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| Tuesday, 06 December 2011 21:47 |
Heroic effort from Porto falls just shortFC Porto 0-0 Zenit St. Petersburg A rousing display by FC Porto failed to glean the goal they richly deserved and they needed to beat Zenit Saint Petersburg tonight. The goalless draw at the Estadio do Dragao sees the Portuguese champions drop into the Europa League. Vitor Pereira's players were applauded off the pitch, despite the bitter disappointment.
As expected Pereira stuck with the same starting XI that had earned Porto crucial back to back wins against Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga. Perhaps the most contested player in the new-look Porto has been Maicon, but the magnificent performance from the erstwhile centre-back, converted into a right-back, epitomised the spirit shown by the Dragons throughout the 90 minutes. Early pressureThe hosts grabbed control of proceedings from the first whistle, constantly driving at the Zenit goal, while snuffing out all danger of counter-attacks with minimal fuss. The positive approach by Porto was almost rewarded with a dream start as Joao Moutinho's piercing throughball found Djalma free in the box. The Angolan's low shot was heading for the bottom corner, only for Malafeev to produce a stunning low save to push the ball round the post.James Rodriguez was next to test the goalkeeper with a rasping angled drive, before Hulk latched onto a goalmouth scramble and fired over. Having weathered the 25-minute storm, Zenit saw out the rest of the half without undue alarm. If the Russians thought they had done the hard work, they were mistaken. Defour's injury on the stroke of half time led to Kleber's appearance after the break, but the real benefit for the hosts was gained by the repositioning of James as the number 10. The Colombian was unleashed and led a full-scale assault on the Zenit net throughout the second half. Kleber and James combined to set Hulk free on the right close to goal, albeit at a tight angle. The Brazilian chose to shoot when a cross would surely have yielded a goal and the ball skidded wide of the left-hand post. James was then inches away from finding the net with a shot from outside the box. On 63 minutes Joao Moutinho's curling effort brought out another flying save from Malafeev as Porto kept on knocking but could find no way through. Malafeev denies JamesAs the clock ticked down Porto's desperation got the better of them. The short-passing movements dried up and a series of lofted balls into the box proved easy fodder for the well-organised Zenit defence. The Russians could even have nicked a win as Porto commited everyone forward, and two counter-attacks were only thwarted by last-ditch interventions from Helton and Maicon. Porto go out, but as Vitor Pereira commented after the match: "It was not because of tonight that we are out of the Champions League. If we had played like that in our previous games we would have made progress." The coach now faces a big job working up an appetite in his players to defend their Europa League title. FC Porto: Helton, Maicon, Rolando, Otamendi (Belluschi, 82), Alvaro Pereira, Fernando, João Moutinho, Defour (Kleber, HT), Djalma (Varela, 68), Hulk, James Rodriguez Tom Kundert |
I'm against corruption and teams should be punished. I also agree with your statement, especially since Belenenses were punished much harsher the same year for far less.
But since I'm sometimes perceived anti Portuguese and only a Benfica fan, let me throw this out.
The demotion of Milan and Juve absolutely crippled Serie A. In the long run it was a horrible decision by their FA. The teams that qualified for the CL in their absence couldn't maintain any consistency and it really hurt the league.
Let's face it, Benfica, Porto and Sporting carry our league. If one of them should fall for a couple of seasons, it would really hurt the league. Whoever replaces them will not have the finances or know-how in maintaing that top level. You can argue that they never have and only got there due to one of the big boys dropping.
I actually get it that The Big 3 in Portugal get certain calls. They are who they are. Man United does in the EPL, Barca & Real do in La Liga and Bayern does in the Bundes.
Not match fixing, but there's absolutely favortism. The FA's know where the money comes from.
Fair? No!
Reality? Yes
So, as a Benfica fan I wanted Porto thrown to the wolves. As also a Portuguese League fan, I wanted them just punished enough that Benfica finished ahead of them.
You see, I love Benfica, and actually despise Sporting. Yet I know their importance, hence needing them to finish 3rd and be relevant in Europa.
He's just trying to cover up his own poor performance. Hopefully Bento will make a stand and never pick this idiot for the seleccao ever again. Not just because his attitude stinks, but because he's a vastly overrated player.
After all, I'm also very disappointed with Danny on professional and human attributes. I do not know if someone here was aware of the controversy between Danny and Porto.
We all know he's a benfiquista and completely nothing against it. The problem is, as a professional player with millions people watching CL games, he shouldn't have disrespected Porto with the way he celebrated the goal (imitating a dog urinating) in Russia. Why against Porto? In my opinion he gave a completely idiot explanation, putting his children in the middle of controversy.
What to expect in Dragao? Kisses and hugs? Everytime he touched the ball, he was booed. Today Danny returned to the newspapers saying that his children had more education than the complete 50 000 at Dragao and he did not like to see the name of their children associated with the subject (when was him the first who put his children on the controversy ). It is also a lack of respect include all the 50.000 at Dragao on his statements, no?
He struggles to speak portuguese correctly but I see that professionally also falls short of expectations.
I'm disappointed. I had esteem and confidence on Danny.
I remember Figo passing through worse in his first return to Nou Camp with Real Madrid. Although they are different situations, Figo was professional and a truly champion, Danny just one more boy running after the ball...
Sorry the bad english.
By winning the CL and being very competitive in Europe, they brought notoriaty to the league.
They kept the league and our players on the map.
Did Carvalho and others increase their stature from it?
Did Mourinho?
I know I shouldn't even bother.
There is a reason you have not seen me many times before on the site commenting. I usually just read the articles and enjoy the comments or debates. I have commented on the site before but very few times. Fact is that I have been reading this site for at least 4 years now.
I only comment when there us something I need to address and no one else seemed to address.
Portista's took jabs at benfica for any failure whether in Europe or in Portugal. Now this is not all of them but a big portion of them. I just stated what some people said at the beggining of the season.
Torpianio, I didn't say all portista's said they were candidates to win the CL but some did say it.
Also I didn't say that some benfica fans don't do the same it's just that Porto went overboard because they had one dream season.
I know JJ the coach is arrogant but I can't do much about it. He is what we have and so he is who I will support. Although if he keeps winning the way he is he can be as arrogant as he wants.
Also he has toned down his arrogance a bit this season.
Also he did say that he would want to play Barcelona in the finals. That is just stating a dream. Also he is also hinting that if he were to play someone like Barcelona he'd rather do it later on in the competition,
Hopefully Benfica, Porto, Sporting, and Braga do well!
"In the end the national team is the only one that really matters."
Really?
I'm sorry, but I'm a football fan, and like to watch matches and tourneys, more than once every two years.
I happen to love club football, and I don't necessarly believe the league was created to support a Nacional side.
Last time I checked, Portugal has a very good starting squad, even with players playing abroad. There were plenty of tourney's where the Seleccao didn't qualify for, when Portuguese players dominated the league.
I for one am proud and thrilled that there are "World Class" Portuguese playing abroad earning top dollar from some of the biggest clubs in the world. Our league just can't afford to keep them.
I for one also believe that the youngster will show themselves in due time.
Please don't come on a start saying how unpatriotic I am. I have cried tears of joy and sadness when it comes to teh seleccao. I have also traveled very far to go and see them play in qualifiers and tourney's.
Euro's might be tough for me, but I will be in Brazil when they're there.
The liga should be a vehicle for developing homegrown talent. If we don't play our good young players I fear eventually it will hurt the quality of our players. The Italian and English leagues could be used as an example of this. Both national teams have defiantly seen a decline. Maybe not disastrous but a decline for sure. If you look at the Spanish and German examples where they play their young players our model looks doomed to fail.
Hey don’t get me wrong, if the likes of Ronalod, Nani, Danny, Fabio, etc… but these guys demands on salary is something we can’t really afford. Hell the last top Portuguese player to come in close to his prime was Rui Costa and he did it for the love of the club and took a pay cut.
We’re a selling league and if you don’t buy the best talent at the lowest cost, your club is done. Look at Sporting, tried the home grown thing and they became a financial mess. Finally this summer they took what little cash they had left and hit hard for some cheap foreign talent. They can’t even afford to fix their grass but at least if they keep having a good season and sell some players at a profit, they can start becoming competitive again. Sporting has really turned it around but if these players did not perform their club was pretty much done.
Its not like we don't have good young players. And according to some reports the Big Three have accumulated major debts. Think about it!
In closing, a critique (not making fun): Kleber is worthless, and Porto has better options than that up top. I am starting to think the only reason PDC insisted on signing Kleber was bc Benfica was after him too. That kind of arrogance will end up biting you in the a#% at some point. Porto better hope Danilo and Santos provide a better return on their investment. I swear Porto signed both because Benfica showed interest. Could it be the curse of Cristian Rodriguez? (IMO, he's (at least now) pretty much worthless too.
Whether the exodus begins in January or next June, Portista's can find solace in the fact that, as usual, Porto will be in line for an absolute windfall when they do decide to finally sell some of their players...
As for Nelson v. Rodrigo. While I agree Nelson went further in the U-20 (with a purely defensive team), when it came to Benfica they were given equal chances on a cup game and Rodrigo showed up and was the talk of the town. So Rodrigo got a chance to sub into game and again he was the hero. Since the U-20's Rodrigo has scored 7 goals for U-21 and Nelson has 2 goals. Again recently Nelson got the start at a cup game and Rodrigo came on at the last 10mins to save the day.
I have for a very long time saying Nelson could be the future striker of Portugal and I still think he can do it. At the same time Rodrigo is on fire at the moment and given how tight the competition is in the CL and Liga, there's no room to play around by benching an inform player.
You bashed JJ for bad results in the past, some of these came because he played a Portuguese player Peixoto. Now your bashing him for playing talent that has been able to keep us tied first in the liga and top of the CL. If he didn't do it we would be falling short on these games and you would be on here taking jabs at the club.
This is why I get irritated with your comments since no matter how well the club does, you find something to take a low blow on. It's a free world and you can say what you would like but I still have a hard time trying to understand where your coming from.
With Sporting & Braga also on the journey our chances look good again.. hopefully all three are in the semis...
As for the fans that the other day were chastising Benfica fans after the loss to Maritimo the actions of some attacking Porto here is equally as classless. Not to mention Feher Forever which isn't a usual nickname and is clearly someones alias because they are too chicken to use their real handle. Man up.
Anyways Johniee has a point that once again flies in the logic of the Big 4 and most of the parrots on here.
Two teams with more Portuguese content then Portuguese teams.. most would say even inferior teams.. with the help of some Portuguese talent went deeper in the Champions League than a Portuguese Juggernaut with less Portuguese starters.
NJ & Mdot once again the proof is in the pudding.. and as I have stated before if you never play them then it is going to always look like you have no talent.
Take Benfica for example..
U20 team did extremely well and they have a few players from that squad.. yet they start a player who's team did poorly in the U20.. not to mention that they had others come in from South America that got first team shots straight away.. and who didn't play particularly well (Enzo Perez before he went down with injury).
Hey Jardel is not that great and has barely played a game but yet he got the last two starts ahead of Miguel Vitor who has played more and at a much higher level.
So the conversation isn't about being better as the evidence proves with players as good as or better the managers choose foreign products instead. They devalue Portuguese talent.
Good luck to Porto in the Europa League
I also agree with NJ...I hated seeing us play in away kits when were at HOME. I know its only a trivial matter, but little things like that annoy me. Zenit must have some sort of kit combo that doesn't clash with our home kit, surely?!
Hulk was terrible. We needed a big performance from him but he made sure his blinkers were well and truly on and tried to do everything himself. When he's in the mood he can be unplayable but these inconsistencies and selfish plays will not endear himself to bigger clubs.
Porto dropping into the EL might actually help Portugal's coefficient. Like SLB last year, dropping into the EL gives them a chance to win more European games and gain lots of points if we go far. Had we qualified in the CL we may have just been knocked out in the next round anyway, and got few coefficient points in the process.
It is much easier to earn coefficient points in the Europa than the Champions League, that's why our league done so well last season. So all is not lost in that respect.
Also fair play to the SLB fans who are not bashing Porto. I normally can't resist a dig at SLB when they have bad results, it's just too tempting! But all the best in the CL - you're flying the flag for Portugal in that competition now so I wish you well. Just don't do a Sporting and lose 12-2 on aggregate to someone like they did to Bayern a few years ago!
If we had played all group games like yesterday, I'm sure we'll be the first in the group. Despite the result and elimination, I'm happy and confident because it seems that players are more supportive and objective between them.
Depending on the draw, I see Porto reaching the semi-finals of Europa League if we keep improving and playing well.
Superb display by Malafeev... unfortunately reminded me Manuel Neuer from Schalke few years ago...
This group wasn't easy at all, but I must recognize that APOEL was a complete surprise and I'm very hard to surprise (first in the group!!!).
To number5 FeherForever:
I found funny that today, after Porto relegation to EL, you talk about Porto fans and staff arrongance. At the beginning of the season, with the illusions from last season, we were all confident on this CL, but you can't say that we considered us winners or whatever! The losses of AVB and especially Falcao proved crucial for Porto ambitions, with the "help" of some demotivation displays now outdated (fortunately).
But I found very funny that you talk about Porto arrogance especially today because your coach (JJ), with his characteristic non-sense arrogance, said yesterday he wants to play the final of CL against Barcelona. Fortunately Maritimo isn't in CL!
Now look how it ended. Porto are out of the CL( I wanted them to make to help Portugals coeeficient, but better Porto out than Benfica to me) and Benfica are in good position to grap first place on their group and deservedly to.
This us just a nite to open the eyes of Porto fans. Yes Porto deserved to win today against Zenit at Home. But if you watch most of the games in the group stage, Porto deserved to lose zenit in Russia, deserved to lose to shaktar in Ukraine and deserved at least one of the ties against Apoel.
In the end Porto's problem this campaign was going in over confident thinking they were almost gauranteed top stop or at least passage to the next round and further. This overconfidence was in players, coaching staff, president, and fans. This was porto's biggest and mist fatal mistake.
Well, let's hope you guys make it up for Portugal by at least making quarters or semis of EL
Good Luck I Suppose.
As for people poking fun and dancing on them. I hated it when they did it to Benfica when we came third to the likes of Schalke and Lyon. Don't get me wrong, Porto can go to hell it comes to Liga play, but I would rather see Portugal's ranking go up and cheer all Portuguese clubs to do well in Europe.
As for people bashing Porto and the other big 3 for the lack of Portuguese, know that if these clubs do poorly, our league gets less money and will continue to have a harder time hiring Portuguese players. I love how people make a comments about cheering for Real over the big 3, does that mean all of Spain should cheer for Benfica because we have more Spaniards. Group leaders have less people from Cyprus then Porto has Portuguese on their payroll. It's called club footie and you do the best with the resources you have.
They just lacked the finishing touch. Yes they had chances, but they pushed forward so hard, frankly they should have had even more opportunities. They had 25 shots with only 8 being on goal. All in all a very poor performance. Going forward non-stop does not make for a good performance. Especially if your opponent is content on defending.
I actually thought that Zenit could have scored late and finish it.
A big concern for me now, is how hard will Porto focus on Europa. It wouldn't surprise me to see more than one player be sold come January. Alvaro Pereira, Fucile, Fernando, etc...
The 100 million euro price tag on Hulk is silly, and if true he's going nowhere. Although reported, I also find it hard to believe that City would be interested in him. I know Tevez is gone, but who exactly will he displace.
The big question for me is;
Will Pereira resign and/or be fired by dawn tomorrow.
Also, why did Porto wear their away kits?
I know that I should just leave it alone, but can't resist.
Johnieooooo, I guess you're one of those that would prefer our league to be mediocre and irrelevant.
I for one prefer to see our squads competing at the highest level in Europe, and sontinue to be considered "Portuguese Giants", when mentioned.
Your dribble is idiotic.
I'm sure Porto would be much better team with Nuno Gomes and Diogo Valente up top with Varela. Nuno Piloto and Mendes playing next to Moutinho. Nuno Pinto, Pedro Queiroz to go with Rolando and Emedio at the back. Even bring back Beto for goal.
I was praying that Porto would lose.
I am actually very very very happy that the 2 teams in the whole competition with the most portuguese content is going through to the knockout stages.
APOEL & Zenit.
Congradulations to my portuguese homies at APOEL & Zenit, job well done & you make all of Portugal & all the Portuguese around the world very happy.
Ill be cheering for both of you in the next rounds.
VIVA PORTUGAL
Too bad Porto....now go play in the Copa Libratadores...I meant Copa America....or whatever.
I wouldnt care for Europa if I won it last year. Other than coefficient points, who cares really? Why would you repeat the levels you already beat?
It should have been Zenit, Porto. How the hell did Apoel make it? Unbelieveable, they're the worst in the group.
Better to focus on the Liga Sagres now.
But well done to Zenit, they defended with their lives, Italiano style, and Spaletti has made them into a tough team to face for anyone. They could be dangerous dark-horses for the rest of the tournament. Europa league again for Porto which is dissapointing for them, and for the Portuguese Euro coefficient. Would've been good for the Liga's standing if both it's clubs qualified, but it wasn't to be this time around. Up to Benfica now to make sure the group-stages end in style for Portuguese football tomorrow night at Da Luz....Forca!!!
I'm a Benfiquista but I'm disappointed by the result for Portugal. I'm interested to hear if any Portistas agree with me.