|
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 06:36 |
|
In relation to Nelson Oliveira and Rodrigo, Orlando Mac is spot on! They were not given equal opportunity at the beginning that is quite clear to see. Rodrigo is a great player and is actually a couple months older than Nelson and considering Nelson had the better U20 tournament and therefore a longer more intense tournament, maybe Jorge Jesus knew that and gave Nelson more time to rest before integrating him into the Benfica team. I was quite upset about how long it took Nelson to start getting playing time under JJ but ultimately I am just happy that Nelson is getting his due time and respect on the team which he thoroughly deserves! JJ actually might just be a mastermind and he has forged an incredibly good and deep Benfica team which in my opinion is clearly the best team in Portugal by some distance now. I actually support Sporting, but I admire what JJ is doing for Benfica now that Nelson is playing as well. Yes Rodrigo did get more time, but okay, he is actually like I said a couple months older and is very very talented as well. In the end I think it worked out perfectly and I believe training Nelson in Benfica and sort of grooming him behind the scenes amidst this high quality team, has made him a better player now and I believe any time Nelson plays now he will be hungry to score as we have been seeing! 2 starts 2 goals is great and thats what we want to see! Even though I'm not a fan of Cardozo really he is a quality target man and finisher and his goal record for Benfica cannot be questioned, so i respect his position as the 1st choice striker. They way I see it JJ is building a team that can go on to dominate for some years if they keep all their players together! So I'm hoping that they win the league this season, because this is like a perfect set up for (in my opinion) the real stars - Rodrigo and Nelson - to take over the mantle from next season! So they will all come in with a winning mentality and in a winning team! Rodrigo and Nelson are the two best young strikers in the world! Benfica MUST keep both of them, as they can go on to dominate world football in the future! I agree for now Cardozo is the number 1 man but the only thing I want to see or would have liked to see which would have made everything perfect for me and for Nelson and Rodrigo is for Saviola to be sold! Saviola should have been sold this January! I strongly believe that this would have been the best thing to do for Rod and Nelson and Benfica. There is nothing Saviola can do that Rodrigo and Nelson cannot do! Plain and simple Nelson Oliveira and Rodrigo are better than Saviola and their still young so they're only going to get better and better! Selling Saviola would have made it possible for Nelson to get even more time which I think would have been great and perhaps would have made it possible for him to be selected as a substitute for the Seleccao by Paulo Bento. Sure Nelson isn't perfect or the finished article as yet, but the guy is 20 and NO player is the finished article by 20 yrs old. However Nelson Oliveira is a very great young talented striker with alot of potential! My dream and what I think would have been the perfect scenario would be getting good game time this season coming off a great U20 world cup last summer claiming the silver ball, and with his game time/experience gained, being selected by Bento as one of the strikers for Euro 2012 this summer! THAT was my dream! I still have hopes that it might be possible, but they seem very slim now that Saviola has been kept by JJ. Some people might want to say ohh Nelson is young, he doesn't need to be rushed onto the senior team blah blah blah. Why? ALL great players have been included in their national team from a very young age 20 is normal for a great young player to be on the national team. They don't have to be starters but they are at least there and making their way into the lineup bit by bit. Considering Portugal's shortage of strikers, which EVERYBODY in Portugal knows about, I think the Portuguese FA in coordination with Ilidio Vale, Rui Jorge, and Jorge Jesus should have devised a plan of how to nurture, develop, and perfect Nelson this season as best they could with the aim of ultimately getting him ready to be selected for Euro 2012! Yes he is young but he has all the right attributes to be the perfect striker for our team! The perfect striker for our national team now to work well with Ronaldo and get the best out of Ronaldo as well, is a striker with pace, skill, creativity, and not only finishing, but also assisting to feed Ronaldo as well! If we look at the strikers Ronaldo as played with and done exceptionally well - Rooney, Higuain, Benzema - they are all what we call complete strikers! Those who can not only finish well for themselves, but also those who can rotate positions drift out swapping with Ronaldo and in so assisting him as well! This is currently why Postiga is the best choice for Portugal and has been so great with Ronaldo under Bento! Postiga while not top class still has these qualities, just to a lesser extent. That is why Almeida hasn't really been great with Ronaldo. Almeida is a striker who needs everything done for him and he can't create for others and is not versatile at all! So Postiga is number 1 for Portugal now, but I say that Nelson Oliveira is the perfect striker for Portugal and is the ideal replacement for Postiga! My dream is the have Postiga and then Nelson Oliveira as number 1 and 2 in the pecking order , Almeida can be 3rd as a reserve. So like I said I'm happy that Nelson is getting more time now finally and he is scoring as well so I am very happy! I really hope the Portuguese FA Bento and JJ are working together to bring the best possible team for Portugal which in my opinion must include Nelson Oliveira for Euro 2012. Some might say ahhh let him wait a couple years. I SAY NO! Right now currently we have a very great Portugal team with great players ALL over the field capable of winning games and beating ANY opponent except we have one position that is lacking a little - the striker. Ronaldo is 27 now and in his prime and I know he has the ability to win major championships with Portugal as well, but he needs a good striking partner! Postiga plays his heart out once he pulls on his Portugal jersey and I'm okay with that, but ideally I see Nelson being the best in 1 - 2 yrs time. For it to happen in time for the major tournaments coming up Nelson needs to be integrated as soon as possible! He has the talent he has the ability! Nelson is more talented and has more potential that Postiga and Almeida. He might be lacking in his tactical intelligence and decision making compared to Postiga, but he is actually okay (not bad) in that department already, and with experience around these other great players he will mature quickly. I know its just a dream I have, but to me it is the perfect dream! Hope it comes true! :)
|
