Gustavo CAPDEVILLE (POR) AWARDED WITH EFPM DIPLOMA OF RECOGNITION 2024
Gustavo Capdeville received the EFPM Diploma of Recognition 2024 in a special moment organised by SL Benfica during a handball match between SL Benfica and ABC Braga (the 2 best Portuguese handball teams). He was very congratulated by his teammates, opponents and everyone present in the pavilion.
The diploma was delivered by José Lima, National Plan for Ethics in Sport coordinator, and Daniel Monteiro, president of the Portuguese Sports Confederation.
The event was covered by the television station Benfica TV.
And here is his story:
Gustavo Capdeville (born 31 August 1997) is a Portuguese handball player for Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Portugal national handball team, which he represented 54 times. He played for Portugal at the 2020 and at the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship and has won several titles, including an European Handball League, a Portuguese Cup and two Portuguese Super Cups. When Capdeville arrived at Portugal national handball team the undisputed starting goalkeeper was Alfredo Quintana, from Futebol Clube do Porto. To everyone's shock, Quintana died after suffering from sudden cardiac arrest at training on February 2021. He was 32. Capdeville and Quintana were long-time friends, despite being at very rival clubs. This relationship became public knowledge at the time of Quintana’s fateful death, through Capdeville's expressions of affection and admiration after his friend disappearance. Ever since, Capdeville has been the protagonist of continuous gestures of fair play of remarkable merit: His first attitude was to print on a T-shirt a photograph of the two of them embracing, always entering the pavilions with it. However, he wanted to go further and, after asking and obtaining permission from his club, he started to use Quintana's name on his shirt in every game, instead of his own, thus immortalizing Quintana's continuity in the pavilions. With these continuous gestures, Capdeville's idea is to pay tribute to the man who, according to him, was the best handball goalkeeper he ever knew. But more than keeping Quintana’s memory alive, Capdeville wants to praise the human qualities of his late friend: charisma, contagious joy, respect for others and fraternal spirit. This was the way that Capdeville found to endure the painful death of his friend in an attitude that brought very rival clubs closer and where the messages of praise to Quintana continue to be an element of unity in each visit of the “reds”1 to the Dragão Arena 2, thus demonstrating what is really important in sport. An example of this occurred at the Dragão Arena last October. After the game, Capdeville remained in the venue with Quintana's daughter playing, showing everyone the most beautiful and valuable face of the sport, its human dimension. Gustavo Capdeville continues and will continue to use Quintana's name on his back, thus feeling that they are still together, and that Quintana is part of all Capdeville's defenses: “I don't walk alone, I walk with him. He left very early, he still had a lot to give to Portugal, FC Porto and world handball. He's gone and I feel like I'm going to have to make our journey together: me and him. He has always helped me a lot and I do this for me and for him. Since he can't come to the pavilion, I always bring him with me. Everyone knows that I learned a lot from him. I've always said it: thank you very much for who I am today and for the goalkeeper I've become”.
04.11.2024
