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Saturday, 17 July 2010 13:20

"I could have done more" - Danny

Striker laments World Cup performance

danny.jpgThe World Cup ended almost a week ago and Portugal's campaign was snuffed out by the current World and European champions Spain two weeks prior. But for forward Danny, the competition remains vivid in his mind.

The Zenit St. Petersburg player has had time to reflect on Portugal's display in South Africa and the 26-year-old is feeling a little guilty as he knows that he, and the team, could have done much better than crashing out at the Round of Sixteen.

"I could have given much more to the team, " said Danny to Maisfutebol. "I have the feeling that I could have done much more. I felt good in the training sessions in Covilha, I socred a goal (in a friendly) against Mozambique and I arrived in South Africa full of expectations."

"I sincerely thought that I could have helped the team more. Physically I was fine, strong, but I never managed to do what I do regularly."

"I don't know if it was a different way the team was playing or if the problem was actually me. I feel disappointed with what I did as those who know me know that I have sufficient quality to decide matches."

But it is not all negative as the Portuguese international was happy to have taken part in the game's biggest spectacle and will never forget the scenes that surrounded the team while in South Africa.

"I feel priviliged to have been there. The atmosphere that surrounded us was impressive. I have never seen anything like it. In football, nothing compares to it."

"Everything went well in that aspect, Competitively, advancing out of the group phase was great, but we did have the players to go further - that's my impression."

by Marco Pereira

Comments (10)
Other areas lacking.....
10 Monday, 19 July 2010 00:14
I think the struggles that Ronaldo, our forwards, Danny, and everyone else in the attacking half of the field were mostly because of our struggles in central midfield.

Yes, Danny could've played better I suppose, but what is he supposed to do when he only gets the ball 5-10 times a game? I see a lot of really resentful comments towards some of our players but I think everyone needs to understand that there really wasn't much else they could of done.

Aside from going on Maradona-esque runs against the entire defense in every game, Ronaldo and Danny were severely limited by our style of play and by the quality (or lack thereof ) in midfield.

When Euro 2012 qualifying starts in 2 months, I hope everyone will remember that Danny has the potential to be a great player, with the right service. Hopefully, Moutinho and Ruben Micael will develop into top notch central midfielders for Porto and will be ready to go in Poland/Ukraine.
it's all about queiroz fault!!!
9 Sunday, 18 July 2010 04:59
what the hell were he thinking??he put danny on the wrong position..danny absoloutely is not a winger forward!!..danny is a play maker,second striker,can be used as attacking midfielder too..this is the most sucks habit of queiroz..he always put the player out of their position,,and the result is FAIL !!
ricardo costa-->RB
Pepe-->DM
Danny-->FW
Ronaldo-->CF
Duda-->LB
please stop continuing your stupid way queiroz...
Blame Queiroz!
8 Saturday, 17 July 2010 22:08
Blame CQ. He's the one entirely reponsibile for WHERE the players play.

Playing CR as a striker or Danny as a striker /winger is his call , not the players.

Its going to be very interesting for 2012 qualifers to see , who he puts on the park and what mindset he adopts, and if he has learnt anything from this campaign.
What are you guys talking about???
7 Saturday, 17 July 2010 17:22
Wy are you all praising Danny for "taking responsibility" for the way he played??? READ HIS WORDS CAREFULLY!!! What he said was "I don't know if it was a different way the team was playing or if the problem was actually me." - How in the world you guys equate that with him "taking responsibility" is a mystery!!! Bottom line, the tactics were suspect, and the players didn't perform to the level necessary to advance. But don't praise Danny for taking responsibility for his mediocre performance because that is not what he has done here...
If Only He Was Played In His Usual Position
6 Saturday, 17 July 2010 16:01
Danny would have done much better if he was played in his usual position of attacking midfielder. He's not a winger, although he does drift out left at times when playing for Zenit. All of his good work comes from the centre of the pitch. Now that I think about it, playing him as a centre forward just behind Almeida would have been really great because he would be able to drop back and inject a lot of pace and creativity down the middle of the pitch (something we desperately needed).

For Euro 2012, I hope Queiroz makes our midfield more of an attacking one with Micael and Danny playing side by side, and Meireles or Tiago as defensive midfielder. I believe that our defence is going to be world class once Bosingwa is fit and plays with Alves, Pepe and Coentrao. Therefore, they won't need much cover from the midfield.
Portugal
5 Saturday, 17 July 2010 15:38
Danny I think all the portuguese will appreciate you for coming out and taking some of the blame but I think you might of been held back as well as others because of the tactics.
TOO LATE NOW!!!
4 Saturday, 17 July 2010 15:34
i agree with dannys article but its to late now. the team didnt play an organized game. they didnt pressure other teams and they just gave them a win. i feel they didnt want to win any of the games or they were too scared like babies.
Good but not good enough...
3 Saturday, 17 July 2010 14:48
Danny has quality but for me, he is not good enough to play steadily on the Selecao. To me, you have to have at least the starting 11, plus 3-4 subs and thats all. You dont want to mess up the "chemistry" on the field and to me, that is what Portugal lacked most. I am not making excuses, but we lacked some of our better players as well. Nani and even Quaresma. I dont know if most would agree but Deco wasnt hurt. it was more like he told the truth flat out to the press that Queiroz sucked and he didnt kjnow what he was doing and he was punished for that. Danny is good and deserves to be on gthe team, no doubt, but for me, he needs to step up his game and make his presence/name known a bit more. But i like how he came out and took responbsibility for the way he played. As i said before, we need a new coach first off and we need to "pick" the right players. We also need to give our youth a chance to move up to the 1st team for experience and a chance to break out.
Need Offense
2 Saturday, 17 July 2010 14:47
i don't think Danny could've done more.... he's just not that good.... unfortunately, aside from Ronaldo and Nani, Portugal is lacking players with offensive creativity at the moment.... let's hope that changes very soon or they won't be taking part in either Euro '12 or WC '14....
True
1 Saturday, 17 July 2010 14:18
Great to see one of our guys actually taking responsibility for his poor play rather than solely heaping the blame on tactics. Even though the tactics were dreadful in many instances, many of the players just looked out of whack (I.e. Danny, Ronaldo, Simao at times).

Danny definitely has quality. Hopefully we get to see it in the run in to Euro 2012z

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