The men’s 11-a-side football team from the Técnico Students’ Union (AEIST) won the National University Championship (CNU) for the first time. Of the seven AEIST teams that qualified for the CNUs, the men’s 11-a-side football team achieved this historic result and qualified for the European University Games taking place in Hungary, in July. The match took place on May 26th, in Aveiro, against the team from the Polytechnic University of Coimbra and was decided by penalties.
“This is a unique moment; the football team is university champion” – says Rogério Colaço, president of Instituto Superior Técnico, when the entire Governing Body members welcomed and applauded the AEIST team on May 2nd. The president of Técnico presented a medal to the team captain, Duarte Honrado, in recognition of the remarkable achievement. The Técnico student and team player recalls how he felt when he realised that victory was no longer elusive: “I was trying to figure out if it was real, everything was happening at once”. “It was so intense, because we won by penalties, but it was such a joy – winning the third time was incredible”, he recalls. It was the team’s third national final and, finally, the title came to Técnico – “the most successful team of Lisbon Higher Education Sports Association”, with seven Lisbon University Championships. “The ambition was there; all that was missing was the title,” added the captain.
According to José Ferreira, the team’s coach and Técnico alumnus, the secret “was in the players’ mystique”. “I was a mere spectator and I am privileged to have been a part of this achievement, this journey, which was only possible thanks to the entire Técnico community”, he says.
Men’s volleyball and basketball teams take podium places
Other AEIST teams also achieved podium positions, such as the men’s volleyball team, which ranked 2nd in the championship, and the men’s basketball team, which ranked 3rd. As for the other teams, the women’s basketball team came 4th as did the women’s futsal team, the men’s handball team came 7th and the women’s volleyball team came 8th.
“More than the sporting results, what stood out during these two weeks was the teamwork spirit, the resilience of the student-athletes in overcoming all adversity and the memories of Aveiro”, shares Yuri Barbosa, AEIST’s university sports coordinator.
“This year we took [to the CNUs] a delegation with a unique number of athletes – there were seven teams, around 90 athletes, which is historic. And it’s also the result of the support and investment we’ve made in university sport”, says Pedro Monteiro, president of AEIST. “It’s very important for us to have the support we’ve had from Técnico and to feel that the School is proud of its student-athletes”, he adds, emphasising that university sport “has been – and will continue to be over the coming years – a priority for AEIST”.
