve scored.” (GE)

Although he is not the only specialist in the move, he has helped to popularise the trivela even further in modern football. Other players known for this move include the Brazilian Roberto Carlos, an eight-time nominee for the ‘Ballon d’Or’, and the Croatian legend Luka Modrić, who won the ‘Ballon d'Or’ in 2018 – the same year as Quaresma’s stunning goal.

More recently, players such as Lamine Yamal have also emerged as masters of this type of shot.

When asked about the reason behind this remarkable skill, Quaresma looks back to his childhood: “When I was little, my feet turned inwards a lot. I didn’t have the money to see a doctor. So I just got used to it. I always used to kick the ball with the outside of my foot. Even today, I still use the trivela. It’s become a habit.” (Canal 11)

A goal for the ages

For Portugal, however, the 2018 World Cup did not offer many other moments of brilliance after that. Iran still managed to equalise in the final minutes of that match, and the Portuguese team were eventually knocked out by Uruguay in the round of 16.

Even so, that stunning goal by Quaresma remains one of the most memorable moments of that World Cup and also of recent Portuguese football history.

The goal was even nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award – named in honour of the legendary Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskás and awarded to the best goal of the year.

Furthermore, the goal also secured Quaresma’s place in history as Portugal’s oldest player to score at a World Cup, aged 34 years and 272 days. The record was only later broken by Pepe at the 2022 World Cup, when he scored against Switzerland at the age of 39 years and 283 days. The record was eventually broken again in this edition, with Cristiano Ronaldo finding the net for the national team at the age of 41.