Two years ago, when Stefan Eustaquio walked onto the pitch, he felt a sense of purposelessness. He had lost his parents in the space of a year, and when he couldn’t find them in the stands, he wanted to cry, to leave the game his parents helped create. “I thought my life had no meaning and we were playing world champions Argentina in COPA,” he told the Canada Football website. Over the next few months, he rested, took time for himself, and revived. “It was their dream to see me do something big, so I have to keep playing for them,” he said.
Two years later, in Los Angeles, he found his life’s purpose. to score one of the most historic goals in Canadian football history, which sealed their boarding pass in the first round of 16. The perfect moment came one minute and twenty seconds into stoppage time, when the game seemed mired in the inevitability of extra time and potentially shootouts.
But there was a shock in Canada’s Man of Destiny. South Africa, largely defensive, were gunning for a late victory. Alastair Johnston’s cross was cleared into a sparsely populated South African box. But before any of the Bafana Bafana staff could hoof the ball, Eustaquio swept in and collected the ball. A wave of yellow shirts swooped in, he took a calm touch and the second headed the ball to the bottom-left. At that precise moment, Canada, easily the more dominant and attacking team of the afternoon, saw their name written in the sky. Eustáquio sank down on the green baize and wept. “This is the biggest night of my life,” he said after the match, as he remembered his parents with tears in his eyes. “Everything I do is for my family, my parents…” He choked for words and, regaining his composure, added: “For my girlfriend, my daughter, my brother, my friends back home, family.”
A wave of yellow shirts swooped in, Eustaquio took a calm touch and the other slotted the ball down-left. (AP Photo)
For 90-odd minutes, however, it was a pattern of calm. The game was sometimes wild and erratic, boiling over. Canada squandered several chances, some due to lackluster finishing, some due to their tenacious defence. Eustáquio would encourage his colleagues to cool down. There was a particularly uncertain moment when Canada thought they had a penalty, just before half-time, when Thapelo Maseko knocked Richie Laria down the ground. Some of his teammates surrounded him and urged him to consult the VAR. They continued to harass him and the referee was about to show a yellow card for dissent. Eustáquio intervened, pulling his teammates aside and apologizing to the referee. At the break, angry coach Jesse Marsh was seen questioning the referee before blowing silence again. Whenever his team mates looked down on missed opportunities, he would wrap a comforting arm around him. His teammate Moise Bombito once said: “He’s like a brother, on or off the pitch, he’s always with you.” “He does so much dirty work, you won’t notice,” Laria said.
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Bayern Munich full-back Alphonso Davies may be Canada’s most famous footballer, but Eustaquio can lay claim to being their most beloved and, arguably, their most important player. He is a midfield engine; Every road passes through it; Every attack starts from him. He is the first line of defence, nicking counterattacks in the bud and rebounding the ball.
His numbers breakdown against South Africa will confirm why he is their most valuable player. Successful Passes: 43/48; Possession Won: 6; Accurate crosses: 5/7 (most by any player). Probability: 5 (most); Duel wins: 5; tackles: 3; Passes in final third: 4; Big chances created: 5. And the most important number: a goal. Former Canada coach John Herdman said, “He embodies everything we want in this football country moving forward.
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However, it almost didn’t happen. “When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, my world fell apart. I wondered why I was playing when I wanted to be with her.” His mother still came to see him play—then he was at the Portuguese club Porto. One day, he couldn’t find his mother and was replaced after half time. No one reported it. But there was an awkward silence in the locker room. And he knew.
He was born in Ontario, Canada, but moved to Lisbon when he was just 10 years old. His parents were crazy about football, but they didn’t have the means to support him or his older brother. But Eustáquio found his own ways. He didn’t have the money to become a paying member of the gym. So he started doing internships at local gyms. Parents would take him to every club in Lisbon for trials, but most rejected him because they thought he was too weak. Finally, Nazarenos enlisted. “My mother used to knock me down every day. She was a keen observer and gave me a detailed analysis. She listened to me patiently,” he said.
A senior club career never really peaked. In 13 years, he turned out for nine clubs, with his tenure at Porto being the most fruitful. Although loaned out to MLS side Los Angeles FC, he is still on the roll at Porto, at whose home ground he scored a goal that Canada will forever remember and gave his life a new meaning.