Bruno Fernandes has admitted Goodison Park will always be a special place for him but he feels Everton are making a positive change in switching to a new ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
The Manchester United captain netted his first away goal for the club at the iconic Merseyside venue and will also go down as our penultimate scorer there, with his strike coming before Manuel Ugarte's equaliser in the 2-2 draw in February.
David Moyes's Toffees play their final-ever fixture at Goodison, against Southampton on Sunday afternoon, in what promises to be an extremely emotional occasion for everybody involved.
As a proper footballing aficionado, Bruno is naturally a little upset at the change, with his homeland Portugal having a famous World Cup clash against North Korea there in 1966, but believes it will be of benefit for much-respected historic opponents.
“It is [quite sad] and I think some of the stadiums are
so iconic that, in the beginning, everyone
is a little bit disappointed with the change,”
he told Inside United, our official magazine.
“I think the Everton fans will be really happy that they have a big stadium now. A bigger stadium, they have better conditions in the new stadiums, and I think it’s always good.
”We keep with them and stay with the memories that a stadium gives to football. I think it’s a very special stadium with a very good atmosphere. I think, and I hope, that they can recreate that at the new stadium because I feel it’s a place where it is very good to go and play because the atmosphere is very nice. I mean it’s very, very loud at the stadium.
“I do like to play in these kind of stadiums because I think this is what drives you as a player,”
the skipper added. “When you’re growing up and seeing all these places, firing you up and everything. You want to be in that stadium and you want to be in this kind of atmosphere.
”So I made very good memories there. I think it’s an iconic stadium that will always be an iconic stadium. But now, I think Everton fans and players have to create new memories in the new stadium. But what is very good also is that means the club is going forwards and doing something new, trying to make the club grow and be better, and give more chance to more fans to come to the stadium.“