HE played on one of the most infamous footballing nights in Rangers’ recent history.
But this weekend Fabio Cardoso will take another step towards banishing the memory of Progres Niederkorn when he turns out in the all new Club World Cup against the likes of Erling Haaland.
Cardoso in action that fateful day against Progres Niederkorn[/caption]
Cardoso in training[/caption]
Cardoso arrives in Glasgow with Dalcio[/caption]
Former Benfica youth team star Cardoso was far from the worst player to come through the doors of Ibrox during this period – with the much maligned Pedro Caixinha adding him for £1.3m and loan signing Dalcio on the same day in June 2017.
Caixinha ended up remonstrating with fans from a bush in Luxembourg – a fate from which he never recovered – and Cardoso didn’t last too much longer.
After agreeing to terminate his deal with the Gers after just 18 appearances for the Light Blues, he promptly signed on a permanent deal with Portuguese side Santa Clara.
From there it was onto Portuguese giants Porto, with whom he won the league and three Portuguese Cups.
Now 31, he spent last season on loan at Al-Ain in the UAE and has just been included in their squad for the Club World Cup in the US.
They’ve landed in Group G, where they will take on Manchester City‘s fearsomely reassembled squad, Italian giants Juventus and Al-Wydad of Casablanca, Morocco.
He’s in action a week today against Juventus, as he joins another former Rangers star, Ryan Kent of Seattle Sounders, at the event.
Kent‘s Sounders have found a tough looking group which includes new European champions Paris St Germain, Atletico Madrid and Botafogo of Brazil.
One of Cardoso’s low points in Glasgow was suffering a broken nose against Motherwell in their Betfred Cup semi-final defeat courtesy of an elbow from the Larnakshire side’s Ryan Bowman.
The 24-year old even took aim at his former club in how they dealt with the situation.
He said: “The negative part was to have broken my nose, because I took some time to recover and from there I played little. I used to say it was a year of learning.
“It gave me a lot of stuff and if I have to go out again I’m going to be much more prepared.”
Cardoso in action against Aberdeen[/caption]
Erling Haaland of Manchester City looks dejected[/caption]
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