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| Sunday, 03 June 2012 01:02 |
“Nani’s injury not serious” - Portugal doctor Henrique JonesBento and Ronaldo downplay significance of Turkey defeat There was some good news for Portugal in the immediate aftermath of a disappointing evening at the Estádio da Luz tonight. The late injury Nani picked up is not thought to be serious. Portugal doctor Henrique Jones told PortuGOAL he expects the Manchester United player to recover in time for the Selecção’s first game against Germany next week.
“Nani had a traumatic situation in his (right) foot, the same foot that he had problems with at Manchester United during the season,” said Jones. “But I think it’s nothing serious and I think he’ll recover for the first match.” To listen to Henrique Jones’ assessment of Nani’s injury click below: Meanwhile, despite the 3-1 defeat to Turkey, coach Paulo Bento is confident his team are on the right track. “I’m not worried. More than anything I’m disappointed for the players, given the performance they put in and the quality they showed. For ninety minutes we were the better team in everything, apart from finishing, where Turkey were better. Taking into account the opportunities we created, and the opportunities Turkey created, it’s an unjust result,” said Bento. The Selecção coach added that he did not believe the players would be adversely affected by the loss. “How am I going to give the players their confidence back? You can’t give something back that hasn’t been lost. Here nobody has lost self-belief. We believe in our quality, in the attitude of our players. We aren’t happy because we wanted to win, like we always do, but this defeat won’t affect us at all.” Costly mistakesCristiano Ronaldo echoed the sentiments of his coach, stressing the need to cut out mistakes when the tournament begins.“When the Euro starts we can’t make these mistakes. I’m talking about myself as well. When we were coming back, I missed a penalty. I think the team played well. We just have to correct some mistakes. We have to be calm and patient. We’re on the right road. These two games don’t mean anything. The tide will turn,” said the Portugal captain. by Tom Kundert Follow PortuGOAL on Twitter |
Helder Postiga is far from a top quality striker, but many of the subtle aspects of his game like his off the ball movement, pressing, touch, and above average link-up play better suit the system utilized by Paulo Bento. He can seems to disappear at times, and he doesn't have the quality to win games on his own, but he has proven to score important goals in important games. He isn't perfect, but he's at his best when playing for Portugal.
As for Nelson Oliveira, I would have liked to see him start one of the friendlies, or at least see him get 45 minutes, but I still think that he'll have a role to play this summer. He's only 20, so he's still a very raw talent, but his pace and athleticism sets him apart from Postiga and Almeida. He has a ton of potential and he's far from his prime, but in terms of talent and game changing ability, he is better than our other 2 strikers. Bento isn't going to start him, but he can be a huge game changer late in the game if needed.
It might be time to see what Nelson Oliveira can do from the outset. Let the kid start and if he doesn't impress then switch to Postiga. Seriously -- a young guy with fresh legs up front is our best option.
I am predicting and 8-1 Germany win. The Selacao are a joke, and always have been, such a shame and a waste cuz we truly do make great player's.
Hit the beach boys, whip out the sardines, sumol's and popsik's cuz its guna be a gong show in the Euro..
WHAT A JOKE!!!! SHAME
as for those who keep using the "bad luck" excuse, you need to get back to reality....
the embarassment that begins in less than a week may be the best thing to happen to Portuguese futbal and force the FPF to look at what needs to be done to rebuild the NT and make it a squad that can seriously be considered among the world's best once again.... for now they're not even close....
a good start would be for the Portuguese Liga, and especially the top clubs, to give more Portuguese talent the chance to play regularly on their home soil....
Where is Ricardo Vaz Te???
As for Carloser, that guy isn't even a bench option on Real. He's been full of injuries this year and gave an f'u to all Portuguese. Thank god our coach should some balls in not allowing this guy on our team.
Come week bento says ur Sorrys carvalho we need u we really need u...Manuel fernandez u r awar best midfielder but ur staying home....then the number 10 dannys out tiago retired from his 6month international career and no one though of maybe ringing deco after he had class season at 34...team players Not...Ronaldo then thinkin of himself ...Portugal need a good cupa coffee to wake up before they face germany next week ...forca forca forca
The guys played the ball well yesterday but luck was never on our side! What if Ronaldo scored the penalty...I'm not saying that we don't have problems in the squad, no it's clear that there is a miscommunication among the defenders but still, let's hope they fix it by this week!
I'm realistic, and that's why I claim that we do have the quality, and let's forget these 2 matches and start thinking of the big possibility of getting a positive result against Germany!
Some points to mention:
In fact I'm dreaming of seeing Nelson Oliveira starting but it seems that Bento will never do that!So Almeida's presence against Germany is pretty sure, and I do prefer him instead of Postiga!
B. Alves wasn't the only one who's responsible for conceding the second goal, it started with Veloso...Actually they were both very slow and non confident on the pitch!
May be starting by Custodio instead of Veloso is a right choice, and hoping that Alves will recover to his great form that he used to have before moving to Zenit!
Let's keep our hopes alive, those are just friendlies! Back up your team and stay behind the Seleccao no matter what Happened!
Forca Portugal!
But ... there is always a but ... there were many areas that the NT need to improve on. First and foremost, the defense was ordinary because of a lack of communication ... please talk to each other. Second, Paulo Bento reacted very slowly halfway thru the second half when he should have immediately made changes to spark the team back to life. Lastly, we really need a world class striker. I am amazed at how many great chances were squandered. I used to like Almeida at Werder Breman, but since then he has been very average at best. Postiga must start.
Furthermore, watching Nelson Olivera, he ain't no panacea to our striker problem. He actually plays really well off another centre forward. So what that means is that Bento should bring him on as a second striker when we are chasing the game. A bit like today ...
Anyway, FORCA PORTUGAL ... I am still confident this team has the quality to go far at the Euro 2012.