SnapChat: 'It's sport boiled down to one picture'

David Ribeiro's heart was divided when Caoimhín Kelleher saved Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty. He was born in Portugal but has lived in Ireland for the last 15 years. 

CAOIMHÍN AND CRISTIANO: David Ribeiro's perfectly timed shot of the reaction to Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty, saved with his trailing leg by Ireland's Caoimhín Kelleher at Lisbon's Estádio José Alvalade. Pic: David Ribeiro/ExtraTime

"When the shutter clicked at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, I thought I had a good photo, but I never imagined it would get this reaction.

"After the World Cup qualifier between Portugal and Ireland, I got a message from Extra Time through the FAI saying that Caoimhín Kelleher wanted the photo.

"He posted it in an Instagram story. After that, it just absolutely blew up. Looking back now, it's easy to understand why people connected to it so much: it's sport boiled down to a picture.

"You have the joy and you have the dejection in one frame. It's not just any two players. There’s Cristiano Ronaldo, in my opinion, the best player to have, Caoimhín, an amazing goalkeeper who has been saving penalty kicks from Kylian Mbappé, Bruno Fernandes, and Cristiano. All the stars aligned for that shot.

"I positioned myself on the side that Portugal were attacking because it was a one-sided game. In the first half, I sat next to the goal, so the players would be facing me. In the second half, I tried to switch to the same position at the other end of the pitch, but all the seats were taken. I had to go to the sideline, which, looking back now, was my luck. Had I been in my favourite position, I would not have had that framing.

"There's a little bit of luck involved as they both faced me, and were both in the same frame. There are also ways you can ensure you get lucky, like researching where players and teams like to celebrate.

"By sitting down and getting low, it makes the picture so much better because the athletes like giants, proper heroes. There are little things that you can do to make the picture pop a little bit more. Moments like this, the penalty save, can happen in any game. You just need to be ready for the unexpected.

"When the save was made, my heart was divided. I’m Portuguese but Ireland has been my home since 2010. I'm not Irish, but I feel a little bit Irish. Both my daughters were born here. One is 10, another one is 12. We live in Cork. That's all they know. If you were to ask them, they would probably cheer for Ireland. I probably would have wanted Ireland to gain at least a point because they needed it a lot more than Portugal.

"Games like that are very special but if there’s a goal, you can't celebrate, you can't do anything. Just think in your head that you're happy and don't let any of that emotion come out. One of the things that is incredibly hard to fight against is people who just use the photo, and don't even bother to credit the photographer. There’s a Twitter account with 4.4 million followers that just tweeted the photo - and didn't bother to credit anybody. They just don’t care.

"I don't feel like I've lost the ownership of the photo, but it does feel a bit misused. And it is a little bit upsetting, but you can't fight it. You just embrace it and take the positive side as much as possible."

*as told to PJ Browne