Video Euro 2012: Selecção's return to Lizbon

Watch the video of Selecção's return to Lizbon

Portuguese team was enthusiastically greated by hundrets of fans in the airport of Lizbon. Look at all of those people wainting for them.

Selecção, after the lost match against Spain, parted from Donetsk in night and returned to Opalenica, where the team had their base. The left the same day and flew from airport in Poznań back to Portugal.

The reporter tried to interview players, who were passing by, but apparently most of them were not in the mood. The waved to fans and some stopped only for a while to sign an autograph. Only Pepe said a few words for the press.

Euro 2012: Denmark - Portugal 2-3 Rui Patricio photos

I admit it, when Denmark scored the second goal and equalized I was almost sure Portugal is going to say goodbye to Euro.

Fortunately Varela scored the third goal just a few minutes till the end. Liked also goals of Pepe and Hélder Postiga. Ronaldo - no comments. Still big dissapointment while playing for Selecção. Wasted all individual actions.

Rui Patricio didn't had too much chances to stop Bendtner shots. Made 2 saves in the game.

Portugal qualified to Euro 2012

After a lot of struggle during the qualification campaign Portugal finally qualified to Euro 2012!

First play off game ended with 0-0 draw. In the second leg game the team beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 6-2.

Friendly games tomorrow

Two important friendly games tomorrow. Firstly, Portugal is going to face Spain. Does Selecção has a chance to win? They have a new coach, they improved they effectiveness in scoring, but the defense didn't seem to be as tight as it used to be during the World Cup.

In the last game Eduardo didn't seem to be as sharp as during the tournament, when he allowed only 1 goal and made 19 saves in four games. Will keep my fingers crossed for him tomorrow. He will need all his skills to try to stop Spain!

The second game I'm going to watch, at least partially, is Poland - Ivory Coast. Well, Poland need to win after eight months without a single victory, but I don't think it's going to happen tomorrow. Even without Drogba, Ivory Coast is a very good team.

Łukasz Fabiański is back to the team. His last performances in Arsenal's games were good. Watched Everton - Arsenal game last Sunday. He helped the team to keep the advantageous result. Everton tried to catch up with Arsenal's 0-2 lead, but eventually they manage to score only one goal, and it came too late. Hope tomorrow Fabiański also will do well, this time playing for the national team.

Portugal vs Denmark 3-1!

It's 60th minute of the game and Portugal is leading the game 2:0 after two goals of Nani scored in three minutes span.

So far Portugal has been dominating on the pitch, plays fast, effective and efficient at last.

There was one change on Denmark side, Thomas Sorensen was replaced by Anders Lindegaar, who made already at least two fine saves.

Eduardo is also not without an occupation in this game and stays focused.

As we all now winning 2:0 against Denmark doesn't guarantee Portugal is not going to lost 2:3 so better to keep fingers crossed till the final whistle.

Edit: Portugal finally registered their first win in the European Championship 2012 qualification campaing. They controlled the game and won 3-1 with Denmark.

All goals were scored by Portuguese as Ricardo Carvalho scored an own goal in the second half. Fortunately Ronaldo added thrid goal in the final minutes of the goal.

Paulo Bento achieved what Carlos Queiroz could not, a win. Hope that is how Portugal matches are going to look like now. Except for scoring own goals of course.

Picspam of the game later.

Euro 2012 qualifiers: Portugal call-up list for the match against Denmark

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Genoa), Beto (FC Porto), Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders: Silvio (Braga), Rolando (FC Porto), Bruno Alves (Zenit), Joao Pereira (Sporting), Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid), Fabio Coentrao (Benfica)

Midfielders: Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Raul Meireles (Liverpool), Carlos Martins (Benfica), Joao Moutinho (FC Porto), Paulo Machado (Toulouse), Pepe (Real Madrid), Miguel Veloso (Genoa)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Nani (Manchester United), Danny (Zenit), Helder Postiga (Sporting), Liedson (Sporting), Varela (FC Porto).

Miguel Veloso and Liedson droped out the list due to injuries and the coach Paulo Bento called up two midfielders: Ruben Micael (FC Porto) and Manuel Fernandes (Valencia).

Rui Patricio is back to the team after a long break. Don't think he is going to play, however.

Portugal is going to face Denmark at 8th October.

Paulo Bento named a new coach of Portugal team

It was officially announced that Paulo Bento, a former coach of Sporting Lisboa, was named a new coach of Selecção. The contract was signed until July 2012 and the aim is to qualify to Euro 2012.

No idea if it's a good choice or not. Portugal did almost reach bottom, the only way is going up, I think, and I hope that this change is going to have possitive effect on the team.

Read interview with new coach at PortuGoal.net: link.

Carlos Queiroz is not longer the coach of Portugal team

In Thursday Gilberto Madail, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), officialy announced that Carlos Queiroz is no longer the coach of Selecção.

In mid-August Queiroz was punished by one-month suspension for insulting staff members of the Anti-doping department druing the drug test at training camp in Covilha, where the team was for the World Cup in South Africa. Two weeks later the the suspension was prolonged to six months.

During the first two matches of the Euro 2012 qualifiers the team was lead by Queiroz's assistant, and the coach himself could only watch games from the stands.

The results were poor. A 4-4 draw againts Cyprus and a 1-0 defeat in game against Norway caused that Portugal has only one point and is on the fourth place in the group.

Eventually the managment of FPF decided to dissolve their contract with Carlos Queiroz. Two months too late if anyone would ask me. They should do this immedietely after the World Cup. Now they need to desperately find a new coach, and it's only a few weeks before next qualifiers...



I was not a fan of Queiroz, but one thing I give him is that he 'discovered' a lot of great goalkeepers like Eduardo, Daniel Fernandes and Beto.

It started bad

I didn't imagine that the Euro 2012 qualifiers were going to start so bad for Portugal. A draw with Cyprus and an unfortunate defeat in the second game with Norway. Instead of earning six point Portugal has merely one.

What is worse, Eduardo is not without a fault. It's like a nightmare, to see a hero of World Cup out of shape, commiting mistakes, a costly ones. Of course putting the whole blame on a goalkeeper would be a great unjustice. I'm just worried about him and about Portugal.

And I can't imagine that Portugal, my favorite team, may miss Euro hosted by Ukraine and Poland, my country.

Euro 2012 qualifiers: post-game interview with Eduardo

Interview with Eduardo after Portugal - Cyprus game. Quoted after PortuGOAL.net:

“We have to admit our mistakes and lift our heads. There are more games ahead and we have to learn from our mistakes. During the World Cup things went well at the back, but today they didn’t. We’re going to Norway to win. It will be an important game for us. We now have extra responsibility after dropping points at home.”

Read the interviews with other players at PortuGOAL.net.

Quotes about Eduardo's performance

The press and the fans are far from being flattering towards the performance of Portuguese team and players. However, there is one person whose efforts had been valued.

It's Eduardo.


PortuGoal named Eduardo a man of the match.

"There can be no doubts as to the PortuGOAL man of the match – Eduardo – who kept the Spaniards at bay for over an hour with a series of breathtaking saves."

Eduardo: 9.5/10 PortuGOAL man of the match
"A cat-like leap to turn a Fernando Torres shot round the post in the first minute set the tone as Eduardo proved an almost impregnable shield against the incessant Spanish attack. Further superb saves in the 3rd, 6th, 60th, 69th, and 76th minutes kept Portugal in the game, and as a disconsolate Eduardo left the pitch bathed in tears one could not help feeling the Braga man deserved a better supporting cast."


More quotes:

"I think Eduardo was the man of the match. He was very good. He provide the team with a feeling of security and gave them hope. He made a great show, but everyone played well."

- Ricardo, the former goalkeeper of Selecção, a commentator at Maisfutebol


"Eduardo kept the team in the fight for most of the time; he was just unfortunately that the rebound from him fell to a Spanish player"

Eduardo gave us a brilliant performance

– Carlos Queiroz, the coach


Eduardo, was very assured, and did not deserve this defeat.

- News24

A goalkeeper cannot win a match alone

I'm sorry Eduardo. You were great, you did everything you could to stop Spain but you couldn't win the match alone.

I will write more about the match later.

The real test is ahead...

It's only 30 minutes till the beginning of the match with Spain. Be or not to be for Portugal. I see all weaknesses of Selecção. Although the defense is good, they have problems with scoring. It's not as strong team as it used to be at the previous World Cup I think.

Do they have a chance to stand against Spain? Spain is not invincible... Switzerland showed that, as well as US at the Confederation Cup.

What's the possible result? A draw, an overtime and then penalties? If it come to penalties will Eduardo and Casillas manage to make a save?

Or it's going to be decided in regular time?

I don't know. I like both teams. I like both goalkeepers. But in this match I give my full support to Portugal.

Força Portugal!

Ricardo no Maisfutebol: „ I hope we can show them where their place is”

What is happeing with Ricardo, a former goalkeeper of the Portuguese national team? Well, he is not with Selecção in South Africa of course, but he is writting articles for Maisfutebol page.

Some excerpts of the newest text. He writes about upcoming match with Spain and comments also about referees case.

“We are not afraid of Spain”, said Simão and he was right. We have no fear. The Spanish team is not as strong as it used to be. However, we have to pay them the respect. Those who underestimate the opponent can easily lose.

I think that in the first few minutes the game will to be a bit monotonous, unless some goals are scored. Portugal will try to not let Spaniards control the ball, which they love to do. But after the first 15-20 minutes the game will become faster and I believe it’s going to be a great show.

Spanish has a great offensive power and the defensive is even better. However, we have a lot of individual strength which may turn out to be our advantage.

In our team every players is supposed to support the others. There is a place of individuals but not for individualism. They are 11 players on the field.

There must be some aggression aimed in the right direction. You can’t be too cautious, because now it means the team will be eliminated. (...)

Some of our players play in Spain, so keeping in touch with Spanish colleagues is normal. Friendship exists before and after games but during the match there is no friendship. (...)

In the knockout stage there is a possibility of overtime and then going to the penalties. It’s normal that the coach tests players to check who feels more comfortable under such pressure. All responsibility is when it come to it in the game. Mark of defend a penalty is not easy. You must be very cold blooded.

No matter if the match is going to last 90 or 120 minutes or if there are going to be penalties, the most important is to have humility and respect, which helps win and make a good show. In the end I hope we are going to be the winners of course!

The 17th day of the World Cup and everyone is talking about the refereeing... in the two games of the day. We have witnessed huge errors which may have change the course of the event. Lampard’s goal which was disallowed and Tevez’s, which was scored from an offside. However, in that second case don’t blame the referee, because the assistant had a better view on the situation and should notice this.

Original article (Portuguese) can be found here.

World Cup: Portugal vs Brazil 25 June 2010

It was suppoused to be the best match of the third round. Well, there were some positive sides.

1. Eduardo kept 3rd clean sheet.
2. Julio Cesar kept his 1st clean sheet.
3. Julio Cesar was not cold, because today it was warm in Durban.

Seriously, both teams were practicaly on 1/8 finales stage so why bother with playing? Eduardo can add 5 saves to his stats, the last shot of Brazil was actually dangerous for the Portuguese goal (it was the save which looked the most desperate, near the end of the match). Julio Cesar made 3 saves. At some point of the game Raul Meireles clashed with him. It seemed to be painful. Perhaps it was due that back injury Julio Cesar had just before the starting of the World Cup. Huge bandage on his back was clearly visible when he was attended by the medical staff. Hope he is going to be ok.



Eduardo



























































Julio Cesar

















Raul Meireles decided to check how much Brazilian goalkeeper can bear.







































Julio Cesar got angry at Tiago, because he tried to preform "diving" in his penalty area. Portuguese players trying to play like Italy and get a penalty, really, no comments.







Julio Cesar clashes with Danny.







What a grin!















Julio Cesar celebrating with the teammates qualifying to the 1/8 finale.



Those photos are just adorable.











This Portugal - Brazil match was more like a friendly match than anything else. I can imagine that after it both teams went to have a drink together ;)



Spain beat Chile 2:1 and made to the first place in the group. That means they are going to face Portugal in 1/8. Oh no. Two favorite teams against each other. I'm torn apart...

Picspam from the game with Casillas tomorrow.