The Portugeezer : Portugal

Thumping win over neighbours overshadows Portugal's joint World Cup bid

Sergio Santos — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:39:00 GMT

It was supposed to be a friendly match to promote the joint bid to the 2018-2022 World Cup, but after the referee signalled the end of the match, all that mattered was how Portugal outclassed their neighbours.

With a superb team display, Portugal registered an unlikely 4-0 win over Spain. And even if it was just a friendly, it showed the Portuguese team is back among the elite.

National manager Paulo Bento had warned he wanted to beat the star-studded European and World Champions, but few probably believed Portugal would take this match so seriously.

Bento said he was trying to build a platform for the future and therefore opted to stick with more or less the same players selected in the previous squad. The return of Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa from a long injury lay-off was the most significant news but both Silvestre Varela and Fábio Coentrão were ruled out due to injury.

The match

It is amazing how much the Selecção has changed since last summer. At the time, the Portugeezer was one of the national team’s harshest critics, as the players seemed to lack passion and any real game plan.

The special chemistry that so often bonds the supporters to the national side – somehow superseding the fanatical club bias – had been broken, and it was feared we could once again fade into the second tier of international football.

Just two matches into the Euro 2012 qualification, the knee-jerking pessimists declared our chances of making it to Poland and Ukraine were all but dead, and President of the Portuguese FA Gilberto Madail made a desperate trip to Madrid to convince God himself (aka José Mourinho) to save the team. In the end, Paulo Bento was brought in and in his quiet, hard-working style he turned around the team’s fortunes as if by magic.

Bento, as a former holding midfielder who once captained Spanish side Oviedo, knew exactly where changes needed to be made, and promptly set about revamping the midfield. He moved Pepe back to the heart of the defence –allowing us to benefit from his developing partnership at club level with Ricardo Carvalho – and brought João Moutinho back in to the starting XI.

Moutinho’s box-to-box style and energy allowed Raul Meireles to play a little deeper and the more advance duties were delegated to sharpshooter Carlos Martins.

The attack was also superb, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani bamboozling the Spanish defenders; as for Helder Postiga, at least for one night he was back to his best. The Sporting forward scored two goals, including a back heel which displayed pure predatory instinct after a slightly mistimed pass from Moutinho.

It is also interesting to read ‘underneath the underneath’. Ever since Queiroz was sacked, someone hints that something was wrong and holding the team back.

Several players have said that under Paulo Bento, they’re happier and enjoying their football, with the improved results a byproduct of this improved mindset.

Regardless of how good Bento is – and he’s showing that he certainly is – it is impossible to make a full assessment of his work with a sample of just three matches, which makes you wonder what the players really thought about the previous manager.

The actual World Cup bid

As stated in the introductory paragraph, this was a match intended to promote the Iberian bid to the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022. According to the latest reports, England, Russia and Portugal-Spain are the front runners to host what is perhaps the biggest sporting event on Earth, which immediately prompt two questions:

Would hosting the World Cup be actually good for Portugal?

Portugal hosted Euro 2004 to great success. All bias aside, the atmosphere created around the tournament was special and proved this tiny country could organize some rather big events. The biggest point of contention was what to do with the stadiums after the tournament as most clubs would never be able to profit from the expanded facilities.

This time, however, things would be different. Portugal would only “lend” three stadiums – naturally, from Benfica, Porto and Sporting - which are relatively new and only requiring minor upgrades.

Therefore, it would be a chance to co-host the World Cup with minimal risk and major potential gains. Some may argue Spain will be the focus of the tournament, but in all fairness Spain is bigger and La Liga teams can actually cope with the bigger stadiums. Furthermore, Badajoz, Vigo, Sevilla and Coruna are all located near Portugal which would boost the local tourist industry.

And for those wondering, there would be no problem in hosting with Spain. Despite the rivalry on the field, we get along quite well with nuestros hermanos.

Can we actually win it?

From an organisational point of view, the Iberian bid seems quite prepared to handle whatever is required. From a geographical point of view, it is also well located. The weather is great and most host cities have a lively nightlife.

However, in the past FIFA recommended that the load of a joint bid should be more or less equally divided between the two hopeful nations. Looking at it, it is obviously unbalance, with Portugal only 3 stadiums and Spain with 18.

But hey, let’s wait for December 2 and see how this three-way tango goes! What do you think? Fish n’ chips, sunny beaches or matrioskas?

Portugal in bullish mood to take on Vikings

Sergio Santos — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:30:00 GMT

The time has come - the Paulo Bento era starts tonight as Portugal host Denmark in a match where the three points are utterly essential to the hosts' chances of booking a ticket to Eastern Europe in the summer of 2012.

It must be said that the feeling here is one of optimism and the lacklustre performance at South Africa is today nothing but a bittersweet memory.

The whole country seems to be rallying round Bento, and the conditions are perfect to get the only result that matters. Preferably, with the cherry of ‘free-flowing football’ on top.

The call-up

In his first squad, Paulo Bento didn’t make too many changes. Yet there are still a few highlights.

After years of possessing top right-backs, it is ironically the left side that currently boasts the most quality. Therefore, the inclusion of João Pereira isn’t much of a surprise. The former Braga full-back still has to prove he can cut it at top level, but there’s hardly a better option at present.

More interesting is the return of Carlos Martins to the Selecção. The Benfica playmaker is enjoying the best period of his career and seems to be finally fulfilling the potential many had seen in him during the earlier stages of his career.

Yet, while he more than deserves his call-up, Martins’ name stands out due to the well-publicized feud between he and Bento during their time together at Sporting.

Toulouse midfielder Paulo Machado will be delighted to get his first call-up and, while unexpected, he’s certainly earned his spurs at club level.

After fading into oblivion at FC Porto, Machado moved to St-Etienne on loan before his eye-catching performance sealed a permanent move to Toulouse. At 24, he’s a proven player in Le Championnat and definitely one for the future.

The match

Preparations suffered a minor setback when both Liédson and Miguel Veloso were forced to drop out through injury, with Ruben Micael and Manuel Fernandes replacing them.

According to the latest reports – and that is more than just a bit of speculation - Carlos Martins and Tiago will play together in the midfield, while there’s still no place for Varela in the starting XI.

If that proves true, it will be a bit disappointing for João Moutinho who has been an instant hit at Porto. Unlike Tiago, Moutinho is a regular starter and his versatility would perhaps better complement Martins.

A bolder move would also see Ronaldo being deployed upfront with Varela playing on the wing. The way the former Sporting trainee has been playing, he would add more firepower than Almeida.

But hey, let’s hope the Werder Bremen striker can prove me wrong and find his scoring boots.

Two years ago Denmark beat Portugal 3-2 in Lisbon to dent our prospects of qualify to the World Cup, but tonight will be a different match.

The Selecção will be out to prove something and will attack and press from the moment the referee blows the whistle.

With all due respect to the Danish side, the Portugeezer expects them to be the typical Scandinavian team: a tactically sound and well organized team with a tremendous workrate. However, given they will be without mercurial striker Nicklas Bendtner and are facing a bullish Portuguese side, it is hard to see anything but a home win.
Likely starting line-ups

PORTUGAL: Eduardo; Sílvio, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Fábio Coentrão; Raul Meireles, Tiago, Carlos Martins; Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo, Hugo Almeida
Denmark: Thomas Sorensen; Lars Jacobsen, Per Kroldrup , Simon Kjaer, Leon Jessen; Christian Poulsen , William Kvist, Daniel Jensen; Dennis Rommendhal, Nicklas Pedersen, Martin Vingaard

The Portugeezer’s prediction: Portugal 3-0 Denmark

Mou snub a blessing in disguise

Sergio Santos — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Paulo Bento was officially unveiled as the National team manager this past week, but, as is often the way in Portuguese football, it wasn’t without some late drama.

In a move to divert attentions away from the Carlos Queiroz face, Portuguese federation president Gilberto Madaíl went to Madrid for a ‘smash-and-grab’ job. The target? José Mourinho.

If you’re wondering why the hell he would want to do that, it is simple to explain, if not as easy to understand. Madail intended to appoint The Special One for the crucial upcoming matches against Denmark and Iceland, with a view to inspiring an instant turnaround in the national team’s fortunes.

Had the deal gone forward – and as you already know, thanks to Florentino Perez, it didn’t – it could actually have done more harm than good in the longer term, regardless of what happened in those matches.

Assuming Mourinho was given green light to lead the Selecção temporarily, there could have been two possible outcomes:

• Scenario A: Mourinho wins both matches.
• Scenario B: Mourinho somehow drops important points in one or both matches.

In Scenario A, Portugal get their qualifying campaign back on track and the disappointing results against Cyprus and Norway are little more than a bitter memory. Of course, that would also mean the expectation would be on Bento to perform at “special” levels once he was at the helm.

In Scenario B, Portugal are in an even worse situation and their prospects of qualifying Euro 2012 would be all the more grim.

Yes, the whole idea of bringing Mourinho for 180 minutes assumes he can get six points, but just like in the Real Madrid match against

Levante strange things happen. Bento would then enter as some sort of lame duck manager who can do little to achieve his targets.
Either way, Bento’s position would have been undermined.

There’s no question the vast majority of people here in Portugal would want Mourinho as their manager, but now is not the moment and many see Bento as a very capable option.

He’s young, qualified and unafraid of injecting young talent into a team. He can also have a tough hand, which is always a good thing when you’re dealing with big egos such as the ones that coexist in the national team.

Having received the backing of high-profile figures such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Pauleta, André Villas-Boas and Jorge Costa, he has all the conditions to make a good job and steer the team to Eastern Europe (that is, Poland and Ukraine!).

Let’s not forget that not long ago – two years to be precise – Queiroz made a sluggish start to the World Cup campaign; after defeating minnows Malta in the initial match, Portugal lost at home to Denmark, drew away to Sweden and were held at home by Albania.

In those first five matches, Portugal accrued six points, and we can realistically do that in four matches this time round. So, to say the campaign is already compromised is quite a hyperbole.

Unlike the ‘autopilot’ matches against Cyprus and Norway, the Portuguese team will have at last a manager that will instill them a renewed sense of confidence. And the Portugeezer is willing to bet they’ll beat Denmark at home.

(Quick note: The Portugeezer has been on a week-long vacation and that is why you may have noticed a lack of updates about the league. Chill out, they are on their way…)

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Portugal need to get Bento

Sergio Santos — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:09:00 GMT

In one of the football world’s worst kept secrets, former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz is now also former Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz.

Back on June 29, following a lackluster showing in South Africa which saw Selecção knocked-out at the Last 16 stage, this seems the most natural scenario.

After all, Maradona and Dunga were sacked due to their side’s poor results, and Fabio Capello was only spared as the FA finally twigged that England yet again failing to match the insurmountable expectations set by the media may also be something to do with the players not bothering to turn up.

The problem was that Queiroz was signed to a four-year lucrative contract and the Portuguese federation was reluctant to pay the remainder of the contract.

The poorly conducted process about his conduct towards National Doping Agency officials seemed more of a smokescreen than a serious investigation, but Queiroz was nonetheless ready to stay on and his ‘scapegoat’ role in this farce granted him support from some quarters.

Carlos ponder unemployment in smart-casual garb

The final straw, however, was reached Tuesday when Portugal were defeated in Oslo and the alarm bells started to ring.

Interim manager Agostinho Oliveira – who seems fairly clueless sat on the bench in all honesty - promoted a few changes in the starting XI as he replaced full-backs Miguel and Fábio Coentrao for Sílvio and Miguel Veloso, while Tiago replaced Danny in the midfield.

Just out of curiosity, it is interesting to note that none of the starting midfield trio – Manuel Fernandes, Raul Meireles and Tiago – is exactly match fit.

It is true that injuries can be blamed by the lack of choice, but it was strange not to see Joao Moutinho from the start…again.

Now, trying to make up for the embarrassing home draw against Cyprus, Portugal started the match in commanding fashion playing in Norways’s own midfield and dictating tempo as the organized home side was happy to play conservatively and catch the Selecção on the break.

Against the run of play, the Scandinavians scored in a bizarre moment from goalkeeper Eduardo. Collecting a back pass from Sílvio, the Genoa goalkeeper took an eternity to deal with the ball and allowed John Carew to steal the ball.

As every Portuguese watched in horror, the ball rebounded to Huseklepp who easily tapped into an empty net.

The Portuguese tried to turn the tide and salvage something from the match, but their disjointed play and lack of creativity were not able to pose a real threat to the Norwegians who cheered loudly when the referee signaled the end of the 90 minutes.

Quote of the night though goes to Agostinho Oliveira who claimed that he had gained a team. Not sure whether he was being ironic…

After the match against Cyprus, he didn’t hesitate to criticize the backline; only Miguel was dropped as a tactical decision and by sheer coincidence he announced after the match against Norway that he’d no longer play for the national team following Simao, Paulo Ferreira and Deco.

According to the latest reports – and that may change by the time you read this – there are two frontrunners for the national manager post: Humberto Coelho and Paulo Bento.

Coelho was the manager that catapulted Portugal to the first tier of International football. Queiroz may have gestated the so-called ‘Golden Generation’, but it was Coelho who best reaped the rewards at Euro 2000 with a third place.

However, his results ever since have been more than questionable: he failed to qualify for World Cups with Morocco and Tunisia and had brief unsuccessful stints with South Korea and a Saudi club.

The fact he has been distant from the Portuguese football circle and the fact he lacks “club action” though decrease his chances.

On the other hand, Paulo Bento may be the right man for the job at the moment. He had a fairly good stint at Sporting – despite being sacked, he went out with his reputation intact – and possesses a set of traits that make him suitable for the job.

He’s young, not afraid to gamble on an inexperienced player and knows all the details of Portuguese football structure having played in that Euro 2000 tournament.

Two other juicy bits: he got the informal endorsement of Cristiano Ronaldo and he would be a cheap option for the Portuguese federation.

Bento: Cristiano's pick...

Luis Aragonés and Sven-Goran Eriksson are some of the other names mooted, but they are barely speculation let alone dark horses. A foreign option at this stage would be risky for two simple reasons:

Firstly, the whole Queiroz fiasco led to calls for an election at the Portuguese federation. You cannot simply pick an expensive foreign option when a new federation board may soon take over and want somebody else.

Secondly, the fact we have a double date with Scandinavian duo Denmark and Iceland in one month make it difficult for a foreign manager to come in and get acquainted to our football.

If you want to pick a qualified Portuguese that is not Mourinho, there are few options more qualified than Paulo Bento.

This is the short-term fix: a new manager with a tougher approach that is able to inject some confidence into a team that can still pretty much qualify for the Euro 2012.

The long-term plan is something for the federation and the League to think about: youth teams are playing more and more foreigners and the Portuguese talent pool seem to be shrinking.

The time to come up with a new strategy is now…but will something new arise from this crisis?

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Portugal suffering Cypriot hangover

Sergio Santos — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:14:00 GMT

Portugal kicked-off their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on Friday evening with a 4-4 home draw against Cyprus, a result that, while not a disaster per-se, left an entire nation frustrated.

The optimist will try to use this bad experience as an opportunity to fix what is wrong with the national team before any serious damage is done.

1. Autopilot doesn’t work in football

The sub-par performances at South Africa could well have cost Carlos Queiroz his job, had that not in turn cost the Portuguese Football Federation a lot of money, having previously tied-down the former Manchester United assistant to a four-year contract.

Soon after the World Cup, reports emerged about a bust-up with officials from the National Doping Agency and whispers Queiroz was about to have his contract terminated started to spread.

Last week and after a poorly conducted investigation, the National Doping Agency doled out a heavy six month suspension that puts the national manager’s job at risk and the team preparations’ in tatters.

This farce was further compounded when federation supremo Gilberto Madail, in a pathetic attempt to downplay the relevance of the manager, insisted the team would cope ‘in autopilot’ against Cyprus.

Whether we were in autopilot or simply with just the wingman, truth is every team needs a pilot or a leader (Sweden even had two once upon a time!) - Portugal currently have nobody.

Unfortunately for the Selecção, the fact that a lot of people have retreated to silence implies that Queiroz may indeed be made scapegoat in the whole process and that the team is not being properly prepared and supported. In the end, we all lose...

2. No young starlets ready to replace the old geezers

Deco had already announced he would retire from international football before the World Cup, but when you add the departure of the gifted Brazilian-born playmaker to the departures of Simão and Paulo Ferreira, you have a squad that lacks strength-in-depth.

The so-called ‘golden generations’ only appear every now and then and at the moment we lack a bit of star quality.

Furthermore, if in the past, the U-21 side boasted having the likes of Quaresma, Ronaldo and Hugo and Viana, at the moment it seems hard to imagine taking one of the current crop making the step up to the senior squad.

3. What is the selection criteria?

Acting manager Agostinho Oliveira made quite a few surprising inclusions on the starting XI.

Right-back Miguel is someone who peaked four or five years ago - if Portugal had more options at the moment, he would get dropped. The Valencia fullback has lost not only his once-blistering pace, but also his passion, and was a liability against Cyprus.

Raúl Meireles was another puzzling decision; the former Porto midfielder is an important player for the Selecção in normal conditions, but he has barely played so far this term and looked to be lacking sharpness. He scored from outside the box, but also made a glaring error that allowed Konstatinou to score. Should he have started? Certainly not with his current match fitness levels...

Equally surprising, but on a positive note was Ricardo Quaresma’s performance. The flamboyant winger has flourished at Besiktas and was one of the best on Friday. Still, it is a bit ironic to think he only received a call-up after Ronaldo was ruled out through injury...

4. Enthusiasm levels at an all-time low

Portugal played at Vitoria Guimaraes’s 30,000-capacity Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, but only a third of those seats were actually graced with buttocks for the match.

Granted, the match was on a Friday night and against a relatively weak opponent, but it has been quite a long time since the enthusiasm levels with the national team have reached this low.

There is less empathy between the supporters and the squad and that is affecting both parties: supporters are not filling the stadiums and the morale among the players does not increase.

In this chicken-egg type dilemma, only a sound victory can repair the special relationship between the Portuguese supporters and its players.

Prediction

Portugal still have the quality to beat Norway, few would dispute that fact. However, the fact they are struggling and without a manager gives the Scandinavians an opening.

The Portugeezer’s prediction: Norway 1-1 Portugal

The defence – even without the injured Coentrão - will tighten up having been unusually poor on Friday – but the attack will not be as productive as it was. Expect a close match that may be decided ay on a creative spark from Quaresma.

What do you think? Will Portugal leave Oslo empty-handed or with three valuable points in the bag?

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Lisbon neighbours off to a bad start

Sergio Santos — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:18:00 GMT

The 2010/11 season may have just started but its opening weekend already offered a few surprises. There were four away successes, but the highlights of the round were defeats for both Benfica and Sporting.

Braga were the first team to play and they looked as solid as last season. Granted, it was against new boys Portimonense, but they have done well in the transfer market and they seem to have kept their dominant attitude to matches.

Thumbs up to Matheus for breaking the deadlock and being a threat throughout the match and to signing Leandro Salino for scoring a goal on his debut.

Porto had to fight harder than they had thought to seal a late 0-1 victory at Naval. The Dragons produced a relatively average first half, but improved after the break with the introduction of Columbian midfielder Freddy Guarín.

Unlike the match against Benfica where Varela was on fire, this time it was Hulk who upped his game a notch, creating some opportunities and scoring the 84th minute penalty that won the game.

Sporting and Benfica were dealt an early blow in their title quest as they were both deservingly beaten.

Playing at Mata Real is never easy and the home side, Paços de Ferreira, proved once again why. Relying on their never-say-die attitude and young talent David Simão and Caeteno, the team known as ‘the Beavers’ showed no fear of going forward and were eventually rewarded in the second half with a goal from Venezuelan striker Rondon.

Sporting had enough opportunities to at least claim a draw, but their forwards must have worn the wrong boots and the closest they came was hitting the bar through Helder Postiga.

The biggest upset of the weekend however was Académica 1-2 win at Estádio da Luz. The Eagles were determined to start their title defence in style, but were dismantled by an organized and resilient side who had studied their lesson at home.

If Benfica were a major threat from dead balls last year, this year they seem to fear them and it is probably due to lack of trust in goalkeeper Roberto.

It was therefore no surprise when Académica scored from a free-kick in the first half. New boy Franco Jara – who once again came off the bench – scored an equalizer, but despite playing against 10 men, Benfica would concede a second goal in the last minute and raise early question marks as to whether they’ll be able to reproduce last year’s levels of performance.

Goal of the round

It’s always better to start in style, right? Here’s the situation: Benfica, current title holders, are playing at home in front of 49,000 supporters and at 1-1 they’re pushing for a victory in the dying minutes. Substitute Laionel then decides to hit a wonder strike to silence an entire stadium and give the Students a famous victory. Cloud number nine for Academica and the 24-year old Brazilian striker!

Talking points

Sporting need to sort out their problems upfront; if the Lions possessed someone with half Liedson’s goalscoring prowess, they would have claimed another result. The Brazilian-turned-Portuguese striker is not getting any younger, and both Yannick Djalo and Postiga couldn’t hit the ground if they fell off a ladder.

That issue can be minimized with someone like Simon Vukcevic. There are not many players like the Montenegrin in the Portuguese League and while he may have a short temperament he also seems to be an ugly duckling type of figure at the club. His talent alone would justify his presence on the starting XI and the reason to include Jaime Valdes ahead of him is unknown to the Portugeezer

Benfica manager Jorge Jesus bemoaned bad luck for the home loss, but shouldn’t he just admit he made some mistakes? The Portugeezer admires his man crush on Cesar Peixoto, but including him on the starting XI won’t take him far. Peixoto is a utility man, a squad player to be mostly used as a sub.

The ‘new’ 4-3-3 formation is not the problem: the problem is not having the right players for such formation; Peixoto is not a winger, Saviola cannot open up defences if pushed to the wings and Amorim cannot link-up with the frontline like Ramires used to do!

There is a surplus of players in certain positions and a deficit in others, which certainly doesn’t bode well for the Eagles. With two weeks before the transfer window closes, can the Eagles find the missing piece(s) in their jigsaw?

RESULTS Fri Aug 13 Braga 3-1 Portimonense; Sat Aug 14 Marítimo 0-1 Vitória Setúbal, Naval 0-1 Porto, Paços Ferreira 1-0 Sporting; Sun Aug 15 Rio Ave 0-1 Nacional, Beira-Mar 0-0 Leiria, Benfica 1-2 Académica; Mon Aug 16 Olhanense 0-0 Vitória Guimarães.

Porto starting new season on a high

Sergio Santos — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:46:00 GMT

Enough of pre-season matches and never-ending debates on whether this or that team is stronger than last year. The start of the ‘exciting-at-times’ Liga Zon Sagres is upon us, so it’s finally time to get down to the real business - predictions!

Despite the imminent start of the new league season, the Portuguese media are currently more interested in Manchester United forking out €9 million for yet another youngster from Portugal.

Having previously signed much-heralded starlets such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson, the Red Devils this time went one further and picked up a virtual unknown.

Tiago Correia – commonly known as Bebé, which, perhaps predictably, means 'baby' in Portuguese – had only moved to Vitoria Guimaraes five weeks before on a free transfer. That’s ridiculously speedy rise through the game is quite a fitting for a boy who once lived on the streets and represented Portugal in the Homeless World Cup just two years ago.

Congratulations and good luck to him, but we’ll analyze this deal in more depth at a later stage, because right now we have a new season starting!

Braga v Portimonense

New boys Portimonense would have wished for an easier start than a visit to in-form Braga. The Algarvian side are arguably one of the weakest teams of the competition and will take some time to settle into top flight. Braga has too much experience and firepower to let this one slip away. Braga stroll to easy win.

Marítimo v Setúbal

Mitchell Van der Gaag has done remarkably well at Maritimo as a manager, and judging by how his side have played in pre-season and in the Europa League qualifying stages, they seem capable of emulating last season results. Setubal, on the other hand, have lost key men Helder Barbosa and Keita over the summer, and therefore might lack some quality upfront. Home win.

Naval v Porto

The Dragons start their domestic campaign on a high after a morale-boosting victory against arch-rivals Benfica and, quite frankly, they should have no problems beating Naval. Watch out for a good old battering and for new Porto coach André Villas-Boas‘ honeymoon period to continue. Definitely a Porto win.

Paços de Ferreira v Sporting

Mata Real (Paços de Ferreira stadium) is traditionally a tricky turf for any side, and Paulo Sérgio’s men will have to prove they are up for the task. Last year, the Lions were held to a goalless draw and there’s no reason to believe the change in direction promoted by Costinha and Bettencourt has yet to inject the necessary spark. A 1-1 draw in what will be the first of many tests for this enigmatic Sporting side.

Rio Ave v Nacional

Carlos Brito – the perennial Rio Ave manager – has conducted some quite shrewd business this summer. Bringing in the likes of Fábio Felicio, Tiago Pinto, Bruno China, Braga and Joao Tomas has increased both the depth and the quality of the squad. Considering how consistent they are at home, they’ll beat a Nacional side that will need to prove they can be as hard to beat without their former coach, Manuel Machado. Narrow home win.

Beira-Mar v Uniao de Leiria

Newcomers Beira-Mar host Leiria and the sheer excitement of playing the first match of the season at home will give them an extra edge. The Portugeezer sees some goals in this match, but it ultimately ending in an entertaining draw.

Benfica v Académica

The Eagles will have to show something different if they want to woo their supporters. An almost packed Estádio da Luz will give the players some extra motivation, although they shouldn’t really need it as they have more than enough quality to see off the Students. Comfortable win for Benfica.

Olhanense v Guimaraes

Guimaraes lost a few important players such as Desmarets and Andrezinho and will travel to the south of the country to face Olhanense, who have managed to make some interesting additions to their squad. The ‘home factor’ could play a key role here and the Algarvian side will manage to get their first three points of the season. Narrow home win.

What do you think? Do you expect any surprises in the opening day?

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Has Queiroz caused problems for himself with his World Cup selection?

Sergio Santos — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:39:00 GMT

When Carlos Queiroz announced his 24-men squad – not a typo, it’s just that the national coach will later drop one unlucky spare wheel – few were expecting big surprises, as 90% of the team is a no-brainer.

However the remaining 10% are at least debatable and much like the latest performances of the Portuguese team lack a certain something.

Allow the Portugeezer to explain himself:

1. Conservative squad

The national manager was never known for his boldness and this squad pretty much confirms it.

While it’s obvious Queiroz is still unsure over Pepe’s fitness - hence announcing a 24 man squad - even if he drops one of Pepe, Ricardo Costa or Zé Castro, he’ll be taking five centre-backs to South Africa.

Why would he do that? We possess accomplished performers for that position and we should be looking for players who could add something different in the midfield or attack.

People may complain about Moutinho and Rúben Amorim not being included in the squad, but they would probably not be the best options.

The duo are often praised for their steady, consistent play, but you could make an argument that you’d rather have a bit more instant impact from a player being used in a substitute role. Furthermore, let’s not forget Amorim is yet to play a single game for the Selecção.

The player who could eventually bring something different would be Carlos Martins (yes you read it right!). The 28-year old midfielder enjoyed a good season at Benfica, even if he was not a starter week in week out, and on a good day can score from distance and pick out forwards with clever passes.

His fiery temperament and inconsistent form may mean he’s unlikely to feature in the starting XI, but as an impact player he could certainly play a part at some stage.

2. Keepers’ criteria

It’s strange to see Eduardo, Beto and Daniel Fernandes when it could have easily been Quim, Hilário and Rui Patrício!

To be fair, Eduardo has been Queiroz’s first-choice for some time now and he fully deserves his inclusion in the team, especially considering his magnificent season at Braga.

However, Beto has only played once for the national team and he has only established himself as a starter at FC Porto in the last few games of the season, which begs the question: why was he and not one of Hilário or Quim selected?

There was much fuss when then-manager Scolari shunned iconic goalkeeper Vitor Baia – at the time, Portuguese and European champion - but isn’t the non-inclusion of Benfica goalkeeper Quim the same case on a smaller scale?

The Daniel Fernandes call-up is more of a question of personal taste than anything else. He’ll be Portugal’s third choice goalkeeper and Patrício may already be too big for that role.

3. The toll of expectations

Everyone pretty much agrees that the Portuguese team doesn’t cope well with lofty expectations, but Queiroz was still very adamant on his self-imposed target of mimicking the World Cup 2006 feats, where we reached the semi-finals of the tournaments.

In all honesty though, that may be a bit unrealistic at the moment.

Despite the third place in the FIFA Ranking, Portugal failed to shine throughout the qualifying campaign; we had to settle for a second place in a relatively easy group and were then forced to play Bosnia to clinch our ticket to South Africa.

The group of players chosen by Queiroz has enough talent to do well in the tournament, but the overall quality of the squad is lower than the Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 squads, thanks to the decline of the aging ‘golden generation’.

There’s no Figo, of course, and a few players such as Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Paulo Ferreira are already past their prime, which coupled with our recent lacklustre displays are enough reasons to be cautions and downplay any hype this team may or not have.

World Cup 24-men provisional squad

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Braga), Beto (FC Porto), Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis)

Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Miguel (Valencia), Fabio Coentrão (Benfica), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Ricardo Costa (Lille), Rolando (FC Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid), Duda (Malaga), Zé Castro (Deportivo)

Midfielders: Tiago (Atlético Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raúl Meireles (FC Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Pedro Mendes (Sporting)

Wingers/Forwards: Simão Sabrosa (Atlético Madrid), Nani (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Danny (Zenit St Peterburg), Liédson (Sporting), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

What do you think? Has Queiroz made the right choices? Can we realistically achieve the semi-finals of the tournament?

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