Opinion: Three reasons why Coentrao belongs in Portugal’s midfield
Nathan Motz argues that Real Madrid man is answer to major weakness
 After the 2-1 loss to Denmark last month, I started thinking about all the things that haven’t changed so much since qualifying began last September. Helder Postiga or Hugo Almeida, midfield inconsistencies, a coach that is beginning to make more and more enemies, and we’re worried about Bosnia? If we do manage to scrape by on Tuesday night, and I do mean scrape by, what are we going to do next June against Spain, Germany or the Netherlands?
In my estimation, modern football necessitates above all else dynamic midfield supremacy. Strikers score the goals and defences keep clean sheets, but central midfield is where teams assert their dominance and in doing so, break the will of the opposition. It is this feature that Portugal lack above all else.
Possession the key
Forget about our striker problem. We’ve already got Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. Just how much offensive firepower should any one team possess? Look at Argentina. They have Higuain, Aguero, Diego Milito, Messi, Di Maria and Tevez to choose from and they were still eliminated in the first knockout round of this year’s Copa America (which they hosted).
It’s possession football that wins tournaments these days and that’s a game-plan Portugal haven’t executed in quite some time. That is why, my friends, I nominate one Fabio Coentrao to solve Portugal’s midfield riddle. I know what you’re thinking. Surely we really need Coentrao where he is at left-back, right? Ever since Jose Mourinho decided to start playing Coentrao in a holding midfield role, I began thinking about what benefit this might have to the Seleccao and I think Mourinho might be on to something. Coentrao possesses a unique blend of talent that suggests he could be Portugal’s answer in midfield for the following three reasons.
1. He’s fast, energetic, and never quits
Watching Coentrao play for Madrid, you have to marvel at his work ethic. True, there are other candidates for Portugal’s midfield role beside Moutinho and Meireles that work hard, but not as efficiently as Coentrao does. Carlos Martins, anyone? It’s laughable to suggest that anyone (i.e. Martins, Machado, Micael, Amorim, Veloso) is capable of generating the output that Coentrao does on a regular basis. His ability to bring the ball out from defense, participate actively in the attack, and still have enough left in the tank to cover back on defense is what makes him so useful as a full-back.
This same explosive quality would better serve Portugal in the center of the pitch. It’s here where teams are able to dominate the Seleccao because they know the main threat is coming from the flanks. We don’t need our full-backs to bomb forward anyway because we have Cristiano Ronado and Nani. What we need is someone able to create those same kind of Ronaldo-esque runs in the center of the field, and that someone is Coentrao.
2. He has great control/footwork
During Madrid’s last game against Osasuna, somewhere in between him nutmegging his hapless marker and having the presence of mind to drop in a pinpoint cross to the feet of Karim Benzema, I realized just how slick Coentrao is with the ball at his feet. At full tilt, I would trust Coentrao with the ball more than any other player Portugal has except maybe Cristiano Ronaldo. His close control can be mesmerizing and he isn’t afraid to improvise, which is something Portugal desperately need in central midfield.
3. He’s intelligent, young, and has a bright future
At last summer’s World Cup, I marvelled at how well Coentrao held up under the challenges of the Ivorians in Portugal’s first group game. No matter how rough things got, he was always in the right place at the right time to get the job done. His composure in difficult circumstances is tough to match, especially for someone his age. Ronaldo and Nani have fantastic ability, but it all goes to waste if our midfield is unable to get them the ball. Moving Coentrao into the midfield would greatly enhance the quality of service up the field to our primary striker and outside to our wingers. At 23, he is the kind of player that could cement his vital place in central midfield for years to come.
Concluding…
Let’s face it; we need a guy like Coentrao to open things up in the center of the pitch. Don’t worry about left-back. We can put Veloso or Silvio out there and they’ll do just fine. In the end we really need our full-backs to concentrate on defence first anyway and we possess enough of a threat in the form of Ronaldo and Nani that it won’t hurt to move Coentrao inside. We have to be realistic about where our national team is and get serious about fixing our deficiencies in midfield.
Portugal may win on Tuesday, but we won’t win anything next year if we don’t learn how to possess the ball, facilitate the attack equally through the midfield as well as the flanks, and provide better service to our strikers. Coentrao is more than competent enough to fill the role that Portugal need in midfield and to free up more space for Meireles and Moutinho as well. With his presence in the center of the pitch, Portugal will move one step closer to becoming a complete team capable of success on any level.
Nathan Motz
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I would mettle further in this game, we don't exactly have a left back to plug in. Bento should use the same lineup he used in Bosnia.
It will be interesting to see what will happen with the Seleccao after this match, win or lose.
For me Portugal's resent success came down to 1 position. The CAM, deco and before him rui costa. France was unstoppable when they had zindane, brazil when they had rolandinho. They have world class players in The rest of the squad, why have they failed recently? No CAM. Look at Spain with Xavi.
As for the striker issue, Postiga and Almeida suck. Nuno Gomes is available and has never let us down. I dont care how old he is.. he's effective, he scores on those half chances. He still plays his heart out and must get this opportunity. Atleast have him on the bench.
I'm thinking if we have trouble scoring against Bosnia.. CR7 can be moved to the middle but only if we play with two strikers so he wont be isolated. Quaresma will be beast on the wing.
His passing is quite good for a left back, but he lacks the vision and composure of Meireles and Moutinho. With all due respect, I laughed when I read the comparison between Coentrao and Ozil. Coentrao has much better stamina, he's quicker, and a better tackler, but he is not even close to Ozil in terms of technical brilliance and skill. He is not an attacking midfielder, but more of a box-to-box midfielder like Ramires: Strong in the tackle, tons of energy, but average technically.
Coentrao has proven to be one of the top 2 or 3 left backs in the world at the moment so why would you move him to midfield. Ronaldo plays much better when Marcelo or Coentrao plays left back rather than Arbeloa because they stretch the field and attack constantly.
A midfield trio of Moutinho, Meireles, and Veloso would actually hold possession quite well. The problem is that there is a lack of any true attacking midfielder to support the center forward. Meireles and Moutinho are excellent central midfielders and they do provide runs from deep, but we need a quick and skillful playmaker in the hole to take some pressure of Ronaldo and Nani on the wings.
Danny would be an excellent option for Bento, but sadly, he only wants to use him as a back up winger.
A solid defense is always the foundation with which to launch successful campaigns and Portugal's has been at times, pretty hapless in recent games. When you look back to Portugal's recent success's relatively speaking; Semi's Euro 2000, Final Euro 2004 and Semi's World Cup 2008
they had a pretty solid defense with Carvalho being outstanding in many tough games. I think this is an area of concern on the same level as the lack of a consistent frontman.
It also has to be noted that in those previously mentioned tournaments, Portugal had arguably some of the best midfielders in the World at the time. Euro 2004 saw the excellent Rui Costa, supported by in form Deco, Maniche and Costinha all at their zenith having won the CL in 2004 and UEFA cup in the previous season. They could also count on Figo and Ronaldo out wide, but even with that embarassment of riches Portugal never won a thing. Why? No striker. Gomes, Pauleta etc needed a hatfull of opportunities to score just one goal, and in close matches you don't get many chances.
Think i'm wrong? The examples of France and Spain are instructive. They had both struggled to make break throughs until they found players that could make the most of half chances in tight matches. Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet for France and Fernando Torres and David Villa for Spain.
You can have a solid defense and a world class midfield, as Portugal have had, but without a forward that can consistently put away half chances, in tight games the team is going nowhere.
portugal hasnt had defensive problems since the 90's and didnt have midfield problems up till a few year ago...
we need a good central attacking midfielder paired with a super-aggressive imposing one...an attacker who is tireless and runs with the ball..(alla ozil)...one cant argue that coentrao couldnt be a good imitation of ozil...maybe better? we can replace left backs easier than we can fill this position...and who better to pair him up with than pepe...
its amazing to me how good pepe is as a holding midfielder...he could be the best holding midfielder in the world (and its not his position which is ironic)...we need to play pepe always as holding midfielder...getting him up the field in openplay situations is also in my opinion the way to go...we could use a rolando/costa/ or the like at center back, left back etc but i think a pepe/coentrao central midfield will crush bosnia...they wouldnt know how to handle it...
finally on striker point...while i like postiga (and i dont know why) - hugo almeida is the closest thing we have to a striker and if he understood that he is a beast...(i think he is a 150lb player trapped in a 190lb body)...he could be a great striker -he lacks some speed (which he should improve) but point is postiga is the best version of an option striker (albeit nowhere near best in world) we have....what i mean is start with almeida and use postiga as a sub...
Chances were there, but we failed to capitalize. I hope for the best on Tuesday.
For DCM I liked Veloso there on Friday night. He is calm and keeps a cool head, and is a good passer and distributor. And he stays back and protects the back four. Alternatively I think Manuel Fernandes could also do a good job in that position. I believe that our best midfield options/formations would be either 4-3-3 with Veloso, Meireles and Moutinho...or 4-2-3-1 with Veloso, Meireles and Danny. I am also really starting to think that perhaps Ronaldo would be best as centre-forward for us...he simply doesn't perform at his best from the wing for the seleccao, and as everyone knows our forwards fail to score regularly. Perhaps this is the best option for the long-term. But i believe tomorrow night, the only change to Friday's team should be Almeida at centre forward.....Forca!!!
This takes pressure of Ronaldo and Nani and gives them another option going forward. He can still push and help in the midfield
Second, I still think it's early to say if Coentrao is a better midfielder or fullback. Mourinho has been using him as a fullback as of late (although probably because of Marcelo's injury).
Third, i think it's incorrect to suggest we don't need attacking fullbacks. IMO attacking fullbacks help Ronaldo and Nani reach their full potential with overlapping runs. Take that away and defenders have one less thing to worry about.
There is something to be said about having just ONE attacking fullback, so i'd be more inclined to move Coentrao to the midfield if we still had Bosingwa as an option for the other side. Unfortunately that won't be an option with Bento at the helm.