 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 11 October 2011 20:14 |
Portugal crash to defeat in DenmarkSeleccao forced into playoff after 2-1 reverse in Copenhagen Portugal turned in a forgettable performance and were well beaten by Denmark tonight. A goal in each half by Krohn-Dehli and Bendtner put the hosts well in control, and only some fine goalkeeping by Patricio denied the Danes further goals. Ronaldo scored an excellent stoppage-time free kick but it was too little too late for the Seleccao, who must now get through a playoff to reach Euro 2012.
Paulo Bento had expressed confidence pre-match that the defensive frailties in evidence in Friday’s 5-3 win over Iceland would be rectified in the group decider against Denmark without the need to make drastic changes. He backed up his words by picking an unchanged line-up, but the patched-up back four (missing regulars Coentrao and Pepe) were ruthlessly exposed by a dynamic home side roared on by an ecstatic crowd in the Parken stadium.
As early as the 3rd minute the Seleccao were lucky to survive Denmark’s first aerial threat. A free-kick from the right was swung into the box and a pack of Danish players easily outsmarted the Portuguese defence to reach the ball first, with Silberbauer knocking into the net from close range. The goal was ruled out, either because of offside or a foul on Patricio, neither of which were easily discernable from television replays.
Krohn-Dehli torments Portuguese defenceThe incident further unsettled Portugal’s clearly nervy players and it was little surprise when the excellent Krohn-Dehli made Denmark’s incessant pressure tell. The winger cut in from the left and fired a cross-shot into the corner of the net, with the aid of a deflection off the hapless Rolando.
Portugal tried to react to the goal, but with the midfield trio of Moutinho, Meireles and Martins having a collective off-day, and Ronaldo clearly struggling with injury, it was left to Nani to swim against the tide. The Manchester United man threatened an equaliser on 19 minutes and just before the break, but in between it was Denmark who largely controlled affairs and looked the more incisive team going forward.
Whatever Paulo Bento said during the half-time interval, it had little effect on the pattern of the match. Bendtner and Krohn-Dehli both came desperately close to doubling Denmark’s lead immediately after the break as more woeful defending went unpunished. Try as they might, Portugal were unable to find any rhythm to their passing, while Denmark’s more straightforward style was proving far more fruitful in the torrential rain.
Carlos Martins was unable to trouble Sorensen from a promising shooting position on the edge of the box, and the hosts scored a vital second goal just after the hour mark. Rommendahl was released on the right flank and after running to the bye-line, he cut the ball back perfectly for Bendtner to score from close range.
Patricio averts embarrassmentRicardo Quaresma and Miguel Veloso came on for Carlos Martins and Eliseu, and the Besiktas winger immediately set up a chance for Ronaldo who headed listlessly over. With Portugal now desperately pushing forward – as news filtered through that Sweden’s result meant only the group winners would go through without having to negotiate a playoff – Denmark used the extra space afforded intelligently and broke with real venom.
Eriksen turned Rolando inside out before shooting wide when he seemed certain to score, and when Raul Meireles drove his shot wide from point-blank after being set up by substitute Nuno Gomes all hope for Portugal seemed lost. Only three superb saves from Rui Patricio denied Bendtner, Rommedahl and Simon Poulsen in quick succession.
Ronaldo’s typically thunderous free kick in stoppage time could not disguise one of Portugal’s worst performances for many a year.
Portugal:
Patricio, Pereira, Rolando, Bruno Alves, Eliseu (Miguel Veloso, 65), Meireles, Moutinho, Martins (Quaresma, 65), Nani, Postiga (Nuno Gomes, 78), Ronaldo Goals:
[1-0] Krohn-Dehli, 13
[2-0] Bendtner, 63
[2-1] Ronaldo, 92
by Tom Kundert
Follow PortuGOAL on Twitter and Facebook NO MORE POSTS ACCEPTED ON THIS ARTICLE FOR TECHNICAL REASONS. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR OPINIONS. TO CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION PLEASE POST HERE |
I think that Rolando proved emphatically over the last two matches that he is not a player of international pedigree and we need to find a replacement. With all due respect Iceland and Denmark are not exactly the best attacking sides in the world yet we shipped five goals in two games which for a team ranked in the Fifa top ten, is unacceptable. We need a player than can do the basics, like head a ball.
The team has to refocus now on the play-offs. I Think that if we get back some of the injured players into key positions we can qualify.
For over a year we knew our midfield had a creativity problem and in a year Bento did nothing to fix that. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I think it's safe to say Bento is truly insane.
Personally I would blame FPF over Quieroz, for not firing Quieroz after the WC and for hiring Bento. As for our next coach, I think we need to stop hiring Portuguese coaches they're all quacks who have no idea what they're doing. Mourinho and Villas-Boas are exceptions to the rule rather than the norm.
Also yesterday I said that If Iceland can score 3 goals than Denmark can easily do at least the same. Now that obviously didn't happen, but we only lost 2-1 because of dodgy referee decisions, poor Danish finishing and Rui Patricio excellent saves. I guess I was right...
1.one thing that really pissed me off was Ronaldo. he lost the ball yet just flapped his hands and didn't even bother to chase back. ! It resulted in the second goal.
Observation- lack of team spirit, selfish, individualist
2.Im not convinced with Bento. Tactically he had no answer, Portugal wasn't even in the game for long periods
Observation- .poor team selection, poor half time reaction, has no presence, doesnt seem to command the team .u
3. We should still qualify as there is no big names there.
Observation- We wont win Euro!!!!!
We'll be luck to get out of the group.
The team is not a team , its a bunch of talented individuals.
If this turns bad the federation need to get serious.
Get a SERIOUS COACH.
I think what the last 2 games has shown is our alarming lack of depth in our squad. We have been punching above our weight for around 15 years now but our seleccao looks like it is beginning to run out of steam.
To people saying our XI should be beating Denmark's XI perhaps need to have a reality check.
Sorensen is a better keeper than Rui Patricio,
Kvist is just as good as Rolando
Kjaer is just as good, if not better than Bruno Alves
Eriksen is extremely talented, and perhaps more creative than Joao Moutinho
Bendtner is better than Postiga by a country mile.
Even Krohn-Dehli is a talented player, and while he is not better than Nani or Ronaldo, he showed he is more than capable.
Don't even get me started on our wingbacks....
Let's face it - when we are missing a few players we begin to look very, very ordinary. We cannot rely on our galactico duo of Ronaldo & Nani to win us games.
This is the future. Porto, Benfica & Sporting's lack of interest in Portuguese players is going to harm our seleccao are we beginning to see why. There is no strength in depth in our squad. There are few young promising players coming through that make me think in 5-10 years time we will still be a major force in international football.
Hopefully we will scrape through these playoffs so we can enjoy a summer next year of limited excitement before the predictable exit to Spain/Holland/Germany (delete as appropriate) in the Quarter Finals.
I really do think an era is coming to an end, I just don't see a bright future for the seleccao at the moment. I really hope I am wrong but this is now 3 consecutive qualifying campaigns where we have finished SECOND. We have finished below Poland and now Denmark twice.
In both the last two tournaments we have bombed out at the first knockout stage of the tournament.
At the moment I will just be grateful if we even get there.
There are just too many cracks and while we are capable of being brilliant on our day, we are nowhere near the level of Spain/Germany/Holland who are all playing to an exceptionally high level at the moment with many young talented players coming through as well.
Where are our next generation?
Look at some high profile Portuguese players who are 23 or under...
Rui Patricio
Coentrao
Daniel Carrico
Andre Santos
Andre Castro
Pereirinha
Apart from Coentrao, hardly anything to get excited about. Our U21 team continue to disappoint too. They have been sub-standard for several years now.
Just qualifying for major tournaments is going to be a good achievement at this rate...
In fairness we were extremely unlucky with the injuries in key areas of the park. ESP in the defence.
Although I agree that we weren't prepared to play last night, I don't put this loss squarely on Bento. We've done well with him as our coach and quitting on him after one bad game isn't going to fix anything. It's easy to blame the defense or the midfield players, but the truth is, aside from Patricio I guess, nobody played well last night. Except for Ronaldo's stunning goal (what a shame that it didn't mean anything), we didn't have a prayer in this game and it was obvious from the first minute. It wasn't our night.
Coentrao and Pepe coming back will help things tremendously and if nothing else we'll get some extra practice in before the tournament (if we make it). Just remember that until the mid-late 90s, Portugal didn't normally qualify for major tournaments, and we are blessed with a lot of talent right now that won't always be around.
Keep supporting the Seleccao and our coach. We'll get to the tournament. We might not do too well, but we'll be there. Forca Portugal.
It was never going to be easy.
But as I pointed out Bento was getting into the games that mattered now and this is where his true value would come through.
So he is 0-1 in important games but he is not done yet, so I think we should hold off on the guillotine. Hey even if he qualifies it will be a failure if he does not make at least the quarters.. and with the players available a semi final could be had and would be a good result. He still is far away from any of that.
I agree mostly with Jon & Voice... if Bento has learned anything from his previous mistakes he should be talking to Carvalho and mending the fence. Clearly the whole situation has affected the team and their confidence and it clearly shows that against good teams not playing a real DM or good D will do.
Alves is serviceable with Carvalho and even more so with Pepe as the DM. I think that is the best way to go freeing up Meireles to support the AM.
But I take offence to people like Ivo and Bryan who say we are on the way down because the talent pool is weak. Portugal has never been richer in talent.
Take the Golden Gen 1996 line-up
Joao Pinto - Sa Pinto
Figo - Rui Costa - Santos
Paulo Sousa
Oceano Fernando Couto Helder Dimas
Baia
Prime bench candidates were:
Secretário only
Take a look at the squad Bento has to choose from:
Almeida Danny
Cristiano Moutinho Nani
Meireles
Coentrao Carvalho Pepe Bosingwa
Eduardo
Some he could have on the bench:
Nuno Gomes, Silvio, Nelson, Alves, Varela, Quaresma, Quim not including the kids.
Head to Head
Joao Pinto mildly better than Almeida
Sa Pinto lesser than Danny
Figo even Cristiano
Rui Costa greater than Moutinho
Santos less than Nani
Paulo Sousa greater than Meireles
Oceano inferior to Coentrao
Fernando Couto inferior to Carvalho
Helder inferior to Pepe
Dimas less than Bosingwa
Baia even with Eduardo
That leaves us with the Modern Gen 6 Better 3 Worse 2 Even
This doesn't even include the bench where the Modern Gen by miles is ahead.
Now you could say at the end of the Golden Gen when the two Gens were united in 2004 the squad then was better and I would agree with you, but this modern Gen is a few players shy of becoming that good.
The difference is in Managers.. everyone forgets that the Golden Gen failed to qualify for tournaments also. Under Scolari who is a good pom pom raw raw sort of Manager with no tactical abilities whatsoever they were able to consistently perform once at a tournament but even in his era... qualifying was scary. Those tournament performances were better when the two Gens were mixed.
Under Queiroz besides Eduardo and that D they could not score and too barely qualified.. this mess that we are in now is directly attributed to Quieroz and the FPF politics.. add to the fact Bento was hired as a puppet and the politics are returning to pre-96 era bad.
Now Bento is not done yet and he still has a chance to right the ship and he definitely is a better tactical manager then the last few but he lacks the man management skills.. and unless he can correct that will be doomed to failure sooner rather than later.
Add a few youngsters and a formation change and this squad is as good as most of the top 10 if not better.
Bento made the right move at the beginning drafting in players that are familiar with his system and that of Sportings.. it was a genius move.. he even invited players he had fault outs with.. most notably Martins & Veloso.. so he can change.. but I think he needs to start drafting the best players and change formations from time to time.
His formation counts on offence up the middle and many great teams have that strength up the middle.. but if you look at yesterdays squad.. the middle looked like this:
Postiga
Moutinho Martins
Meireles
Alves Rolando
Patricio
That is about as weak as it gets and it allowed Denmark who were full marks for their performance to double man mark an INJURED CR (shake your heads boys he actually has been scoring and playing well since Bento arrived) and Nani.. with the weak defensive wingers it led to a great counter that smashed the NT.
You need a DM without it and the holes will show..
Anyways the fat lady hasn't sung yet although she is headed to the stage.. so there is still time to fix the problems..
Bento might not be the right guy for the job although he has done much to get us back in it and can hopefully be a good transition to a winning manager if he is not the one.
If he fails then he will surely get fired and a new boss won't have to come into a trauma unit as Bento did.. and revive the patient.
Of course the FPF will hire another Portuguese Puppet but that is another story altogether.
I will tell you most managers in this world would kill to have Portugals line-up and would play a 4-4-2 with two strikers against the weak teams (non-counter intuitive if you appreciate are guys always play that way) and play with one up front (Danny slotting in behind the striker) against the better teams.. in both cases they would have a true DM to solidify the back. Also Bento's formation of no DM could be used against weaker squads too.. to even add more flexibility.. also the 4-4-2 and DM-less formations can be used late in games when we need a goal.
As much as I'd love to see it happen (and if he did actually do it I'd take back every negative thing I've said about him) there is virtually no chance of it happening.
Bento's ego is bigger than Portugal. People think overpaid footballers have big heads? Nothing compared to Bento. He'd drag Portugal out of this competition before he admits he was wrong about Carvalho.
Again, I hope i'm wrong, but i just can't see that neat little happy ending to this saga.
- Bento is pathetic for selecting safe, coachable players and his risk-averse style will win him nothing.
- Martins, Pereira, Eliseu, Rolando, Postiga...what more can I say. Horrendous. Options aren't plenty, I know...but really? A RW playing LB? Where in God's name is Bosingwa? How can he be overlooked given his start to the season in England...?
- Portugal had no hunger today. No desire to win. Denmark deserved to win by more than just one goal, and if it weren't for some poor ref decisions, it could have been 3 or 4 easily. The discrepancy in this game was bigger than the Spain-Portugal one we saw in South Africa.
- Suddenly, Bento doesn't look like such a saviour, eh?
- Why should we limit our striking options to Postiga (who has the speed of a 300 pound man) and the mid-life crisis Nuno? Why not give Nelson or Wilson a shot? Joao Silva perhaps? 7 games into qualification should be enough to prove Postiga be the anchor between 2 of the most gifted wingers in the world.
- Martins has the creativity of a doorknob. We needed to counter Denmark's physical strength and lack of speed...not add to it! If only Danny were healthy...oh wait, Bento would have chosen Martins anyway! But hey, surely a player struggling to start for a newly promoted Spanish team (Granada? Really?) deserves to be a starter with the national team? Right? Was there no better option?
- Quaresma. Don't get me started. I'll just stop there.
- In my opinion, this is the worst Portugal team since the late 90s. It's a disaster. We have great individual players, and flair and creativity, but where's the character? Who stepped up today when it mattered?
- Hey, maybe Carvalho would have made a difference! (Oh wait...)
COENTRAO WILL BE BACK REPLACING ELISEU,PEPE FOR B.ALVES, AND HOPEFYLLU CARVALHO WILL COME AND PLLEEEEEEAAAAZZZ FOR THE SHITTY FLOT ROLANDO, JOAO PEREIRA/BOSINGWA, ANYONE CAN REPLACE CARLOS MARTINS(ACTUALLY GIVE ME THE PORTUGUESE NATIONALITY AND I'M SURE I CAN HELP THE SELECCAO MORE THAN MARTINS DID), ALMEIDA FOR POSTIGA.
lET'S FACE THIS HOT WITH SOME REAL STATEMENTS AND NUMBERS, LET'S BE REALISTIC,AND AS PER THE LATEST FIFA RANKING (21 SEPTEMBER 2011) WE'RE FIFTTH,SO WE'LL BE PLAYING THE KIND OF CZECH/TURKEY/MONTENEGRO/ESTONIA!
Let's pray and HOPE NOT TO FACE TURKEY THOUGH I KNOW WE'RE AVOIDING CROATIA(THE STRONGEST AMONG THE OTHER 7 IN THE PLAY-OFFS)!
THINGS STARTED NEGATIVELY, WE TRIED TO CATCH UP, 6 INJURIES BLOWED US UP IN THE LAST MOMENTS OF DECISION, LUCK PLAYED AGAINST US, BUT WE LOST NOTHING!THINGS WILL BE BETTER!
AND NOW IS THE REAL TIME TO SHOW LOYALTY AND LOVE TO PORTUGAL AND THE SELECCAO!LET'S STAND ALL BEHIND BENTO HE'S NOT THAT BAD!FORCA PORTUGAAAAAAAL WE'LL NEVER LOOSE FAITH!:)
I was watching the Portuguese program Trio d'Ataque and they mentioned something that certain Portuguese players didn't do, something that I mentioned, in a recent comment, that was critical for Portugal to be successful. I said that in order for Portugal to win against Denmark Ronaldo and Nani had to track back often and the midfield had to be more aggressive i.e. try to win the ball back quickly by pressuring the opposition.
They revealed in that program that the Danish coach had said that the Portuguese players had a tendency to be lazy when they didn't have the ball. And the commentators singled out Nani and Ronaldo who they believed are players that think it's beneath them to chase down players who have the ball, because they play for world class club teams.
In today's modern game defensive backs join in the attack and wingers also track back, it's called total football. And with a weakened Portuguese defence there was even more reason to track back.
I also like to make the following observation regarding the Portuguese attack. Against Iceland and Denmark the Portuguese attack was based mainly on centring the ball into the box only to have the opposition defence clear the ball out of danger. In both games I was screaming at my tv set, I'm crazy, imploring someone to run to the bi-line and cross the ball back toward the outside of the box in order for a strike at net. And the few times they did that they had success. Against Iceland, Moutinho scored in such a play, and against Denmark Carlos Martins had an excellent chance. Why don't they do this more often, what is the point of centring the ball forward into the box when it's crammed with defenders? Didn't anyone on the Portuguese bench make that observation?
Are they married?or lovers.....................?
http://youtu.be/Qwq7BYOnDrM
THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE IN ORDER TO WIN:
1. bring back and start Carvalho.
2. bring back and start Bosingwa.
3. Play Coentrao in the midfiield.
4. tell carlos martins, eliseu, amorim, michael, serrao, ricardo costa, that their services are no longer required.
5. if you need to call up postiga, rolando, joao perreira, nuno games, make sure they start on the bench.
6. hire the best available coach in the world, not the best available portuguese speaking coach.
7. my starting 11:
_________________R. Patricio__________________
Bosingwa________Pepe____R Carvalho_____Silvio
________Meireles___________Moutinho______
Nani______________Danny_____________Coentrao
______________Ronaldo____________
Meirles & mountinho would play a deeper lying role with Danny free to be the playmker and ronaldo completely free to do whatever he wants.
Carlos Martins - Crap!
Rolando - Crap!
Eliseu - Crap, but better than the other 2!
J Pereira - Crap!
Carvalho needs to come back along with the other injured palyers. Oh, what about Fernando Meira??
1 month to get this shit fixed!! DO IT!!!
Regarding Carvalho, fine try and bring him back but what does that do? give us another 2 years? and then what? we should bring in some good youth!
Second we need Carlos Martins out! his work rate is great but his consistency is not. I'd say he would be a good player to be around the team but look at him, honestly is he the best we have? no...
Lets get either get Tiago out of retirement or lets look to manuel fernandes. Tiago has fallen off the map but his composure was good in the past, but to the best of my knowledge Fernandes is tearing it up with the other chops out in turkey. Give the lad a chance, just remember that bullet he scored a few games back, he could've been the difference today!
Hopefully we don't get Croatia or Turkey, I'd like to see what they have to offer in the Euro's.
Also don't be pissed at the Dutch, just think about how sweet Maniche's wonder goal...
How sad has his career been after winning the champions league :(
The problems today were obvious - their is no need to go over how poorly some of our players played today. I have never been one to come on here and point the fingers of blame - but today's result is clearly on Paulo Bento, and his selections.
The true measure of Bento as coach of this team, "our team", will be how he reacts to today's performance and who he selects for this playoff. I am not the coach and I try not to look back and say "who he should have played"; instead I will look forward and I hope Bento does too.
First off, it is crystal clear that he needs to make amends with Carvalho and bring him back into the fold. Carvalho was big enough to admit he made a mistake, now it is time to give Carvalho - a guy who has represented us with class and dignity, a second chance.
Second, for all of you criticizing Ronaldo and Nani, Bento has to acknowledge that the positions of LB and RB are critical to our style of play and to the play of Nani and Ronaldo. The lack of a credible threat going forward from either back, left Nani and Ronaldo to take on mulitple defenders. Denmark weren't worried about Perreira or Eliseu today - they were going to shut down the wingers and put it in the hands of the backs.
Today's game should show everyone how much Fabio Coentrao means to this team - Nani's best games coincide with Fabio being terrific going forward. To my mind, Bento has to do something on the right side - Perreira didn't make any glaring mistakes today...but he also didn't do anything at all to distinguish himself as a threat going forward. Bosingwa, for his defensive lapses and shortcomings provides a very real and credible threat that opposing defenses have to pay attention to, thus giving Ronaldo some more room.
It is easy to criticize Postiga - perhaps justly so - but, he had very little service today and did manage to create an opportunity or two.
Guys, having to qualify through a playoff sucks - but I am going to look at the positives of having to play to qualify.
1) Bento has the chance to show that he puts the Seleccao above everything else and mend some fences to strengthen the side.
2) This serves as a wakeup call - they can't just go out and expect to get it done because they are wearing our colours. These two games gives them a chance to solidify the starting 11, and perhaps, finally settle on a defensive midfielder. I agree with Edfica's lineup with Pepe as DM, with Carvalho and Alves as back two.
3) I hate to bring this up - because everyone hates it...but two more Euro qualifiers will give us some points in FIFA and UEFA rankings...those rankings are bogus, but they determine seeds for all tournaments and qualifying competitions, so they are important.
Just my two cents guys...I was despondent today, but I believe that they will get this sorted out, and we will be better for it.
p.s. I'd like to thank the Dutch for absolutely nothing...giving up two goals inside of five minutes today...I hope we get those pricks at Euro, I want Portugal to beat them like rented donkeys.
Paulo Bento's starting 11 was quite naive given the importance of the game and the playing style of Denmark. Meireles is not a defensive midfielder. He is a box-to-box midfielder, a good passer, and he is a very good goal scorer. He is a very poor tackler though and against this physical Danish team, Meireles was very poor.
Joao Moutinho, again was the best Portuguese midiflelder, but that isn't saying a lot. He works extremely hard and his intense pressure off the ball is extremely important. He is a clever passer and while he is capable of providing the final ball, he is much more effective dictating the play in the middle of the park rather than pulling the strings in the final third.
It was Martins' job to be the link between midfield and attack and he was awful. We have a brilliant attacking midfielder in Danny, but Paulo Bento never plays him as a midfielder!!!!
I also realized that Almeida should start ahead of Postiga. They are very different players when playing for Portugal. Almeida usually uses his size to good use and he's almost always involved. The problem is that he never finishes his chances...Postiga on the other hand can do almost nothing during a game, but he still seems to score almost every time he plays. While Postiga has been more efficient, Almeida is always involved in the attacking third and he usually gets into better positions than Postiga.
If I were Bento, I would use these midfield trios depending on the team we play and the style we want.
When we want to break down a stubborn defense and score goals Danny must play in the hole behind Almeida.
Ronaldo-----------Almeida------------------Nani
-------------------------Danny--------------------
------------------Moutinho--Meireles-------------
Since Danny is given the freedom to attack, Moutinho can play deep and help out Meireles from a deeper position.
When we want to maintain possession, Bento should use a 4-3-3 with Moutinho, Meireles, and either Andre Santos or Miguel Veloso. Andre Santos is an excellent passer and he is better defensively than Meireles.
Then of course when we want to defend, Pepe can play as the holding midfielder.
Bento and FPF, please bring Carvalho back.
- As Trinidad pointed out earlier after 10 games in charge he has the best record out of any Portugal manager at 80% win ratio
- Beating Spain 4-0 in a “FRIENDLY” (it’s called that because it doesn’t mean anything)
Bento Bads
- Blow up with Ricardo Carvalho resulting in Bento requesting he be banned for 1 year and publicly stating that under him he will never play for Portugal.
- Constant selection of his ex Sporting buddies (Carlos Martins, Joao Peireira, Postiga, Rui Patricio)
- Losing the crucial MUST DRAW qualifier against Denmark the one which counted not the friendly match.
- Not selecting Bosingwa for no apparent reason
- Pairing Rolando and Alves together in a defence which has leaked 5 goals in 2 games
Ok I know some of you may debate about Rui Patricio and Postiga and I agree there is some debate Postiga does score goals and Patrico has shown at times that he can play well plus as much as we all know Eduardo is better he hasn’t been playing some it tough to start him. But ANYONE who thinks carlos Martins shoud even be playing football needs phyciatric help Joao Peireira is a bench warmer at best hes not international he just looked god when he had Carvalho around him to organise the defence
It might be good to note that whilst at Sporting people criticised him for playing Rui patricio as well. He managed Sporting for 4 year second longest in their history and had the second most trophies in teir history out of any manager. Please also note that the team got smacked 12-1 on aggrecate to Bayern Munich in the knockout phases of the champions league and they also did not win the league the time he was there. What does this show
1. He won’t listen to criticism and I stubborn ie constantly playing Rui Patrico (im not saying he was wrong just saying he is stubborn)
2. He has a fantastic win loss record 60% wins
3. He will get results and wins but not the ones which count (ei winning all games then losing to Denmark
4. He will only win minor silverware (ex Portuguese league Cup/Cup/Supercup etc but nothing major
Guys don’t be fooled Bosnia, Turkey and Montenegro will be really tough opponents. I know nothing about Estonia so I cant comment.
If we get Bosnia who will mark Djecko?, Montenegro have great team spirit something we don’t have they just became a country and will give everything. Turkey have a very experienced coach in Hiddink who took Australia to the 2nd round of the world cup
Ok lastly if I offended anyone then i am sorry im just saying what I believe to be possibly true and I stand to be corrected if anyone can tell me im wrong. (Im not a stubborn mule like Bento) Thanks for reading and letting me blow my frustration out with you all.
Our keeper is fine, Patricio is clearly the keeper in form out of the other options and the one only one that's actually starting at his club lol so of course he's the #1, for now.. In regards to left back- clearly that's Coentrao's territory, i would play Silvio as his replacement (Eliseu is clearly not Selecao material) and if he's injured i'd start looking at Luis Martins and Mario Rui (2 excellent talents that are emerging from the u-20s). For right back we have inumerous options- Joao Pereira is good, despite not having a crash hot game today. Bosingwa is clearly a contender and I think Paulo Bento needs to put the needs of the selecao ahead of his own. There's also Silvio who's a natural right back and Nelson as well as Ruben Amorim...
In the meio campo, you can have various combinations and i think that Bento has to look at rotating his players based on current form. Clearly Martins has not been playing lately at Granada, so why start him ? Miguel Veloso, Andre Santos, Ruben Micael, MAnuel Fernandes, Ruben Amorim are all options he needs to consider (apart from the clear starters Meireles and Moutinho). The wingers, clearly Ronaldo and Nani. I'd have Quaresma on the bench in case one of them is injured, having a bad game or suspended. And strikers, well... Postiga would be my first option, but Bento needs to pick a forward based on the characteristics of the defenders he will encounter. Clearly today Almeida would've been a better starting option if he wasn't injured, because of his height and body strength- Postiga was completely taken out of the game because he lacks in those areas. Nuno Gomes is handy to have on the bench coz you never know what he'll do when he comes on- sometimes he'll score, or like today he'll set up meireles with a beautiful sitter that he clearly scoffed. I don't understand why Liedson isn't called up, he's like the 2nd or 3rd highest goal scorer in Brasil atm and would clearly have been a better option today than Postiga. He's also gotta start developing Nelson Oliveira, coz he'll be our number 9 in a few years...
But yeh, there's my analysis, feel free to debate, argue or agree with what's above... Carrega Portugal, tenho esperanca que vamos ao Euro 2012!!!
--------------------Rui Patricio--------------------
Silvio--------B.Alves--------Pepe--------Coentrao
---------------------M.Veloso-----------------------
------------R.Meireles------J.Moutinho--------
-------Nani-----------Almeida---------Ronaldo
Ronaldo has Real Madrid behind him in the Spanish league. In the Seleção he has who????
A team isn't select great players, its a group of great players. Right now Portugal have like 3 great players and the rest... well you saw them... crap!
This could have been fixed if the coach (Bento) would lower his ego and call up Bosingwa and Carvalho.
then again, his other call ups were questionable.
Enough talent on the roster for u or i to manage victory.
saying that, lets all stop with the doom and gloom of this squad. they showed great character to get back into this position at all, 5 straight wins is no easy task especially if you consider where they came from. so lets all relax, see who they draw, and take it from there
BOSINGWA---Pepe---Alves---Silvio
---Moutinho-Meireles-Coentrao
----Ronaldo----Danny--------Nani
Or With Carvalho
-------------------------Patricio
BOSINGWA---CARVALHO---Alves---Silvio
---------Moutinho---Pepe----Meireles
------Nani---------Ronaldo------Coentrao
or
---------------------------Patricio
BOSINGWA--CARVALHO---Alves----Coentrao
--------Moutinho-----Pepe------Meireles
-----Ronaldo---------Danny-------------Nani
None of us should be surprised at how porous the defence has looked since Carvalho's departure (and don't let the flattering scoreline against Cyprus deceive us - if not for an incorrect offside call Portugal could have easily dropped points)
And it needs to be said that the entire blow up with Carvalho was completely unnecessary and idiotic. Everything was humming along just fine and then Bento felt the need to assert his authoritative stamp on the team.
We can point to the injuries that weakened our backline, and while it may be true that with those players we may have ended up with a draw or win against DENMARK, but against the elite teams of Europe we can not afford to be without our best defender.
The choice is simple. Bento and an early ext, or Carvalho and a legitimate chance in 2012.
That's not even a choice as far as i'm concerned.
Anywayz, that was appalling. Dear Lord, I won't even mention our defense. Our midfield was atrocious. Had they simply been poor, I'm sure we would have scored, at least one more.
No pass, no vision, no nothing.
Carlos Martins (and I like the guy) was well, horrible. Raul was invisible and I can't remember the other guy...
Even if we do qualify it will be a very short tournament,...
Martins was a freakin tool.
Rolando was way off his mark.
Alves looked uncomfortable in his position.
Pereira was there but not to play defence.
Nobody had Ronaldo's back. Thank god for him and that awesome free kick. Other than that him and Nani where way to covered to make a decent play.
Moutinho held his own I thought.
Mierelles didn't get a chance to do anything.
Postiga is too frail against physical teams.
Patricio made a heroic save but lacked tomates to control his defence men.
Bento called in the calvary WAY too late.
In short. The "team" looked like a bunch of lost individuals, scrambling for some unguided cause. You'd think they need to qualify for the Euro Cup or something, nah! We just want to show up. No reason. No objective in mind.
Hey BENTO, stop drugging the players before they go and represent your country! You can't tell me these guys don't know soccer, but you sure can convince me that you know how to rob them of that knowledge.
Bento knew Rolando and Alves were shaky and he starts them. Is that what you call a smart coach?
He usually sits on the bench during qualification games but he was up there sh*ting his pants the whole 90 minutes..
Once again Rolando flops and cost us another goal. Our defence is a embarassment. Eliseu and Pereira were always caught out and left us exposed. What do they not understand about defending?
Then if you havent yet exploded in anger.. Martins is most likely to blow your head off. He drives me insane with those shots.
Imagine how Nani and CR feel with no service from the mid.. they go defend to win the ball back then we have no counter attack. Postiga was awful in possession.
I found it funny how Quaresma was playing left back. Really Bento? What kind of idiot throws the team forward when a playoff spot was not even guaranteed. It could have been 5 or 6 for Denmark and with Norway's result you never know we could have been eliminated today.
Seriously how stupid is this guy?
The team should be greatful we still have a chance but if Bento doesnt get his act together nor the FPF steps in we could not qualify at all.
And what's more, i repeat again, we were up against an average side in Denmark. This is a team that got knocked out of the WC by Japan people! We were so bad, we made them look great. Bento's stubborn decision making has finally caught up with him. How can he possibly consider Perreira to be a better right-back than Bosingwa? How can he possibly consider Meireles' best position to be DCM? He better swallow his pride quickly and recall Carvalho in time for the play-offs, because even with Pepe coming back, i still don't fully trust Bruno Alves at the back. Danny has to be given a chance at playmaker now, our midfield has got no flair or invention.
I am also sick and tired of Cristiano Ronaldo's lacklustre displays for the national team. He scores a hat-trick almost every week for Real Madrid and continues to dissapoint for Portugal, even against modest opposition. Seriously, somebody prove me wrong, but when has he really done it for the national team when it really matters? A few sporadic good displays at Euro 2004 and at WC 2006...and that is it really!! I think it's just patriotism from those who consider him to be challenging Messi as the best player in the world. Not a chance in my opinion.
The only positive is that none of the teams we may face in the play-offs look particularly strong, and we will have the missing players back by then. But then again we really should have won this average group comfortably, so I am not taking anything for granted anymore. What a let down, in a match with so much at stake, you'd think the players would give everything, and they were just absent from start to finish. Things can only get better from this!
Kind regards from Denmark
If the Federation dont jump in and reinstate both Carvalho and Bosingwa for the sake of the nation ahead of Bento's ego, then we deserve what comes our way... simple.
Some of the inclusions to date have been mind boggling and Bento has ridden his luck long enough... cant believe i got up at 4.30am to watch that performance...
Martins was given the most space and the most chances, and failed.
Queresma on the left, refusing to use his left, and poking and thrashing at the ball with his right looked .... pathetically youth league. I've never seen such one-footed player at this level.
Ronaldo's free kick was spectacular. I didn't Ronaldo played any worse than Nani. Those and the rest of the team are surely disappointed.
Player of the Game - Patricio. It should have been 3-1 and could have been 5 or 6 if not for his great play.
If Portugal manage to qualify and stay healthy they still have a chance to do something at the Euro. The D is simply not where it needs to be right now with the injuries, omissions (Bosingwa) and Carvalho-gate, and that is the key reason why we managed to at least avoid defeat under Queiroz sometimes. Without that traditionally solid back line, we are through.
The Golden Generation is gone and it's plain to see. We've been reduced to the calibre of a mid-level European team. I think that's pretty obvious now. That we qualified for the World Cup was nothing short of miraculous and again we are struggling to do so here. A team in the World top 10 should never tie to Cyprus, especially not by conceding four goals. A top class team doesn't lose to a team like Denmark when it matters most by having one of its worse games.
The only thing consistent about Portugal in the past couple of years has been the team's inconsistency. In my mind, they have been on a slow and steady decline. I truly thought they had this game in the bag because Denmark is tough and they're at home sure, but a team that claims to boast two of the best players in the World (Ronaldo and Nani) and a complement of other top tier players can't lost like this.
If we qualify for the Euro, I'll obviously continue to support the squad as always, but I have lost faith in this team. No great striking prospects in sight either and our current strikers aren't getting younger (or any more talented).
Our top Defenders, one of which is Carvalho, is probably gone for the long haul and I wouldn't be surprised if Pepe calls it quits after the Euro...if we make it. Alves proved how sketchy he is today and the other defenders are a joke.
5-3 against Iceland was a warning. Portugal's days are looking bleak. Even if we qualify for the Euro, its looking more an more like the pre-Golden Generation days when Portugal wasn't expected to qualify for the major tournaments...Has to be said...
The draw for the UEFA EURO 2012 play-offs, which will determine the last four teams to qualify for the final tournament, takes place two days after the group stage concludes.
The nine group winners and the best runners-up qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight remaining runners-up contest the play-off matches, with the first legs on either 11 or 12 November and the second instalments on 15 November.
After the play-offs are completed, the 14 teams who will join co-hosts Poland and Ukraine in the final tournament from 8 June to 1 July 2012 will be known. The draw for the finals, in which the 16 teams will be drawn into four groups of four, will take place in Kyiv on Friday 2 December 2011.
Here are the remaining teams:
Turkey
Rep Ireland
Estonia
Bosnia Herz
Crotia
Czech rep
Montenegro
and Portugal
Sweden go through with the highest second place points.
I thought this was a rather mediocre performance from the seleccao but I still think they will recover and sail through their playoff. Here are some thoughts.
It hard to pick out any good performances from this match. But I will say that Rui Patricio did make some good saves and I wouldn’t fault him on both goals. The defense was still very unstable. But we should be fine once Pepe and Coentrao return. Let’s try Bosingwa again.
The midfielder was impotent for much of the match unable to overcome the pressure at midfield from the Danes. Postiga was ineffective as well. Nani had the ball a lot but was unable to do very much with it. Ronaldo was just ordinary for much of the match. The Danes kept him off the ball and he was unable to get much going. He did score a nice long range goal in stoppage time but that was it. He will probably get most of the blame but he doesn’t necessarily deserve it.
As for flops. I think C. Martins was mediocre. He missed two good chances in the second half before finally being substituted. I know a lot of people will disagree with me. But Veloso is younger and better. He is good from box to box. Andre Santos and Ruben Micael are better and deserve their chance too.
But the biggest flop is Rolando. The first Danish goal was deflected off him. He was lucky not to get a yellow card after shoving a Danish player. Plus he also missed two good chances. I do not want to see Martins and Rolando in the seleccao ever again! Especially Rolando which makes it two disastrous games in a row for him.
Overall I am obviously disappointed but I think we will get to Euro 2012. We should have most of the injured players back before then. I think Spain, Germany, and Holland are favourites but we remain a strong darkhorse.
Forca!
even if they still qualify for Euro, which is far from being a sure thing, Portugal won't make it past the group stage....
Whats next? Whens the draw for the playoffs?
BTW - I hate to say this - it was the 2nd qualifier in a row where we beat Portugal ´to the finish
i can live with the midfields & forwards...Postiga & Gomes iarent that great but will surivive for the play-offs...Quaresma, Nani, Ronaldo was interesting lineup...
Anywhoo onto the game, I'm guessing you're all calling for Bento's head? Even though when Queiroz took us to the play offs for the WC we were all extrememly happy that we made it there in the first place.
Progress is slow and it might take some time till we're an well-oiled machine.
Also hopefully this will put all of those calling for Quaresma to shame. I would've much rather see Danny or Varela in his place tonight.
Nuno Gomes did set up Meireles then Meireles totally scoffed the shot, so in the brief couple of minutes he was out there he did better than Postiga.
Oh and Martins won't be having any more games for the Sellecao, I think Bento's realized that his time is over. Now personally, although he does play somewhat well, I would drop Pereira. Put Bosingwa, Coentrao, Silvio, someone ANYONE in his place. Obviously Eliseu, much like Martins is probbaly going to be frozen out of the squad.
Rolando's never been a good defender in my opinion, even at Porto when they had their super-season it was only because Porto scored so many goals that their defensive fragility was not mentioned.
Either way come November Pepe will be back and thank goodnesss for that.
Next starting line up oughta be...
Patricio
Silvio - Pepe - Alves - Coentrao
Veloso
Meireles
Moutinho
Ronaldo - Gomes - Nani
Portugal should have won this game, but isn't that always the case? As soon as I heard that Portugal HAD to tie to qualify, I knew they would lo'se. I have a feeling that they will win their playoff (depending on whom they play) because Portugal always does JUST enough to get through, never more. Winning today would have made things much easier both for Bento, and the players, but of course when it comes down to it, Portugal loves to make things difficult.
The defense is in shambles, Bosingwa needs to be there (and so does Carvalho, but thats not going to happen)
Despite all this, keep the faith my friends! I have faith that Portugal will be there competing in the Euro2012.
FORCA!
Martins is also horrendous, but not nearly as much of an F-ing idiot as Rolando.
Portugal, once renowned for its impervious defense, has really left much to be desired from these last two fixtures.
If we expect to win any major competition we need greater depth than just the starting XI.
"Do or Die Man, Do or Die"
Carlos Martins USELESS
Ronaldo, NOT a leader, ONE GREAT PLAY ALL game.
What a piss poor performance, Denmark completely utterly outplayed us. The weakest I've seen Portugal play since that 3-1 defeat against Germany.