Pedro Venaque made his debut scoring in the main team of the club that opened the doors of Europe to him. In the last two seasons, the Ribatejos narrowly missed the promotion to the II League. In 2021/22 they reached the promotion play-offs, but failed to overcome Covilhã.
Pedro Venaque will hardly forget Alverca’s 2-1 victory at Covilhã. In addition to the triumph in the field of the leader of Série B of Liga 3, the Brazilian central midfielder scored one of the goals and scored for the first time for the main team of the Ribatejo since arriving at the club, in January 2019, at the time to represent the juniors. « I’ve been trying to help in that way for some time now. That was a goal of gratitude to the club that opened the doors of European football to me », he explains, in conversation with O JOGO.
The adventure in Ribatejo began when he was about to turn 19. « My manager called me to talk about the Alverca project, which had a new SAD. I analyzed it, then researched the club and saw that it had already been in the elite of Portuguese football, in addition to having great players pass through here », he explains. Pedro Venaque, now 23, making sure he feels at home: « I’ve grown a lot and I feel like I’m part of Alverca’s family. »
Currently in fifth place in Série B, with seven points, the goal of the Alverque emblem is to return to the professional ranks, something that narrowly failed in the last two seasons. « I believe that in the past there was a lack of maturity in the decisive moments. I believe that we are better in that aspect and we have learned from mistakes. We have a squad with great quality and a technical team with the capacity to help us to give the best for the club », he assures.
More used as a central defender, Pedro Venaque has already shown his ability to act as a defensive midfielder, a position where he also feels good. « I have that ability and I can help in that role whenever necessary. I’m a very focused player, with the ability to build and destroy a game », emphasizes the São Paulo defender who started playing football for Cruzeiro, in Belo Horizonte.
A year of evolution in Estoril
Pedro Venaque’s journey at Alverca had a year of interregnum in 2021/22, when he represented Estoril’s under-23s. « It was a very good experience, with which I grew a lot. I was very happy and won the Liga Revelação and the Taça Revelação », recalls the Brazilian centre-back, confessing that he went through some difficulties when he arrived in Portugal: « The situation of being away from home was something that already happened in Brazil, but it was difficult to adapt because of the cold. On top of that, I arrived in winter and I wasn’t used to having training at night. The game model was also different. Gradually I got used to it and everything went well. »