Sergio Oliveira met his wife because he was left on bench during matches and said in an interview for Premier League manager that, I was close to inviting him to be the best man at the wedding

Sergio Oliveira is content with his time on the bench, although the majority of football players would be miffed if their manager left them there. The international midfielder from Portugal even thanked his former coach Julen Lopetegui for benching him during his time at Porto since it brought him and his wife, Christiana Pereira, together.

The intriguing information was shared by Oliveira during a Q&A on Instagram, when he also made light of the fact that he nearly gave the current Wolves manager a part in his June 2019 wedding.

 

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According to Oliveira, ‘I met my wife at Estadio do Dragao.

‘Thanks to Lopetegui who always left me on the bench. Best thing ever. ‘I was close to inviting him to be the best man at the wedding.’

 

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Oliveira, 30, returned to his childhood club in 2015 and is currently playing for Turkish Super Lig outfit Galatasaray. While at Porto, he only appeared three times under the coach. The Spaniard oversaw the northern Portuguese team for more than a year and a half before being fired in January 2016 as a result of the club’s Champions League elimination and poor performance at home.

 

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A post shared by Sérgio Oliveira (@sergioliveira27)

 

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A post shared by Sérgio Oliveira (@sergioliveira27)

He continued to manage only in his own country, first with the Spanish national team before having stints at Real Madrid and Sevilla. In November 2022, he became manager of Wolves, making his Premier League debut.

 

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Lopetegui has demonstrated that his team is behind him when making decisions on the starting lineup, regardless of whether his players use their time waiting on the bench to see their spouses.

Adama Traore, who scored the lone goal for Wolves in their victory over Tottenham on Saturday after coming on as a substitute, was adamant that his manager’s decision about team selection is always accepted.

After the game, Traore said in an interview that ‘if [he] is on the bench nor not, this is the decision of the gaffer’. 

‘What I can control is when I’m on the pitch, make an impact, and try and help the team. That’s what I do,’ Traore said.

‘I respect the gaffer. He has tried to improve me as a player. Whatever minutes the team needs me to help, I will be there.’ 

Under their new boss, Wolves are playing better after climbing out of the relegation zone to go up to 13th. On Sunday, Lopetegui’s team will go to Saint James’ Park to play Newcastle.

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