Another Beautiful Story Unfolds: From Slovak Villages to Portugal's World Cup Frustration with Ronaldo

Just as we recently highlighted the story of Cape Verdean goalkeeper Vozinha, who denied Spain a single goal, towering center-back Steve Kapuadi also previously played for AS Trenčín, though he had a brief stint with Inter Bratislava before that.

It was precisely in the 2019/2020 season when Trenčín had a partnership with the "yellow-blacks," and various players were sent to Inter to gain more playing time than they would at AS. One such player was the then 22-year-old promising French center-back Steve Kapuadi, who was instrumental in Group K's surprise result on Wednesday, as Congo held star-studded Portugal to a 1-1 draw.

The nearly two-meter tall Kapuadi played the entire match and was a crucial part of French coach Sebastien Desabre's solid defense.

Michal Pančík, who coached Inter Bratislava's senior team at the time, also remembers his former player. Back then, the club competed in the III. Liga – Bratislava, where Kapuadi and Inter faced opponents like Rovinka, Dunajská Lužná, Kalinkovo, and Bernolákovo.

"I remember him, and the whole story," Pančík recalls Kapuadi's arrival at Inter from Belgian club Gent. "He was originally supposed to go to Trenčín, but they might have missed the transfer deadline or something similar. However, since there was a collaboration between Trenčín and Inter at the time, the clubs agreed that he would play the autumn part of the season with us."

"For our standards, he was a truly interesting player, both in terms of his physique and overall footballing ability. I'm not surprised where he's ended up – playing in the top Polish league and at the World Cup today," said the former excellent midfielder, who also represented Slovakia at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Pančík stated that Inter, during that period, partly served as a "farm team" for AS Trenčín. Besides Kapuadi, players like Jakub Kadák, Nicolas Šikula, and Dominik Hollý also gained experience at the Bratislava club.

"All these players also came to us, but few of them were direct Inter players. Kapuadi, however, was. He first became an Inter player, and only then did his move to Trenčín follow," Pančík noted regarding the current 2026 World Cup participant, whose current market value is around 2.5 million euros.

"As for the training process, he practically didn't train with us. He only came for matches, like the others, even though he administratively belonged to us, so I don't know him that well on a personal level," coach Pančík explained.

"On the field, however, Kapuadi was very dominant in aerial play. For his height, he also had very good ball control. It was great to play with him. The quality of the third league at that time was what it was," he pointed out, referring to the league where Inter played within the Bratislava region.

"We didn't win the league, finishing in second place. However, the league wasn't even completed then because of the coronavirus; borders closed in March 2020, and the spring season was canceled. After that, the cooperation with Trenčín was not renewed, and he stayed at AS," he recalled the challenging global period.

Despite Steve Kapuadi's relatively short stay of about half a year at the Bratislava club, he played approximately 14 matches for Inter before moving to AS Trenčín, where he subsequently appeared in 25 games and almost immediately became a regular starter.

In the summer of 2022, he moved to the Polish Ekstraklasa, playing for Wisła Płock and Legia Warsaw. From Legia, he transferred to Widzew Łódź in February for approximately 2 million euros. And today, he celebrates a historic participation in the FIFA World Cup, which Congo reached after a long 52 years.

According to Pančík, Kapuadi can serve as a great and inspiring example for others, even those from the Slovak III. Liga. "Of course, Inter still has its name, and several players who passed through it later made it to higher leagues. I can mention Erik Prokop, for example, who then played for Baník Ostrava and Slavia Prague," reminds the current coach of Inter's U17 team.

"Another example is Nigerian Victor Olatunji, who played for our youth teams and also for Sparta Prague, with whom he played in the Champions League and is currently with Real Salt Lake in the USA. At the 2026 World Cup, we even have another 'our' player, in quotation marks. That's Kelvin Pires, who represents Cape Verde there. As part of the aforementioned cooperation with Trenčín, he also played several matches for us when I was with the first team," Pančík reminisced, adding that Kapuadi's story is inspiring.

"For young lads, it's a great feeling. Today I coach youth players, and when I tell them that guys who played here made it to the World Cup, it's motivation for them that, theoretically, it's possible even from a lower league. Although in his case, it was a bit specific, as he came from a quality foreign academy (KAA Gent, editor's note). Moreover, it was the Bratislava third league then, so qualitatively it wasn't the absolute top, but he clearly surpassed it with his play," Michal Pančík admitted to ŠPORT.sk.

Former Slovak footballer Tomáš Majtán, who played for Inter Bratislava at the time and wore the captain's armband, also remembers Steve Kapuadi. He particularly praised the native of Le Mans, France, for his hard work and determination to seize his opportunity.

"He was very strong in one-on-one duels, which naturally suited him given his height. At that time, he primarily needed to get match fit. For us, in the III. Liga – Bratislava, these guys were a great asset, as they came directly from the training process in Trenčín," Majtán asserts.

"They proved their quality, although at that time they might not have been ready for the top league and had certain things to learn. But they were very hardworking and wanted to improve. They clearly didn't see it as a punishment to play for us in the III. Liga," he chuckled. "And look at him today – six years later, he's made it to the World Cup and is playing against Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo. And that's simply amazing."

"Football writes various stories, and that's precisely where its beauty lies. You never know who you'll meet during your career and how far that player will eventually go. Six years ago, Kapuadi played in the third league, and today he represents his country at the World Cup. As I said, hard work in training and matches bears fruit. Such an experience is a beautiful reward from football," the 39-year-old Majtán reiterated.

He also didn't forget to commend Trenčín's excellent scouting, as Steve Kapuadi was far from the only such footballer under Matúš Čák's castle: "In the past, they managed to bring in players who later made it in big football, and today we see that with several players, such as Kapuadi or goalkeeper Vozinha."