THERE is strong competition for the most famous name among Richard Evans’ phone contacts.
He knows that he can always dial Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Romelu Lukaku — and many more stars — for a chat.
And he insists superstar Ronaldo is just “one of the lads”.
Evans played for Bristol Rovers and Exeter, among other lower league sides, before he joined his boyhood club Swansea as a physiotherapist in 1999.
It was there that he met Roberto Martinez, forming a close friendship and working with the Spaniard at Wigan, Everton and the Belgium national team.
And now Evans is part of Martinez’s Portugal backroom staff, as their performance manager.
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It has been some journey for a boy from the South Wales valleys who quit the professional game aged just 27 to study for a sports science degree at Loughborough University.
Evans, who is preparing the Portuguese for their opening game against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, said: “I always said I’d be happy if I played just one league game and score one league goal, which I did.
“I never thought that I’d go on to work with the best players in Europe, if not the world. I am thankful for all the great people I’ve worked with.”
Among those greats is Ronaldo, with the football icon hoping to inspire Portugal to a second Euros title, having won it in 2016.
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He bagged another two international goals against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday to take his tally to a remarkable 130.
And Lisbon-based Evans revealed that Ronaldo, 39, is always up for some mischief.
He said: “The first time we met, he picked up straight away on my Welsh accent, which he now takes off, as well as (first-team coach) Anthony Barry’s Scouse accent.
“Ronaldo is a prankster who likes to play practical jokes — he is just one of the lads.
“I did have a few butterflies before I was introduced to him, but he was so normal and fantastic that we hit it off straight away..”
Boyhood Swansea supporter Evans, 56, hoped to follow in his father Brian’s footsteps.
Evans Sr, who died in 2003, played more than 400 games for the Swans and turned out seven times for his native Wales. But his son’s passion for fitness led to his university degree, which he added to with a second in physiotherapy at Brunel University.
Evans could see that Martinez had something about him when he joined Swansea in 2003.
The Spaniard helped the Swans avoid relegation to the Conference and, after returning as boss in 2007, led them to the League One title.
When he moved to then-Premier League Wigan in 2009, Evans followed for a successful time which culminated in their shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City in 2013.
Evans then went with Martinez, now 50, to Everton until they left in 2016.
Next up was Belgium with Martinez, who took over just after Euro 2016, where Evans’ beloved Wales stunned the Belgians.
It led to a humorous first meeting between Evans and Belgium No 1 Thibaut Courtois.
Evans said: “I watched the Wales v Belgium game at my parents-in-laws.
“I didn’t think we would win, especially as Belgium had Romelu Lukaku, who I had worked with at Everton.
“A few weeks later I met Thibaut and he asked me, ‘Where are you from?’. I said, ‘I’m from Wales’, to which he replied, ‘I hate Wales’.
“Then he asked me where in Wales I was from, which I was worried about because Chelsea, where Thibaut played at the time, had struggled against Swansea.
“I told him, ‘I’m from Swansea’ — and he said, ‘I hate Swansea, too’.
Evans’ time with Belgium, whose coaching staff included Arsenal legend Henry, saw them reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
He joined the Portuguese set-up when Martinez was appointed in January 2023.
And Evans hopes that veteran Ronaldo can inspire the squad to victory.
He said: “We have a talented group, and a blend of experience and youth, which is what you need in a major tournament.
“The squad is are winners by nature and culture but they are also great human beings.”
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Ronaldo himself added: “The Portuguese expect a lot from Portugal. There is no margin for error, nothing, they always want Portugal to win, because of the generation, because of the talent that exists.
“We have to have our feet on the ground and our thoughts in the sky dreaming of the European Championship.”
Portugal Euro 2024 guide
CRISTIANO RONALDO remains the face of Portuguese football as the national team looks to win a second European Championship.
But the days when Portugal’s hopes would hang on Ronaldo, 39, alone are over as they have a squad packed with talent across the pitch.
MANAGER: Roberto Martinez
Former Everton, Wigan and Belgium boss is trying to put a more attacking stamp on a team that became increasingly dull under Euro 2016-winning predecessor Fernando Santos.
STAR MAN: Cristiano Ronaldo
Al-Nassr star remains an ever-present but PSG’s Goncalo Ramos and Liverpool’s Diogo Jota are both world class backups.
How Portugal attack
Ruben Dias, Goncalo Inacio and Joao Palhinha are all capable of building attacks from the back, given Portugal a unique dimension to their attack.
Attacking midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix can cause any defence problems as they look to feed Ronaldo and/or Ramos.
How Portugal defend
In contrast to the approach under Santos, Portugal will play with a medium-to-high block and look to win possession up the field.
Players will press aggressively to provide support for Ronaldo, who clearly tends to do less work defensively.
Read the full Portugal Euro 2024 guide here, including predicted line-ups, odds and Wags
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
