Bartolomeu Jacinto Quissanga.That is the name of the defender Bastos, who has just made history: he is the first african to receive the Betting Wins ESPN Moneyball Award. The prominent defendant was born in Luanda, the capital of Angola Botafog and it became indisputable.
At the age of 33, the player, who arrived at the Rio club in August 2023, had a magical year. He was the hero of CONMEBOL Libertadores and he returned to the Angolan national team, wich he said was already a dream. He defended the country for 10 years and spent three more, from 2021, without being called up.
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Revealed by Petro, from Luanda, Bastos played for FK Rostov, from Russia, and went to Laziofrom Italy, in 2016. He left European football in 2020, going to the Arab world. Confusion, however, marred the plans.
“Bastos has a great story, as he left Lazio wiht an offer to go to the Arab world, but he or an agent confused the name of the club. He came there and it wasn’t really the club he expected. He was one of the second division”, said Alessandro Brito, Chief scout of Botafogo, in an interview with Bola da Vez, last month.
The defender went to Al ain in Saudi Arabia, and not the team of the same name in the United Arab Emirates, which is among the country’s elite and competes for the Asian Champions League. After that, he returned on loan to Rostov and played for the Saudi side Al Ahli.
“We had this information. The agent was always offering [a contratação] and saying he could even walk free. We brought it in, we really believed in the potential, but the adaptation took time. Internally, that even caused… I’m not saying noise, but everyone said: ‘Wow, weren’t you betting enough as a defender?’. But we knew it was time to adapt”, continued Brito.
“we must understand where the athlete comes from and give them peace of mind to work. It is indeed not about coming, putting on the shirt and going out to play. We have always made people feel very calm, and even Bastos himself. We said: ‘Don’t worry, you will have an opportunity at the right time.’ And it worked,” he said.
When the angolans came to Botafogo,Adryelson and Victor Cuesta formed the defense,and the team was fighting for the title Brazil 2023,which reduced space. There were only four games last year. In 2024, taking part in the pre-season and already fitting in, the player won the job.
Bastos is only the third player from outside South America to win the award. Before him, Serbian Petkovic (three times) and Dutchman Seedorf (once, also for Botafogo) received the honor that makes him worthy.
The extra 6 thousand kilometers between Luanda and Rio de Janeiro was just a detail.