Set The Bar Low Boys! That’s the Ticket!
By: Greg | June 18th, 2007
For some insight on their recent performance, let’s listen in on Man of the Match, Portuguese U-21 international, Miguel Veloso… “We have answered all those who criticised us.” Yeah, ya did. You answered them by NOT QUALIFYING FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF THE TOURNAMENT YOU WERE PEGGED TO WIN! You beat Israel 4-0 in a game that ended up meaning NOTHING. This type of attitude is why this team is going to be sweating it out for a spot in the Olympic games.
Even if they make the Olympics, so what? Can you tell me, off the top of your head, the last two countries who won Olympic gold in football? How about the last two teams who won the U21 tournament for that matter? I personally have no idea! Wow, come to think of it… When I look at it like that, it allows me to take comfort in Miguel Veloso’s being okay with losing. I can’t wait to see him in first team action for the 2008 Euro. Aim high for the third place game boys!
Category: Super Liga
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Argentina – 2004
Cameroon – 2000
Nigeria – 1996And yes, I knew this off the top of my head, mainly because of Carlos Tevez, Samuel Eto’o, Herbert ‘In’ Fandel, and Jay-Jay Okocha.
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I hear ya Greg, but the players aren’t the weak link in PT football these days. The talent is undeniably there. We need more coaches of the caliber of Mourinho and Scolari. Excuses are bullsh*t and the bottom line is the squad didn’t come into the competition focused. It took them a match and a half to wake up and that is nobody’s fault but Couceiro. But you are right moral victory mean nothing. Titles mean everything!
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I’m surprised they didn’t do better. The talent is obviously there but the desire didn’t appear to be.
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I hope Portugal does not become the European Ghana – players of such fantastic talent but fail to win anything beyond the U-17 level because of poor coaching and inability to keep teams playing cohesively at the national level.
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Wendall, “poor coaching” basically says it all.
You can go back 2 euro cups and till Scolari came on the scene it was always the same thing. Quality players who couldn’t play as a cohesive, motivated, and disciplined unit! COACHING it’s our curse.Posted from
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Plus… Playing good or not, there was a stolen penalty against HOL (but the little oranges did deserve to win), the 2 theorical (pre-competition, of course…) “best teams” will meat for the final olympic spot – PT and ITA, the match ENG – SER gave us SER making racist maniphestations and ENG scoring with a serb on the floor (even crossing the ball where he was, just to rub it in the face of the world); and the ref (same as in PT vs HOL) gave it…
Like a friend of mine says, “yeah… then they expect the world to be peacefull!!!”
Then they (UEFA, ENG, etc) talk of Fair-Play.. 
So, all-in-all, yeah it’s a pitty, the tallent’s there, etc, but well… There’s more next year… Let’s now hope we beat ITA. Always easy, as we all know…;-) Let’s also hope in 2 years M Veloso will be playing with the oldies, like M Fernandes (what a midfield it’d be), Moutinho keeps on the good work, Nani grows well in man Utd… It’d also be nice if Hugo Almeida would actually score a couple of times… Even once would already be good… M Veloso was our best scorer and he’s a holding mid…
We can’t say the tallent’s there. We have to say they are all potential stars, not potentially good…FORCA PT!
ps – Greg, where d’ya come up with these pics, man…?
They’re great!Posted from
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Brian – Love seeing Jay Jay Okocha references. Luis – Then why not get who ever in the hell is running the drills over at the Sporting Youth Academy and see what they can do with these young guys? If Sporting keeps pumping out ‘wonderkids’ someone there must be able to get the boys headed in the right direction. Pedro – I just bounce around the interwebs and Google and try searching certain keywords given the mood of the article or the topic. Glad to know you’re one of the dozen readers enjoying them
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I don’t think they’re necessarily interchangeable Greg. We know how to develop talent and we have plenty of technical trainers, but a winning coach? That’s a breed apart in my book and only partly based on CV.
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It’s probably more than a dozen, Greg… Maybe 2 dozen…
I can see it already… M veloso, M Fernandes and Moutinho; Quaresma, C Ronaldo, and… OK this is where it starts going wrong…
Don’t think we’ll have big problems in defense, in the years to come… Loved seeing that guy Pereira (with that bad temper face + small size) on the right back, running more than all the others put together, making very crosses in the box and getting Moutinho free on the right. Very good… How come WE JUST CAN’T GET A STRIKER??? It’s almost a scientific evidence – PT can only make brilliant midfielders… Maybe the trick is to do like Pauleta. Stay away from playing in PT (he only played in PT in the 2nd league, or something, when he started – he never played in the 1st nor in any of the PT big teams)… Maybe that’s how to get ride of the curse… We need a striker if we want to start winning cups… I bet it’d make all the difficulties look small…
Coaches… Our coaches go abroad and win. :- Domestically they get the chicken skin (like Jesualdo Ferreira, in FC Porto vs Chelsea for the champs) and pass it on the players.
Or better said, we can accept the players have it. After all, they’re supposed to play. They’re the ones swetting. The coach is supposed to lead. Not sit on the chair and not just talk tactics… If you sit on that chair, you’d better not forget you have a “pair of them”, cos they’re (the players) taking your led and this puts responsability in you…
Like it or not, it’s the job! The players are looking at you. Look at the example in the match against NL. The team’s feeling lost and the coach gets kicked out. Doesn’t matter if he’s right. At that momment all the team is fragile and needs an example of solidity. Not solidarity from the coach, acting like an U21 himslef…Posted from
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Very “nice” crosses (above)…
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Netherlands
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