Vítor Baía, Pauleta, Nuno Gomes and Luís Figo - who had just won the Champions League with Real Madrid and one year after becoming the second Portuguese to win the Ballon d'Or, 35 years after Eusébio - were part of the squad led by António Oliveira that participated in the World Cup held in South Korea and Japan.

Joseph Tam Lao San was then a young journalist for Macau's public television, TDM, and did not miss the opportunity to take a photo with Figo.

"That was seen as Portugal's 'golden generation'", said Tam.

Two and a half years after Macau's administration had been transferred to China, on December 20, 1999, the population's feelings towards Portugal were still mixed. But the national team's visit helped change mentalities.

Joseph Tam did not miss the opportunity to show Figo the photo taken 22 years ago. The former Portuguese international, aged 51, laughed and immediately signed the now yellowed image.

"It brought back very good memories", said Tam, who still works for TDM, but who in the two decades that have passed has had a second life, precisely linked to football.

Tam was the coach who led Macau's men's football team - whose star was the Portuguese-South African Nicholas Torrão - to the greatest feat in its history, the final of the 2016 Solidarity Cup, then the second most important competition for national teams in Asia.

Journalists from Hong Kong, mainland China and even Japan came to Macau today to follow the match against a team from southern China and, on Saturday, a training session with young Macau footballers.

Chui Man Hou, the father of one of them, did not miss a second of what was happening in the training session, with a Portuguese national team jersey on his shoulder.

"He is only eight years old, he is too young to know who these players are", he admitted.

But Chui remembers 2002 well, the 2-0 victory in a friendly in Macau against China - which has not qualified for a World Cup since then - and watching Portugal's games in that World Cup, in which they ended up not going beyond the group stage, after defeats to the United States (3-2) and South Korea (1-0). In between, the 'quinas' team still beat Poland (4-0).

"My favourite was Figo", he said.

The former Ballon d'Or winner was the star of today's match, scoring two of the goals with which the Portuguese team won, 11-4, to the delight of the thousands of people present at the Macau Dome, many with Portugal shirts and scarves.

"For us, it is a joy to be able to be here, back in Macau, after so many years and to be able to celebrate with so many local people and also Portuguese people", said Figo, referring to the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the territory's handover.

A quarter of a century later, Macau religiously follows the national team, something that culminated in 2016, on a morning when the Chinese city practically stopped to watch Portugal defeat France in the European Championship final.

Chui Sai On, the leader of the Macau Government, was the guest of honour at today's match, in a territory where, according to studies, knowledge of the Portuguese language has become a symbol of higher status than English.