 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 29 June 2010 20:23 |
Meek Portugal knocked out by SpainPortugal 0-1 Spain Portugal’s World Cup adventure ended with a whimper rather than a bang, as Carlos Queiroz’s men were beaten by a clearly superior Spain team in Cape Town tonight. David Villa scored the only goal shortly after the hour mark, and only a magnificent goalkeeping display from Eduardo kept the scoreline respectable.
After much speculation over which team Carlos Queiroz would field, the Portugal boss opted to change the wide options in his forward line. Simao came in for Duda on the left, while Ronaldo was moved to the right as Hugo Almeida replaced Danny and took the role as central striker. The rest of the team remained the same as the one that held Brazil, with Ricardo Costa preferred to Miguel at right-back. The decision would come under scrutiny early on, as Torres cut inside the former Porto man with ease and forced a superb save from Eduardo inside the first minute. Spain’s most dangerous threat continued to come down that side of the pitch, as David Villa was twice able to get a shot off in the next ten minutes, with Eduardo again doing well to get down low to make a smart save on the second. Having started the match cautiously, Portugal began to play their way into proceedings during the second half of the opening period, with Tiago and Raul Meireles both beginning to get forward from midfield. Tiago tested Iker Casillas with a powerful shot on 20 minutes, while Cristiano Ronaldo hit the Spain goalkeeper with a free-kick and Meireles crossed for Almeida, who may have done better with his headed chance. Without the ball, the Portuguese midfield trio often sat deep and rarely pressed the ball high up the pitch, but once possession was won, Queiroz’s men looked to spring forward at pace. Simao almost got in on goal after being released by Meireles, and Tiago headed off target having been found by Fabio Coentrao. Portugal’s threat on the break remained in the early stages of the second half. Almeida outstripped Pique and his attempted cutback almost went in off Carles Puyol. Each side made a change on the hour mark, with both managers removing their centre-forwards, as Torres was replaced by the Spanish and Danny came on for Almeida. The substitution worked well for Spain, who immediately created a chance for their introduction, Fernando Llorente, when Ramos crossed for the Athletic Bilbao man to badly misconnect his header. Villa then curled a shot narrowly wide as Spain upped the tempo following the adjustment to their frontline. It was shortly afterwards that the breakthrough came. Andres Iniesta found himself with too much space on the edge of the box, slipping the ball through to Xavi, who touched it on to Villa, and the new Barcelona striker beat Eduardo at the second attempt. Liedson and Pedro Mendes were thrown on in place of Simao Sabrosa and Pepe, but Portugal struggled to mount any kind of challenge in the final half hour as the Spanish dominated possession and controlled the tempo. David Villa brought another save from Eduardo with a stinging shot as the Portugal goalkeeper made yet another crucial contribution to keep his team in the game. Without Almeida, Portugal lacked a strong focal point of their attack, and the final stages were played out with little sign of Portugal getting an equaliser. Things turned sour a few minutes from time when Costa was sent off for apparently raising his elbow on Joan Capdevilla, signalling a disappointing end to the Seleccao’s South Africa adventure. By Sean Gillen Keep up to date with all the latest news on Portuguese football with the new PortuGOAL Twitter! |
Please. I understand enough to know that a "captain" shouldn't spend have the game sitting on his arse whining about fouls that weren't called and sulking around the pitch in frustration. Ronaldo apparently never learned the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
He needs to man up and play the game instead of crying for the refs all the time. Does this mean he'll get fouled? Sure, but he can reestablish credibility with the refs if he stops asking for fouls at every opportunity.
He has million-dollar legs, no question about it. If he's so concerned about getting injured and cutting into his already sizeable bank account, then he should just stop playing for the NT.
Ronaldo will already be approaching "old age" for football when the WC2014 rolls around. He won't have his speed, and so if he wants to remain an important player he is going to need to change his game and mature significantly over the next couple of years.
Blaming Ronaldo is especially foolish, unless you just don't understand football. Watching him play in 2006 was completely different than watching him this time around except against N Korea. Ronaldo, like ANY attacking player in world football (yes, this includes Messi, Rooney, and others) needs good service on a consistent basis to perform. He can't be expected to go and collect the ball in the defensive half, then beat 6 defenders all the time.
The game we played was very defensive and honestly I think CQ did that because it was the best that we could do. We lost Nani and Bosingwa, two players who would've made us much more offensive and dangerous. Imagine if we could've started Ronaldo/Coentrao on one side and Nani/Bosingwa on the other! Still, the main problem we have is actually in the center of the field where we just didn't have the class to be too reckless in attack. No, that is not Portuguese football in general but I think with the players we had it was a necessity to try to get results that way. The very few times that we did have the ball in Spain's half of the field we were quite dangerous but we just couldn't keep it up because we had no one in the center of the field to keep the attack going. I'll say it again, having poor strikers is a problem, but not as big as having NOBODY playing them a decent ball every now and then.
Deco couldn't do it and Meireles is not suited for that kind of play, nor is Meireles or Veloso or anyone else (no, not even Moutinho).
My point is that blaming Ronaldo or CQ doesn't do us any good. If I was going to blame someone though, it wouldn't be Ronaldo because there was nothing else he could do. He nearly won the game vs Ivory Coast in a way that nobody else could, he was our most dangerous player vs Brazil, and he played awesome against N Korea. Against Spain, our midfield problems were exposed and there was nothing he could do except chase after the crap long balls that were played his direction.
Those of you who say that Ronaldo should be benched....ha, and just who are we going to put out there to replace him? Who? I'm waiting for an answer......and there isn't going to be one because there is no Portuguese player that should be on the field in his place, no matter what you think of him. So, it would be better if you would just support him because I have news for you, if we got rid of him, we'd suck a lot worse than we do now. You don't improve your team by getting rid of your best player.
Let's be sad that we won't be moving on but happy that we at least have been so fortunate as to be in the world cup. As someone else already said, it has been a pretty good decade for Portuguese football in general and there still might be even better things to come in 2012 and 2014, who knows?
If there is a lack of quality candidates to replace Queiroz why not think outside the box a bit by considering a Spanish-speaking coach? The languages are similar enough that it wouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle to overcome and then you'd have a much bigger pool of options to choose from. Just a thought though.
If the FPF wants to get really adventurous, why not do what the Argentinians did and go with a former star like LUIS FIGO or RUI COSTA! haha Sure it sounds a bit crazy, he's still relatively young and has had no experience as a coach or part of the support staff, at least not to my knowledge, but hey, if a guy like Maradona can do it, why not? lol Okay yes, Argentina have a much stronger team on paper (at least up front with their ridiculous line up of Messi, Higuain, Milito, Tevez, Aguero and Palermo) which means they could still probably be a strong team with someone like me as their coach lol. So yeah, that was half in jest, but to be honest Queiroz doesn't have much to work with...fair enough. And yes he inherited some problems that were beginning to emerge under the Scolari years, but I just don't understand his logic sometimes. Maybe he makes his substitutions on the basis that the opposing team has devised a strategy to contain our best players by now, so I'm going to surprise them by taking them off and substituting them with someone else. I don't know. All I know is that Portugal might not be much better than they are now under a different coach, but at the very least we wouldn't be making it harder on ourselves to do well because of ill-timed and poorly thought out substitutions.
I'll take Figo please.
I miss the golden generation of Portugal's soccer. Players that were brought up together and learned to play with eachother. They took us to the next level. Unfortunately, we have not built on that but rather have taken a step back. It is time we invest in our clubs and their youth once again. Show pride in our players and have faith in their abilities. Portuguese soccer will shine again
Queiroz : Got his tactic's spot on for 60 mins , we contained Spain and looked dangerous on the counter . We knew Pepe wouldn't last the game so we were down to 2 subs that game so why take off a striker when we still at 0-0 ? I sometimes think he's too clever for his own good , keep it the same man !
We went a goal down and what did we do to chase and win the game .. nothing . No urgency until 10 mins from time .
His squad choices were strange as well , we have 2 recognised right backs but neither one of them are good enough to play there ? Why take them then ? We take 2 strikers to a world cup ? Is that all ?
Ronaldo : Poor , he needs to be reintergrated into the team . He's such a different player to the euro 04 and wc 06 . Fancy cross field passes are great when you're winning but when needing to get back into a game not great . I blame the tactics we used as well but we still expect more a world class player like Ronaldo.
Eduardo & Coentrao : you two were the stars of the team both of deserved to go further .
The Future : CQ should go , thanks for getting to the WC , you tried things your way and it didn't work out . We are Portugal not Greece or Italy . It's our nature to attack , if you could have found a balance between the defensive stability you crave so much and the attacking nature we could have gone further , but it seemed to be more about not losing than winning .
We need to bring through more players at club level , A Bola can bang on about how great Di Maria , Cardozo , Falcao , Aimar are , but that doesn't help the team . Sporting are the only club that consistantly progess young players through the club into the first team , Porto and Benfica need to start doing this as well . How many other Coentrao's do these clubs have waiting to be given a chance ? Stop buying cheap south american imports and give youth a chance . Has anyone noitced how our u21 team is no longer as good as it was ?
I don't know who would take over ? Maybe an ex player with someone like Mourinho or Coelho to oversee and give advice .All the top managers are taken or 2 expensive .
The Past
It's been a golden decade for Portugal . Starting with the Euros in 2000 with a team that won a lot of admirers with a brand of attacking football . We've had great players ( Figo , Rui Costa , Ronaldo ) and great moments , ( coming back from 2-0 down to beat england , the victory against spain in 04 , world cup semi finals)
A lot of team's across europe would have loved to have that level of success . Let's be proud of what a small nation has done and let's look forward !
Forca Portugal
Extremely passionate people who have the teams best interests at heart. I always learn from reading here.. including the nice video clip on the offside.. (although I don't think that would've changed the subs.. so therefore the result would've probably still happened).
Great banter of course we all have our view points and it makes for even a better read.
Thanks gentlemen for the good ride.. I am sure we will debate some more topics over the next couple of years.. in prep for 2012.
1. We haven't beaten a top team for over two years.possibly even longer . The last team of note was Czech Republic in Euro 2008.
2. The only teams in the top nation ranking we have played in two years was Brazil (lost 2-6) & Germany (lost 2-3)
3. We didn't score in three of the four games played in the WC
4. The world most expensive player despite scoring numerous goals for club, has only scored two goals in two years.
and a handful assists.
5. We had a poor qualifying campaign and selected minnows for WC preparation, China, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Mozambique
6.CQ plays defense, this isn't Portuguese football.
7.CQ changed his line up every WC game he 'coached'
8. CQ is always making excuses. he's never ever said once that he has made a mistake
9.CQ hasn;t got the courage to bench Ronaldo or take the captaincy off him
10. CQ never found his first eleven and becuase of this was narrow minded in the tactics he used againts qaulty opposition.
In summary Portuguese fans.. We've gone backwards.
We need to SACK the coach. He is reponsible
World number 2 beat World number 3 .
Portugal's first touch let them down. The passing wasn't as clinical as the Spanish. A Portuguese player tries to take on the whole opposing team instead of letting the ball do the work.
The Spanish team play as a unit and move the ball quicker around the field. I suppose with atleast 5 players playing for Barcelona and more players set to join Barcelona it was like playing against Barcelona instead of Spain.
Portugal can build on this for the upcoming Euro 2012 and WC 2014. Portugal shall miss Carvalho and Deco. But its great to see that Eduardo ,Coentrao, B Alves, CR , Almeida and hopefully Nani and Bosingwa wil be there if recovered.
If Maradona is willing to ask Mourinho for technical advice why doesn't Portugal do the same and use him in limted capacity as well ? .
FORCA PORTUGAL
When asked if he felt exhausted, Almeida said he wasn't.
That pretty much sums up Quieroz - CLUELESS. The players have lost respect for him almost like the French team with Domenech.
Considering that I think we done well to go as far we did, both in qualifying and the tournament itself with such a clown in charge.
I don't agree with all the referee bashing though. Yes there were some questionable decisions but all in all the better team deservedly went through and I have no complaints with the result.
Jesualdo Ferreira would have been the ideal candidate to replace Queiroz but that's a no-go now.
My blood runs red and green! Portugal Sempre!!
A team in order to be strong needs depth something we had in Euro 2004 for example. This team has no depth, we are hard pressed to fill positions with players who 1) are not play ready due to injury or lack of play time or 2) like you said we are playing them out of the position they would normaly play.
Look at Spain they saw that Torres was not playing well they took him out. We on the other hand had C. Ronaldo not doing well and kept him on because we had no other option.
Today's game everyone fawning over spain in the halftime when I think Portugal had better chances. Even images of audience where ALL of spanish fans even though they stated that Portuguese fans outnumbered those dirty. spaniards.
Agreed on most other points.
-CR not a captain
-Coentrao player of the tourney
-Missed Nani and Boswinga
-Carvalho is class will be missed
-Almedia impressed me, why was he taken of?????
I am upset that we let one get away. For some reason we seemed afraid to shoot at times.
I do question Almeida coming off. Not only coming off, but having Danny go in. Danny played out wide out of position and Ronaldo pinched in, making himself mute.
Danny had a horrible World Cup. I was really hoping that he would have broken out.
Simao was also a step off pace the whole game. Very disapointing.
Mendes for Pepe and not an attacking player?
You would have to say that Ronaldo also had an overall bad tourney. One goal is not good enough.
Coentrao and Meireles had wonderful tourneys. The defense was also very good as was Eduardo. They both performed better than expected.
Eventhough we screamed, you would have to say that Queiroz tactics worked. Defense, defense and more defense and you will move forward. The only problem was that once Portugal went down, there was no Plan B.
Losing 2-0 while trying to go for it wouldn't have been horrible, yet there was nothing.
Lastly, it gets old hearing about Ronaldo flopping and then having players like Busquets and CapeVilla roll around like they were shot, when there wasn't even contact.
Busquets goes down like he's been shot. If the whistle blows he plays it up like crazy, to the point of being ridiculous. If there's no whistle he gets up and starts running. Yet, that's ok.
Overall, I am proud of the NT for the effort, fighting spirit, and competitive nature. They battled hard and lost with honor unlike 2002.
Varela
Nani
Ruben Micael
i think those players would've make the difference in the team along with a different coach. i'm not a big nani fan but we needed his speed up the sideline and energy on defense. same with varela. micael would have done wonders for the midfield possession. and of course bosingwa is night and day from ricardo costa.
almeida did a decent job at striker but we still haven't found a serious threat at that position for 20 years now.
I am definitely not the glass is half empty sort of guy.. and believe with the right management.. we not only have the talent to prosper but also to win. Joa screw the fed.. we need a foreign boss.. period.. protest.. burn tires.. trash the joint until they bring in the right boss. kidding.. not..lol
Supremo Gino makes some excellent points and I too would like to thank the players for their contribution.. there are some excellent ones on their last WC duty. Thanks gentlemen..
Anyway, I admit I was wrong about Fabio C and I am happy to be wrong but the problem is that from that U-20 team you saw in Canada only a couple have developed.
I think we can get better in 2012 but will need to get faster, I know 4-4-2 is your formation but we need better players up front to deploy the formation. We'll catch up with qualifying for 2012 and I beleive with Nani coming back with a few modifications we can qualify but need 2 new break through players.
Enjoy the rest of the world cup everyone.....we'll be back in 4 years. Now, on to Euro 2012.
Now first, if we fire quieroz..WHO DO WE HAVE? Nobody! Wanna just stick in anybody? Alright! lets stick in Paulo Bento! lololololol.. But in seriousness, Quieroz has provided a good base and form for a good portugal team in the future. Danny will develop and come to his own
Now i disagree with many of you for Euro2012 qualifying... WE HAVE AN EASY GROUP... i know ill get a lot of heat for this but come on.. Norway, and god forbid Cyprus?! we have a nordic group and we will go strong from here.. I have faith
Much love, Sid the kid
When I saw the line-up I was modestly pleased with all due credit Queiroz got it mostly right.. the one glaring error was the key.
I told my friends straight away.. it would be a 1-0 result and the winner would be scored in around the 60th minute.. I also stated if it was Spain scoring they would exploit the right side where Ricardo Costa was playing.. they turned to me in shock amazement when it all happened.
Spain is a great team, and besides the Spanish favouring Ref and the cheap tactics at the end they are deserving of a victory, although I disagree with all that think we don't have the quality players to beat them. I believe Portugal is one of the few teams in the world that can beat Spain at full strength and at their best.
For the most part we played a great game some phenomenal play from Eduardo, Coentrao, Almeida, and others.. although Eduardo made a mistake parring the ball back into the live zone.. but with his tournament who could blame the guy.
As for all those that think Quieroz will be fired, I have some sad news for you. The myiopic view of the FPF believes that was an excellent result.
I can see the party line now we lost to the number #2 ranked team in the world and tied the best in a meaningless game. This was their best possible result and will keep Queer Eyes on after such a success, they might even throw a parade for him back in Portugal.
This is their dim view of our talent, one that is shared by all the weak managers at home.
That is why they develop Brazilian's & Argentinian's, not because of talent for the most part, just a perception that the others are better and will demand more money on the open market.
David you made great comments throughout but you lost me when you mentioned FPF should force teams to not play foreigners, not because I don't think that these managers should play more Portuguese.. I do agree.. the problem is as I stated.. the managers even Jorge Jesus.. favoured foreigners even when they weren't better.
Coentrao took a while to break into the squad even though he was playing better than others.. Martins outplayed Aimar and saw more bench, Amorim was playing solid and great all year his reward the bench, Nuno Gomes 3 games as a sub 2 goals, Moreira outplayed Cesar, as well as Mak the previous year got sub duty in 7 games.. for few minutes then got shipped out.. yet Kierrson who was lazy and useless last year got more action.
When the mention of Cardozo being sold they would rather sell Mak a 22 goal scorer than play him. There are so many other cases on other teams, yet it continually happens not because of quality but because of perception of value.
Portuguese Managers don't value our own players.. yet foreign managers in foreign leagues do.
The sad part is what David said might be true.. Quieroz is the best Portuguese manager available which is really really sad, and is why it is that important that we get a great foreign manager that can take us to the next step & glory.
To his credit even Queiroz managed above his level.. it actually could've been worse. He made some great moves, and as usual made some confounding changes that undid all the good ones he started with.
Paulo beat me to the punch with the goal less comment, sure we got some results and played great D but look at the quality of teams through qualifying and most especially the lack of goals in all games but the DPR one. Alvaro also made a great point in this area..about very few goals scored throughout from this squad..
Like many stated (Caes) the genuis of Ricardo Costa (getting smoked by Brazil was not bad enough), Almieda/Danny swap, Pepe/Mendes, and also the 4-3-3 with one striker that led to the masterplan of the 4-3-3 without a striker as demonstrated when CR was put up front. These were his finest coaching moments. If any naturalized person must go it is Quieroz that should be deported.
Johniee made some great points throughout especially about the non-chop manager.. amen..
Pete weak squad?
We had the best defence ever.. even with Ferreira & Costa, best goalie ever, Pepe/Mendes in the middle were solid..CR is still one of the greatest, Almeida was an improvement, this team had good players everywhere.. they just never played all at the same time, or in the right formation, or with the right game-plan.
Aneel? Quaresma? seriously...
Tony many good points but we could not score because of the formation.. that is Queer Eyes fault.. especially as many others stated.. pulling players when they are playing well instead of sending another in to help them. I think CQ would die if he was forced to play a 4-4-2..
Joa as usual makes some great points.. but personally I think Miguel would've had a huge impact today.. he isn't the greatest passer but he makes defenders commit to bad positions.. and this creates openings on the wing.. offensively he is slighly weaker than Bos.. the big difference is like RCosta David Villa would've smoked Bos too... as he is a poor defender.. so overall.. Miguel is the better player...IMO
Also who cares what FPF thinks we should burn down that crooked house.. they have never known what is best.. and continue to waste crops of extremely talented players.. from the golden Gen till now the results with a real manager could've been so much greater. Mourinho is the only Potuguese manager that can get us a result.. & that includes the guy that walks on water in Lisbon.
Also Tony CQ didn't find a LB he was forced to play Coentrao by the sheer quality of his play.. let us remind some that besides a few benfiquistas no one ranked this guy at LB including him.. as he played u-21 until the tournament.. he made his own spot on the squad.. forcing his way to the top.
Although I think you are spot on.. Queiroz is the best coach to develop talent, that is why he should be permenantly be made U-21 boss.
Ivo dude spot on with all your commentary..
Today is a sad day.. I had 4 flags raging on the car.. even after the loss.. but they must come down..
I was hoping the players would overcome CQ.. and they almost did.. unfortunately RCosta was unable to play out of position.
I won a pre-tournament bet.. and was right.. but I wanted to be wrong all the way.. it should've been our 1-0 victory.. in the 60th..
It was a decent run.. hopefully we will grow and advance.. for 2012.
Forca Portugal..
PS David what is up with the American comment do you think somehow your continental tv is better than the majority of people who saw CQ make poor decision after poor decision?
What were you trying to imply with that comment?
Everyone seems annoyed and cant be bothered right now but I cant seem to forget and move on just yet.
Why we lost:
- Carlos Queiroz - starting line up, tactics, and substitutions.
- Ricardo Costa
- Spanish speaking referee - goal was offside, made all calls involving C.Ronaldo go against him, did not allow portuguese subs to come in right away (killed time), did not card Puyol for diving, red carded Costa for nothing, did anything in his power for spain to win.
- Fixed match
Spain dominated possession because all CQ wanted to do was defend.
I was expecting Costa to sub out for Miguel at halftime.
Almeida (our goalscoring hope) was subbed for a useless Danny. C.Ronaldo was moved to central forward where is turned invisible. Simao was subbed for tiny Liedson who cant penetrate 6 ft defenders. Pepe for Mendes when we needed a goal?
Bottom line: We were robbed just like 08, 06, 04 its the same story. No matter how much this team improves the final decision to reward this team with a championship is FIFAs.
CQ needs to be fired immediately. Always asked for this. Defence is suddenly a problem for 2012. Wingers and Midfield is ok. Striker is unknown.
Its going to take a good month to recover from this and rebuild the team.
I'm very down on the way things turned out.
Let's be objective and see this team is flawed. Yes I do agree that the Danny for Hugo A was a bad sub but in reality would we have scored? We liked ideas, speed, creativity, and cutting edge ... despite all that we have a team that qualifies.
That goal was offside!
Those argentine (were hating on Ronaldo cuz dey know he's better than messi) refs did not even give Ronaldo a break, and that ghost foul by Costa in the end for the red was horrible. Portugal played against 15 people; spain's 11 and the 4 argentine refs it's a shame we did not score from our chances.
I find it funny how the commentators (English) try to brush aside the errors of the refs during the match
I now believe Portuguese football is at a crossroads since over the next few years we have the potential to build a formidable squad. However, this all depends on how the upcoming generation develops. Players like Ruben Micael, Orlando Sa, Caricco, Goncalo Brandao, Joao Silva, Andre Santos, Vitor etc. have the potential to develop into world class players, with Silva and Sa appearing as Portugal's most legitimate answer yet to a great striker. Their development all rests on the teams of the Liga opening their eyes to the international crisis at the moment, and playing these promising young men as starters on their respective clubs so that they may build the confidence to flourish on bigger stages. Coentrao is appearing as the spear head of this generation, and if the rest of his peers follow in his path, we may have the greatest Portugal squad in some time. I truly believe, despite our knockout today, that this country will achieve something in the next 2 to 8 years. Coentrao is a symbol of things to come.
sO MAYBE THE question SHOULD BE who can come in and possibly get us to the next level on the level of the Brasil, Spain, Germany with lesser talent. Mourinho more than likely could but people need to stop drinking the kool aid hes not coming for about 15 to 20 years. Mourinho will be at Real Madrid for 2 seasons then he is going back to the Premeir League for if i had to guess would be about 10 to 12 years. And if FPF isnt interested in Foreign Non Portuguese speaking coach then PLEASE Tell Me who do we get
And Pepe as a defensive mid is almost as ridiculous. He's not needed there with Carvalho and Alves behind him. He's terrible on the ball, just takes up space, and basically takes away from Carvalho's job.
Portugal have the players to play open, obviously not the same way Spain do, but they have the players to play more open then they showed the tournament. We basically turned into Italy this tournament and it was a disgrace to watch. We waste Ronaldo by playing nobody who can provide service to him. And as long as our starting midfielders are Pepe and Meireles, it doesn't matter who the third one is... Ronaldo will continue to be wasted, and everyone will ask....Why does he kill for Real Madrid but does nothing for Portugal?
We deserved to lose this game...but in hindsight, let's be happy with Eduardo's performance and Coentrao's performance. We have proven that we will qualify for the big tournaments on a regular basis now. It is now time to bring in some youth and develop a team to compete for a title.
True, but that didn't happen, and Queiroz made an absolutely mind-boggling substitution when we were playing reasonably well and didn't need it AT ALL. So no point speculating, Queiroz has a history of making questionable subs and this one could have cost us the came. For example, what if he had left in Almeida and he managed to get a head on the end of one of the 3 or 4 crosses we sent in at the end of the game? Then yes, he would have looked brilliant...but Queiroz is a terrible coach and has been over the years with a VARIETY of different teams. I hope he gets fired.
Eduardo was spectacular.
If the Hugo Almeida header/follow up goes in, Portugal win and Queiroz looks brilliant.
Anyone trying to salvage Queiroz's reputation by saying that we should be impressed with our defencive performance, clean sheets etc., I agree, we should. But then again, how many of these games were clean sheets against teams that we should have beat by multiple goals and ended up tying against or barely scraping by with a 1-nil, last ditch effort win (Albania? Bosnia anybody?). He makes the most bizarre calls. Why take out Almeida when you could have went with Deco for Tiago? Not that Tiago deserved to come off but hell that would have made some sense.
After Spain scored the goal it would have been great, no, it would became ESSENTIAL to have an attacking aerial threat in the box on the receiving end of the barrage of crosses we were sending in...but we had little Liedson in there instead. Queiroz's days are numbered. We were in this much until his stupid substitution. Yes, may have ended up losing anyway, it's possible, Spain are a great team, but regardless we dealt ourselves a serious blow by taking off Almeida, who I normally do not like one bit, but he impressed me a lot today. FIRE QUEIROZ!
*Portugal's co-players of the tournament: is there any doubt? There shouldn't be - COENTRAO AND EDUARDO. Hands down, a no-contest, no brainer. Coentrao is brilliant. So many of our most potent looking attacks were initiated by him. And I won't even start with Eduardo. He is the most passionate player on the pitch. Made high quality save after high quality save for us and you've got to love the emotion he showed at the end of the game and every time we scored against NK. Love it.
Final note: we need young Portuguese strikers to step up...and FAST!
Folks, I know we can question CQ for his subs and selections but please go thru the list of the selected players and non-selected that you may have wanted and see how many players are in top form? How many of these players can create or score? Probably very few.
Bottom line, CQ found a LB and QK for this team. Plus putting Pepe at DM allows you to play 3 of your best players at once. Once Boswinga gets back with Fabio C and Pepe at DM you will have the cover and width to use the outside backs. Plus we have Nani to replace Simao who is suited to be a sub. Ruben M could develop to be a decent #10.
We need a striker and creative midfielder as stayed earlier. We are 2 players short from having a competitive team. Remember that in 2008 this team was about 5 players short coming out of the Euro 2008.
CQ is the best coach to develop the talent available. Getting another coach will not help at this point. Lets start planning for the Euro 2012.
We played to our strenght which was defence and in the 1st half Almeida had an oppurtunity, Simao got pkayed through, Almeida had free header in box, the chances were there. And what did people think SPAIN ARE MADE UP OF REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA SOMETHING LIKE 17 PLAYERS. WHAT DOES BARCA DO WHEN THEY PLAY THEY KEEP POSSESION JUST AS SPAIN WAS EXPEXTED TO and even the Special One when Inter played Barca Mourinho told his squad to expect them to hold possesion. The plan was there and we can all whine and groan about R. Costa and why we went into to this WC with 3 RB'S but the fact is they are all rubbish including Miguel. None of them made the position their own and it showed. Miguel can get involved in attack but against N. Korea he was sloppy, poor 1st touch, lost the ball. This is where we missed Bosingwa.
Tony form Ca has it absolutely right we were limited heading in and tactically if were were to progress deep it was going to be with stellar defence and finishing few chances we could get in final third.
CQ subs were poor but when Danny came in he was going for speed with Ronaldo and Danny.
Everyone wants new coach ok thats fine who do we get? Mourinho doesnt want this JOB FOR TWENTY YEARS. 20. DOESNT MATTER IF NEXT WC IS IN BRASIL OR 2018 IS IN PORTUGAL Ideally for me I would go after JORGE JESUS. Man has done well with smaller clubs, tactically makes good decisons for his players to succeed. Anyone saying we should get foreign coach its not going to happen. Tell me when is last time FPF hired non PORTUGUESE SPEAKING COACH. So who do we get.
Lets at least admit this Queiroz was on the path to building a good base. Deco is gone so now we have names like Miguel Danny which is his normal poistion anyway, Ruben Micheal, Paulo Machado for CAM. As Tony said Bosingwa is on way back. Quersama is garbage right now and Ill take Varela with a broken leg over Quersama. Introduction of Ruben Amorim could be good if he contiues well at Benfica as he is versatile at LB, RB, Defence Mid.
As for strikers well i guess we will see with development of Yanninck, Orlando Sa, mayvbe this young Joao Silva at Everton. Future on the wings are bright with Ronaldo and NANI, Varela, and if Quersma ever gets it together. An d finally we have a brick wall in net with Eduardo, hell of a game from him.
I dont know if we should stay with CQ but unlike Scolari he didnt have the golden gemeration, or the Porto core that were in their prime. He did as good a job with these limited options.
My friends today is tough day but the future is bright hopefully brighter and brighter once Euro 2012 comes around. Im proud of our Quinas and let us look forward with great ambition
What was CQ thinking? Almeida had just spent the game winning almost every header between two Spanish centre backs that were being pulled back and had no rhythm due to Almeida's constant physical presence! So CQ decides that Ronaldo would be better up front, which we all know has never worked and all that happens is that Spain breath a sigh of relief as their defenders push up an extra 10 yards and put even more pressure on our defense! And of course then the goal comes... surprise surprise!
I'm so gutted as I truly thought we had played a perfect game until CQ messed everything up with his subs. Liedson simply isn't a lone striker for international football and we need to stop playing him full stop! As for Ronaldo, he has to play from the wide position and boy did we miss Nani!
Personally Tiago and Meireles who are tidy in midfield impressed me again but I agree that we need a little more creativity from the middle, especially when we play against the better teams. Deco has surely seen his last game for us so we need to find another Rui Costa in the next few years otherwise we'll just be another decent team who can be a threat but will never win a major tournament!
I hope the Portuguese Football Federation make some serious changes to the current rules and put a restriction on the number of non Portuguese players that can play in our league, otherwise we will never find or allow the talent that we need to grow and prosper!
Benfica, Braga, Porto & Sporting... please promote more of our your Portuguese talent and give them a chance... your country needs you more than ever!
One last thing.... I HATE LOSING AGAINST THOSE DIRTY SPAINIARDS!
VIVA PORTUGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop talking about the coach Americans, talk about the ref ;) who, by the way, is of Spanish descent.
I understand that Almeida is still unfit but then why didn't make space for another striker?
Varela
Nani
Ruben Micael
i think those players would've make the difference in the team along with a different coach. i'm not a big nani fan but we needed his speed up the sideline and energy on defense. same with varela. micael would have done wonders for the midfield possession. and of course bosingwa is night and day from ricardo costa.
almeida did a decent job at striker but we still haven't found a serious threat at that position for 20 years now.
But the Spainish goal is offside in my opinion, the player who touches it on buts Villa offside in my book. And we were unlucky with the ref awaring a red card when an Oscar would be more appropriate for the Spanish player. How about the clear push on Ronaldo just outside the box not awared?
That said we had a lot more to offer offensively then we showed.
Positives from this world cup are:
1) Finally a keeper I can trust, first time I think that since Baia, and then again only when he was on form
2) The Defense in general is very good
3) Coentrao is amazing, I love this player now, with Eduouardo once of the best Portuguese players during the whole WC.
Negatives:
1) Nani and Bosigwa were sourly missed
2) Strange coaching decisions at the wrong time
3) Not enough ambition to go out and get the result against bigger teams.
We were outplayed and outclassed - I take no pleasure in thinking this! I still believe we had the measure of Spain & frustrated them for much of the game. The major difference between Spain & Portugal is that Spain has better players ( they can leave Fabregas on the bench!!), less arrogance and more teamwork and Portugal has to work with a tactically inept coach. Time to re-group.....re-think.....and send CQ on his way.....
Queiroz should go, not for failing to get to the QF, but for failing to try.
See ya CQ.
I think we played the way that provided the greatest % chance of us sneaking through with the squad we had, but having said that I would have preferred to lose 5:3 than 1:0 and see Ronaldo and the rest of the team show what they had rather than walk away from a tournament where we only scored in 1 of the 4 games we played.
Forca Portugal
Our best player was Eduardo, by miles. We offered nothing in attack and Cristiano was absent - shouldn't be captain from now on.
Anyway, we can't argue that the result was fair.
We have a positive future, but changes need to be made. Time to reflect and rebuild!
I do not know however if a new coach can do any better or will it just be six of one and half a dozen of the other. I am not defending Queiroz in any way but we have to be realistic and see that we have a weak squad. I fear we may be in the same spot as England with an aging squad but no real replacements in site. I hope we do not go back to the performances of the 70s and 80s.
Not from the initial pass but from the backheel.
SACKING CARLOS QUEIROZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor choices and playing too defensive against brazil cost them
The big role on portugal squad is Fabio Coentrao,Tiago and Eduardo. They are really good today. Miguel Veloso just need extra attention. He can really be a good midfield. Just times and chances that he needs.
This is an eye opener for us. New Portugal squad next time must be better than this. Forca~~
Here is why he is horrible:
We started the game with 3 defensive mids, Hey CQ you cant go through to the quarters with a tie.
Take off Almeida who was playing well and created some chances for Danny who isnt even a striker.
Take off Pepe bring in Pedro Mendes another defensive mid, didnt CQ realize that we needed a goal?
We started the game with 4 central defenders: carvalho, alves, pepe & costa???
How in the world does Pepe start? this is his first game in 7 months wtf? & he starts against the best team in the world wtf????
He played 5 guys out of position: costa, tiago, meireles, danny & pepe.
Where the F*** was Deco, the most creative player on the squad and we leave him on the bench.???
was costa the best choice to start at right back, if so why did we waste the roster spot with three rights backs, wtf???
On another note; Ronaldo is a childish, selfish, spoiled jerk, always crying, hands in the air, doesnt pass, shoots from 40 yards out, I wouldnt call on him any more unless he changes his ways...we qualified without him & he didnt score in any of the qualifiers.
All said CQ must go, he is by far the worst portugal coach I have ever seen.
FPF should go after Lippi, he is available, throw the $$ at him and he will come.
FPF must drop the the priority of having a portuguese speaking coach, this limits your talent pool.
The defense and Eduardo did well. We can complain about Costa, subbing out Hugo A, the red card, should Deco have played ... it does not matter Portugal is a incomplete team in the attacking 1/3 and it showed in this WC. This has nothing with tactics it is about talent in the attacking midfield and striker position. We could have played for 24 hours and would not have scrored. What did we learn?
- CR repeated history and does very little in big games ... he is not able to beat players off the dribble, his passing is suspect, etc. He needs players around him to set him up and can't set up the players around him.
- Tiago is a nice player but not the answer to replace Deco as a #10.
- Miereles is who we thought he was ... nice player but not enough of playmaker or difference maker.
-This team missed Nani and even with Nani it would have been very difficult.
- Danny was disappointing and agains good teams seems to be over matched (makes too many mistakes and bad decisions with the ball).
- This team is a striker and creative midfielder short to be a force.
- We have a decent team for the next 4 years and could get better. We found a LB and GK. Pepe in DM is a beast. We get Boswinga back soon at RB.
We have two years to fix it.
Overall, happy we got here and got to the 16 with a limited team.
CQ needs to be sacked or be NO.2. He isnt a team coach!. Bring in a brazilian coach - the guy who was coaching South Africa...
PORTUGAL PLAY FLOWING FOOTBALL, like they did against north korea. Since then its just been defence..
Why would he sub of Hugo Almeida off for Danny and he's not even a striker either, also I hate the fact when he's subbed off he puts Ronaldo at striker he didn't even touch the ball until the end of the game AGAIN he is valuable on the wing not center forward! Just when Portugal is down Queiroz takes off Pepe even though Tiago had the terrible game and he replaces Pepe with Mendes who is a defensive midfielder when DECO WOULD COULD OF BEEN USEFUL!
Also I have to say the referee was awful, Alonso and Villa dive and the ref favours them but when Ronaldo gets clipped and pushed by Capedvilla. Also it's ignored and Ricardo Costa didn't even touch Capdevilla and he gets red. Argentiean ref can eat sh*t for all I care.
I like the way Portugal played as a very well organised defensive unit. CQ has picked up a few tricks from Alex Ferguson, but he sorely lacks the tactical knowledge to alter a game when it's needed.
CQ promised attacking football but instead parked the team bus.
We didnt take our chances either. Almeida & Tiago should have scored, but Spain we're all over us.
We need to look at this tournament as a failure.
We didnt score against Ivory coast, Brazil and now Spain. with all due respect DPR Korea doesn't count.
And in fact despite this unbeaten run,(until now) we had not beaten a top side for over two years and we still haven't
We need a coach that can the best out of CR7. Its clear that he was frustrated. & he should not be captain.
We just couldn't get the ball off of them and once they scored, they just played keep away. I agree with a few of Jakes points, Queiroz made some real silly substitutions there at the end, as Almeida was clearly frustrating the Spanish defense.I dont think Costa should have started either, and if your going to take off Pepe, why not sub in someone whos a little more creative like Deco? Say what you want about him but he can at least hold the ball.Oh well, bring on the Euro's i guess...
More time was needed before such a decision should have been made. We lost our shape then.
Why did CQ play Costa? The guy stinks.
He thinks he can just defend against Spain for 120 minutes and go to penalty shoot-out but what he doesn't know is that this is SPAIN.
The red card at the end? Totally unfair this ref gave every single call to Spain and the one at the end was horrible because even if costa hit him he didn't go down until like 20 seconds after the ball came over both of them.
I'm ready for the new Portugal era.