AMSTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) - Kicking a ball around the streets near his home, 12-year-old Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro wanted his friends to call him 'Gomes' after his striking idol Fernando Gomes.
More than a decade later and Nuno Gomes - the name has stuck - could become an even bigger soccer name.
'When I played on the streets I was Gomes. My friends knew I enjoyed watching Fernando Gomes and I was a striker too,' the long-haired Benfica forward said.
The FC Porto veteran made a name for himself by scoring a record 288 goals during his time at the club in the 1980s - a feat the new Gomes has in his sights.
'More famous that Fernando Gomes? I want that to happen but it's very difficult because he was the top scorer in Portugal for many years and twice in Europe. It would be very good for me if I could get there,' he said.
'I don't play very much like him, but he scored a lot and was one of my favourites at that time. He was a quiet type of player who didn't move too much and was always waiting for the right time and the right place for the ball - that's the difference between us,' he said.
Gomes may be the youngest player in the Portuguese squad, but after bursting onto the international scene in Euro 2000 - chiefly due to an injury to regular forward Ricardo Sa Pinto - many think he has the potential to become a tournament winner.
Having failed to score before Euro 2000, the 23-year-old struck a winner against England to open his tally before adding another two in the quarter-final against Turkey.
'I've scored three - I'm 23 years old and I have plenty time to score more,' he said.
In Gomes, the Portuguese may have finally found an answer to their previous goalscoring headache, although the likes of midfielders Luis Figo and Sergio Conceicao are doing their fair share to rectify that problem.
'I don't think I'm indispensable. I have a chance to play because Sa Pinto was injured and in the first game I scored. I think I'm doing well and I hope to play again,' the soft-spoken Gomes said.
Wednesday's semifinal clash against France in Brussels promises to be a thriller. If Gomes can get past one of the best defences in the world and help Portugal claim a berth in the final, he will certainly go down as a national hero.
If Portugal beat France, they will be the first Portuguese side to progress to the final of a major competition. At Euro 84, they also reached the semifinals - only to be knocked out by France.
'It doesn't seem like revenge but we know that people in Portugal want us to win. At home everyone is going crazy about the possibility of getting to the final,' Gomes said.
Putting the chances of a Portuguese win on Wednesday at 50/50, Gomes and the others are not planning to change anything about their game when they come across the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly.
'For me, it's just another game. They have beautiful defenders and they're the world champions but we just have to think of the game,' Gomes said.
