Posts Tagged ‘Portuguese’

 Thus Portugal classified

During the qualification phase Portugal entered Group A only losing one game and managing the second place after a very exciting match against Finland. The Finns needed a triumph in Oporto while for the Portuguese a draw was sufficient.  At the end, the scoreboard remained 0-0 and the team coach by Filipe Scolari moved forward to the next round.

On the other hand, Poland dominated the group achieving the supreme position being the only team that won over Portugal from the group. There is also the worth seeing clash between Portugal and Serbia in the city of Lisbon…a mix of action, aggression and Coach Scolari’s 3-game suspension after an intent of aggression to Dragutinovic

During the Portuguese’s last game they obtained their best qualification throughout the team’s history; despite having lost the final against Greece. To this match Portugal came in with surprises especially as they had played a stronger rivals only a few weeks before; Spain, Holland and England were defeated against a host team that seemed to have all in favor.

Luis Felipe Scolari – The Coach

Scolari can be defined as the best Portuguese football coach during the entire history of Portugal.

The Brazilian coach has helped Portugal enjoy the glory arriving at the EURO 2004 final and to the semifinals of the past FIFA World Football Championship, matching the best record of the Portuguese national team in this competition something they had not experienced since 1966.

During the World Championship Portugal won over teams such: Holland and England in quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, but lost to the French in the semifinals 1-0. After Scolari’s exceptional performance with the Portuguese team he was offered the position to coach England but he decided to remain with Portugal for two more years.

The Team

The side-midfields are Portugal’s strong potential as well as their main problem. The situation is strange in the Portuguese team as it has big side-midfielders in the attack as in the lateral defense…all are outstanding players and with clear preferences for the right side. Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma and Simao are three incredible players who play in the right side; Bosingwa and Miguel are excellent laterals who offer good performances with their local as well as national teams. 

The only situation with Scolari has been his difficulty to close the left side gap and this has been seen in several occasions basically the 4-2-3-1 that he employs regularly instead of a new 3-4-3 game strategy with a very defensive player.

It is well known that Portugal has the new era young football Winner of the Golden Boot, Cristiano Ronaldo who is currently playing for the Manchester United. Ronaldo has it all…speed, strength, agility…but his weakness continues to be the lack solidarity in the game, although is also an error that is being worked on for him to become the “perfect player”. 

Also, there is Anderson Luiz de Souza ‘Deco’ who currently plays for the FC Barcelona where he enjoys great creativity and initiative in the game attacks, excellent game vision and strong shots. Without a doubt, Deco is one of the ’souls’ of the team spreading his winning character to all of his teammates.

On Saturday English Premier League leader Manchester United drew 1-1 during the 35th closing round allowing Chelsea to reduce the gap to only three points.

The points were scored by South American Roque Santa Cruz who opened the scoreboard in the 21st minute and Manchester’s goal came from the Argentinean Carlos Tevez in the 88th minute with a shooting to the net in combination with offensive midfielder Paul Scholes.

But the hero of the day was Chelsea’s goalkeeper Brad Friedel who played an exceptional game stopping some eminent goal shots above all when the visitors were hunting the draw desperately in the second half.

During the 79th minute Friedel stopped Tévez and later on Wayne Rooney as well as the Irish defense John O’Shea (86th) before the goal arrived. Before the 64th minute the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo threw a ball against a post. This unexpected result holds back Manchester’s run for the title, which previously seemed to be an easy task for the “Red Devils.”

On Thursday Chelsea won over Everton 0-1 and now had 78 points only three points shy of the current leader. The only goal of the game was that of Ghanaian Michael Essien during the first half of the game at the 41st minute.

On the other hand, Arsenal was left out of the competition for the title after being overrun by Reading 2-0. This game put an end to Arsenal’s five games without winning at the Emirates Stadium.

At last the Londoners managed to offer a victory to their supporters thanks to the good work of the Spaniard Cesc Fábregas who was defending the center of the field as well as Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor and of the Brazilian Gilberto; the ‘Gunners’, third in the general classification are situated seven points behind of the leader.

Liverpool achieved a new victory, this time against Fulham (0-2), with a total of eight points from Everton which is in fifth position in the battle for the title; situation which is not completely obscure as this allows them a pot for the next Champions League edition

Lastly; there is Bolton, which recently won over Middlesbrough 0-1 and was able to take a breath. Meantime, the Derby County continues in bad shape after losing to West Ham 2-1.

This Sunday, Aston Village sixth place of the classification board, sank even further down after losing to Birmingham (5-1), while Newcastle took air after winning 2-0 over Sunderland.

More than 50%, the players that are listed in the Golden Boot award list made by the European Sports Magazine (ESM), come to represent the countries that participate in the next football summer tournament in Switzerland and Austria.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger who plays for Manchester United, tops the list with 72 points, a result of his 36 goals up until 10th March. For players who are playing in the top league such as the EPL, Serie A and La Liga, ESM multiplies the goals made with “2″ to determine the points gained by the players.

The purpose of these coefficient differences is to put a different standard of football played in various countries, so when a player scored 50 goals, but if he played in a weaker league he won’t top the list over players who play in a much more competitive league.

Ronaldo is followed closely by fellow footballers, who pundits expect to rise and shine at Euro 2008, such as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Holland) of Ajax Amsterdam, Fernando Torres (Spain) of Liverpool, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) of Sweden and Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyon) of France.

From the Golden Boot list, a Russian player by the name of Dmitri Lipartov (JK Trans Nava) is also listed, he tops the Russian league goal scorer list with 29 goals. But unfortunately he has never been capped for the Russian National side. The striker has high hopes of getting called into the squad by Russian manager, Guus Hiddink, but somehow the odds seem to be against him, due to his 34 year old age disadvantage.

When Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored from a headed goal against their fiercest rivals Liverpool, he might have put to rest the millions of questions which hung over his ability to perform at the top level. Big matches do not come any bigger than Manchester United against Liverpool. There had been intense focus on the Portuguese’s temperament and ability to play well against teams like Liverpool and Chelsea, while he has never left that a doubt against teams of smaller stature. Before Sunday’s game against Liverpool, Ronaldo had only one goal to his name against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and the Anfield team. With statistics like that, it was no wonder many in the game wondered if he was limited in ability and was not just a pub team bully in the English game.

However, watching the past games against the same teams, you would notice how Ronaldo’s movement and pace have been critical despite a seeming lack of involvement. The young winger is often heavily marked by Manchester United’s rivals, due in part to the threat he poses. As a result of such close marking, he inadvertently creates space for his teammates and the team as a whole. Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, and even the defenders have profited from such space with goals in games where Ronaldo might not have had his shooting boots on. The first goal against Liverpool proved this point as once again the Liverpool defenders failed to pick up Wes Brown and the defender promptly added a rare goal to his collection. The same situations are also commonly seen in teams where one particular player received special attention from the opponent.

Cristiano Ronaldo has carved out a reputation as a goalscorer this season, but has not been given enough credit for his ability to pull opposing defenders away from his teammates which has direct impact on Manchester United’s rise to the top of the English Premier League. While Alex Ferguson would have been even more delighted had his young protege been able to find the net even during such occasions, he would be pleased with the indirect contribution from the Portuguese wing wizard in other ways. Ronaldo is a danger both with and without the ball at his feet, and for all Manchester United’s rivals, that would always pose a problem in every game they play against the Old Trafford team.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer saga is becoming one of longest running saga of this decade as the Portuguese international and Manchester united star is engaged in switch from old Trafford side to Bernabeu. Cristiano Ronaldo is most likely a player will carry number 9 jersey of Spanish giant Real Madrid at this summer. The bigger probability according to fans of Cristiano Ronaldo admits that the player will be seen in Madrid shirt this June and Portuguese super star is expected to have massive bid for transfer which let people believe that English club will face difficulty in rejecting such a massive transfer bid.Cristiano Ronaldo is on headlines this year with number of events like transfer saga to Spanish giant real Madrid for more than one year and engaged in talk with Serie A giants inter Milan and Ac Milan comment mania. Ac Milan coach Carlos Ancelotti already admit him better player in Europe and tagged him spectacular player. Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho who is currently managing Inter Milan side at San Siro is also wishes to sign 23 year Portuguese star which makes him most wanted player by top clubs of Europe. Cristiano Ronaldo also escaped from serious accident while his 200000 pounds Ferrari crashed and write off.Cristiano Ronaldo is involved in transfer gossip a year ago when Spanish giants try to land him in Spain but Portugal winger is favorite in Man united and It’s not easy to convinced them for a transfer. Will Ronaldo persuaded by Bernd Schuster’s club and become one of world’s highest paid players of century. The Portuguese international is wished last year to give up his career at old Trafford and join the Spaniard side in 2009. Manchester United’s Coach Sir Alex Ferguson is urging red devil’s fan to support 23 year old youngster and stood by him to play him more for old Trafford side. After dismissal of Calderon the Bernabeu side boss urges his club to land golden boy who wins ballon d’Or and FIFA world player of year who can help Spanish giant to reclaim their Primera Liga title.Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing for http://www.scorespro.com/”>champions league draw against first leg of knockout round with Italian giant inter Milan and confident over defense of their title of champions league. Ronaldo is travelling to San Siro on 24 February with red devils to first encounter between Manchester United and Inter Milan followed by welcoming the Italian giants at old Trafford. Joes Mourinho coach of inter Milan already conclude this star striker Ibrahimovic as better player than him. The UEFA champions league’s live action on 24 February can be witnessed with action packed thrilling game encounter between these two giants. If you are regular soccer viewer you must notice his goal scoring abilities.What happened if Cristiano Ronaldo stays at Manchester United he will be known as loyal warrior of club and what happened if he chooses Spanish giant real Madrid he will be known as enthusiastic kid of football and that’s what else you can say to the football player of his statue? Whatever the outcome of this transfer will be, it will have effect on both teams.