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| Thursday, 23 February 2012 10:05 |
FC Porto’s demise in Manchester – the falloutNew money adds further barriers to Portugal’s finest on world stage When the holders of the Europa League, and Portuguese champions, cup and super cup holders to boot, were drawn against the current leaders of the English Premier League in the “first knockout round” of the competition (lovingly thought of as the 3rd round of the UEFA Cup by the recedivists amongst us), a mighty set-to was predicted by the great and good of football. FC Porto v Manchester City did not disappoint on many levels but there is space for arguing that, although the foreseen outcome did eventually transpire, how we got there was strewn with surprises.
Going in different directionsWe are keen on talking about crossroads in football. It is a complex place where teams meet and go off in their separate directions, comfortable in the knowledge that what they are doing is “the right thing”. On this particular occasion, the Europa League pitted two very contrasting institutions against each other. On the one side, the wily old European campaigners from Porto, on the other the rich young upstart puppies from Manchester. A team on the gentle wane after another of their famous three-year cycles came to an end against a team on such an unstoppable upsurge that to get in the way sometimes feels foolhardy.
That is quite possibly how FC Porto feel this morning. Shorn of their successful young manager Andre Villas-Boas, plus the landmark goalscorer Falcao and hindered by a growing list of injuries, to which three more serious patients were added during the course of this tie, Porto can rightly be seen as a team looking nervously at the map. For a giant of Portuguese football to be staring at a League Cup Final and 2nd place in the League is not acceptable. Young manager Vitor Pereira is sitting in an uncomfortably hot seat this morning. What you get is not always what you seeDespite an aggregate scoreline of 6-1 suggesting City wiped the floor with their Portuguese counterparts, truth tells us a different story. If stating that “The result is a lie”, as Vitor Pereira did shortly after the final whistle in Manchester, is a little far-fetched, there is a grain of truth somewhere in that lie.
For long periods of both ties, Porto were in vague if undeniable control. The first half at the Dragao and for even longer periods in Manchester, they dominated possession and dictated the pace. The drive and control of Moutinho, Hulk and Varela troubled City but did not bring the rewards their play deserved. Having said that, City’s power is there for all to see. Resurgent now that Yaya Toure is back in harness, freeing up the mercurial talents of David Silva, this is a team of frightening efficacy. It contains a vertebral column of almost unmatched power and potential, from agile England goalkeeper Hart, through defensive bulwarks Kompany and Lescott to the metronome Silva and the powerhouse Toure. At the point of this razor sharp machine is the unmarkable talent of Sergio Aguero. Try and push on as Porto did, City were able to, firstly, force themselves back into things in the first leg, managing to do so with such success that their hosts visibly wilted under the onslaught and not only gave away an equaliser (quite literally scoring it themselves), but also the whole momentum of the tie when Yaya speared their defence and Aguero rolled home. In the second game, faced with the unenviable task of winning by two goals at the Etihad (something nobody has done this season and Porto have never done in European competition in England), the visitors made a fist of their entry (conceding after 19 seconds), played themselves back in admirably, but were then undone by a combination of ill discipline, injury and an opponent so vivid on the counter attack you needed sunglasses to watch them despite the diluvial swamp in Manchester. What does 6-1 really mean?Clearly Porto were not 6 goals worse than City in these two encounters, but the fall-out from this tie will be interesting. Their coach now resides on a knife edge. When the man sharpening the blade is Jorge Pinto da Costa, you’d better put your waterproof, flameproof and scratchproof undercrackers on. An unexpected League defeat for Benfica last weekend in Guimaraes means Porto have breathing space. The gap is down to two points and the eternal rivals still have to face each other.
Nevertheless 2011/12 is in grave danger of being binned in the box marked “Armageddon”. The team appears on the downward slope of one of their frequent three-year cycles, where cheap South American talent is brought in, nurtured, made to work and, once it has snaffled the domestic prizes, is dismantled in rude haste and at elevated prices by Europe’s Monster Trucks. Without Falcao and with clubs beginning to eye the likes of Hulk, Alvaro Pereira and James Rodriguez, we can surely expect a clear-out in the summer which will no doubt brush the manager beyond the doorstep too. Was it a coincidence that the second leg was watched by Pinto da Costa and Villas Boas, surely also on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge, under the same picnic blanket high in the Etihad stands? In Pinto da Costa Land the coincidences are few and far between. Portugal-England: an age-old rivalryOn many occasions in recent years the Portuguese have held the upper hand, particularly in the colours of the national teams. Club teams have stood up well to their neighbours from the north too, with Porto beating Manchester United on the way to Champions League glory and Sporting defeating Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Everton in recent years. Add to that Benfica’s good results against United, Liverpool and Everton and one might be tempted to say it was about time an English team prevailed.
What these ties have proved is as follows: New money in football is providing a surge for the likes of Anzi, Malaga, Chelsea, Paris St Germain and, above all, Manchester City. For all the cash swilling around these clubs, however, a coherent plan is needed, a team spirit must be forged and a belief must be installed. Bad management and a lack of continuity can do for even the richest of powerhouses, as we can see from Chelsea’s current plight. What we currently see in Manchester is a changing of the guard. One of Europe’s elite behemoths is about to be usurped by a new emerging power, sadly for them, one residing just across the road from their Old Trafford home. City, driven by wealth, hunger and ambition sometimes look like an unstoppable force, a weird situation for the blue hordes who have spent the last 35 years watching the club repeatedly take a gun to its own metatarsals. For Porto too, the road ahead forks. It may well be easier for them to remedy their domestic ills than it will be for them to regain the continental elite that they have spent so many proud years being a part of. by Simon Curtis |
The problem I have with this years squad is that I think a wonderful opportunity was missed. Yes Falcao was sold, which I understand, but this squad has a lot of talent. A deep CL run was squandered away. They may still win the league, but please don't tell me how successful this season was. The truth is they dropped the ball.
The major issue that hampers Porto's consistency is the financial one, they cannot afford to turn down ridiculous offers for the teams top players and cannot compete with the top salaries that are being paid, and that is the difference. The one opportunity that Porto has is recruiting an unheralded coach that can build a team with solid, reliable players that have not been discovered yet and recruit consistent, unspectacular players who can do whatever it takes to get a result. This of course has happened in the past under Artur Jorge, Jose Mourinho and of course Andre Vilas Boas.
Maybe we will not always be consistent, but there is no reason that we can't put out teams that can challenge the very best and sometimes come out on top. All it takes is a coach who has a good footballing mind, strong character and a no nonsense approach to the players. The sieve of a defense made up of Maicon, Rolando and Otamendi are really too poor to be dressed in blue and white, and a better coach would have sorted out that problem a long time ago.
Porto have been regular Champions league participants and few teams have played more matches. The result against City was bad, but should not be dwelt on. There is some good talent at the club that can provide a platform for success - the likes of Jaime Rodriguez, Iturbe, Moutinho, Sandro, Danilo, and Defour are players that can contribute to Porto's future success - if a manager like Domingos Paciencia can remedy the teams defensive frailities we will be a team to be reckoned with again - if only for a short time.
Secondly, Portugal as a country and society is the most mixed, and racially integrated in all of Europe. No question at all, and certainly much more so than here in the UK, where I live, and where Man City hail from! Half of Porto's team is black or of mixed race, as is half of most Liga teams and our national team...and always has been. Portugal was the first European country to have a black player in their national team, all the way back in the early 60s when racism was still common-place in Europe. That same player is a living legend in this country, and still the best player we've ever had. So i don't buy an English club accusing Portuguese football fans of being racist...I really don't, and anyone who knows Portugal knows how integrated and mixed a society it is.
The aggregate score was 6 TO 1.
It's just not worth to even try to reason with that statement.
As for the racial chants, lets not excuse them due to the player they were being thrown at. Just because Balotelli has done plenty to bring vile upon him, it doesn't mean that racial slurs are acceptable. Whatever happened to booing and whistling.
It's idiotic to even try to defend it.
As for Porto putting in a complaint to UEFA for chants against Hulk, "you're not incredible" and "you're a cheat", it's laughable.
Maybe PdC can file a Civil Lawsuit verse City due to those chants possibly diminishing Hulks value in the open market. He just might get some restitution. Lol.
They can still win the league but the game vs Benfica will decide it. If porto dont win it, VP will most likey lose his job and may even get domingos in. Personally such a better coach.
Regarding the accused "monkey chants", I think Porto should have condemned any racist chanting and should have waited to release a statement after investigating the allegations themselves. I have seen some videos and I do believe they are monkey chants but is it racially motivated?
I understand that it's a sensitive issue but is it a coincidence that it happens to Balotelli? Why would Portistas racially target him only and not any of the other black players they have faced or even their own. I believe the chant motivation may be directed to his idiotic behavior on and of the pitch. Unfortunately, Porto may be made an example of by UEFA's racism crack down.
Let me know what y'all think.
By the way Man United brings in enough to be compliant.
A team like Benfica just might benefit from the rule if buyers can still be found. At the very least talent might stay longer.
United took the Ronaldo money to pay down debt and have been buying young/rookie talent cheap to keep themselves safe. Chelsea is currently talking about doing a fire sale of the old guard this summer to clean up the club, and I have no clue where this leaves City. This is one of the reasons they didn’t let Tevez go cheap, they need to sell him for more money or find other solutions. I think you can only run a couple million negative on a 3year average, City is currently over 100million negative.
I just hope UEFA has the balls to follow through with the rules.
As for Porto, people just look at the 6-1 agg score line and on the international papers and it just makes them and our league look bad. Just like Arsenal losing 4-0 in the CL. Also I think the idea of passing France in the UEFA rankings is not going to happen this time around. We’ll still get the 3rd CL spot but they will start in the earlier playoff round instead of later on which makes a big difference.
Porto can recover their personnel losses and I think they've already begun to do that by bringing in Janko. They could probably use maybe one more good striker and a decent defender and they'd have a pretty fearsome squad. That is, if they kept everyone else.
For better or worse, world football has been forever changed by fabulously wealthy tycoons taking over random clubs and buying all of the best talent to make them great. Porto have to accept, like many other Portuguese teams, that at some point they won't be able to hold onto the players that have become world class during their tenure. Eventually, these new, rich, powerhouse clubs are going to come calling for all of the hot talent being nurtured at Porto, and many other clubs who often can't afford not to sell their best players for grossly inflated prices. That's where the state of world football is at gentlemen, and Porto for the most part have done well to fill in the gaps left by players who have moved on. I believe they will continue to cope with their situation and produce winning football because they have shown such resiliency before. Time will tell I suppose, but I'm not too worried about Porto. Sporting on the other hand.....well.....
Porto was completely outclassed at the Dragao, and the result could have been much harsher. They had nothing left in the second half. No ideas, no stamina to keep up with City.
In the second leg, they were down withing 22 seconds. Let's just say that City could have poured it won before Porto completely gave up after allowing 2 goals. The time of possession is a lie.
Maybe even more sadly, we were completely outclassed in the stands. Once again club presidents make excuses for horrific fan behavior. And if there's video proof of racist chants, let's go ahead and complain about the other teams fans. "you're not incredible" and "cheat" (due to Hulks diving) are not the equivalent of racist chants. How about not letting your fans off the hook and condemning their behavior. An apology to City players and the world of futebol was also in order. Sadly we get none of that.
I can only assume that Portos minorities are ok, and it's just the other clubs that we can victimize.
Sadly Portugal will now become part of a "racism" example for UEFA and FIFA, when the "Respect" campaign is once again ignored. I wonder what type of punishment will be dealt. I have always said that "dark matches" along with tv blackouts would be the best solution. Making clubs lose out on ticket receipts and tv revenue, and fans miss the game altogether, just might bring about change.
By the way, it doesn't matter what club acts in this matter. If it was Benfica we were talking about, the same punishment should be in order. I actually believe the same should happen if one golf ball finds its way onto the field. Let me add that if an opposing fan is the culprit, make sure the return leg is also blacked out.
The other perceived fallout from this match were the pictures of AVB with PdC. If AVB gets fired(incredibly he hasn't been yet) and Porto sign him back, it will be one of the biggest fleecings ever. Abram will petition UEFA in order to recoup some of he fee he paid Porto.
Lastly, this should free up Porto to make a very strong run at the league title. What I'm not sure of is this clubs and managers mental fortitude. They have packed it in routinely, so will have to wait and see.
A league title shouldn't mask the great disappointment this season has become.
Now if Porto had Napoli's front three, they could possibly be the best team in Europe.