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21/06/08The Selecção
flew back to Portugal on Friday and were met by around 100 fans at the airport … and virtually none at the hotel in Oeiras, near Lisbon. Some players flew on to Porto, others (including Cristiano Ronaldo) were met by family and friends and made their own way home.
The 20 days that the Selecção spent at the Beau Rivage hotel in Neuchâtel cost a total of 620,000 euros. 20/06/08 Portugal
, defending poorly, slumped out of Euro 2008 on Thursday with a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Germany. Portugal started shakily and were behind on 22 minutes, Schweinsteiger
knocking the ball in at the near post from a low cross on the left by Podolski. They were two up just four minutes later, a Schweinsteiger free-kick from deep on the left finding the head of Klose
for a simple goal. Nuno Gomes reduced the lead five minutes from half time, reacting well when a Cristiano Ronaldo shot was palmed out by Lehmann. Ballack
headed home a carbon copy of Klose's goal, albeit after a foul on Paulo Ferreria, to restore Germany's two-goal advantage, while Postiga's header from a Nani cross three minutes from time a little bit of late
hope, but they had left it too late. The teams lined up: Portugal: Ricardo, José Bosingwa, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho,
Paulo Ferreira, Petit (Postiga 73), João Moutinho (Raul Meireles), Deco, Simão, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Nani 67)
Germany
: Jens Lehmann, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Christoph Metzelder, Philipp Lahm, Simon Rolfes, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Fritz
83), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Borowski 73), Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose (Jansen 88), Lukas Podolski 17/06/08 Portugal will meet Germany in the
quarter-finals of Euro 2008 in Basel on Thursday after the Germans beat Austria 1-0 on Monday, a Ballack free-kick deciding the game. 16/06/08
Portugal lost their last Group A game Sunday, allowing hosts Switzerland a consolation three points from a 2-0
win. Portugal had the better of a scrappy first half and hit the bar through Pepe, with Ricardo in good form making two vital saves at the other end. In an even scrappier second half, Switzerland had the upper hand over a Portuguese side missing eight first team regulars and struggling to find a spark. Portugal still came close, Nani hitting a post, before
Yakin put the Swiss in front on 71 minutes, beating Ricardo in a one-on-one. On 83, it was Yakin
again who confirmed the score, this time from the spot after a foul by Pepe (Portugal might have been given a penalty in the first half for a similar foul on Nani).It was a disappointing
result for Portugal, who saw their positive impetus broken. It remains to be seen how the result will effect morale ahead of Thursday's quarter-final, the opponents from Group B to be decided on Monday. The teams lined up: Switzerland:
Zuberbuhler, Lichtsteiner (Grichting 85), Muller, Senderos, Magnin, Behrami, Gelson, Inler, Vonlanthen (Barnetta 61), Yakin (Cabanas 86), Derdiyok. Portugal:
Ricardo, Miguel, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Ferreira (Jorge Ribeiro 41), Fernando Meira, Veloso (Joao Moutinho 70), Raul Meireles, Quaresma, Postiga (Hugo Almeida 74), Nani. 13/06/08
Deco was given permission to fly to Barcelona on Thursday to deal with "personal matters". On his return, he denied the rumours that he had been finalising a move to
Chelsea from Barça.The other players had an extra day off on Thursday. Some stayed in the hotel, some went shopping, Ricardo played golf and Scolari went sailing. The Selecção
will not train a St Jakob's Park on Saturday due to the poor state of the pitch there; the squad's final training session will be in Neuchâtel. Croatia
beat Germany 2-1 in Group B on Thursday and will now avoid Portugal in the quarter-finals (contrary to footballportugal's prediction below). Portugal's most likely opponents will be Germany.
12/06/08 Portugal qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Championship on Wednesday with an ultimately comfortable 3-1 win over the Czech Republic
. Portugal started well and were in front after eight minutes, Deco
pouncing on a Cristiano Ronaldo shot saved by Cech and bundling the ball home. The Czech Republic were not the soft touch that was Turkey, though, and they came back with a goal on 17 minutes, Sionko
heading in from a corner at which Portugal's marking was poor. The Czech Republic continued to threaten with crosses into the heart of the area and failed to take the lead only because of less than ruthless finishing. Portugal changed up a gear in the second half and began to construct their win on 63 minutes, Deco (man of the match, although officially it was
Cristiano Ronaldo) coolly setting up the Manchester United star who beat Cech from 15 metres. It was Deco again whose quick thinking made the game safe on 91 minutes, his long free-kick finding Cristiano Ronaldo
who loped goalwards and slid the ball square for sub Ricardo Quaresma to tap in. The teams lined up: Czech Republic:
Petr Cech, Zdenek Grygera, Tomas Ujfalusi, David Rozehnal, Marek Jankulovski, Jan Polak, Marek Matejovsky (Vlcek 67), Tomas Galasek (Koller 73), Libor Sionko, Jaroslav Plasil (Jarolim 85), Milan Baros.
Portugal: Ricardo, José Bosingwa, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Petit, Deco, João Moutinho (Fernando Meira 74), Simão Sabrosa (Quaresma 80), Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Hugo Almeida 79).
Group A |
p |
w |
d |
l |
f |
a |
pts |
Portugal |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
6 |
Czech Republic |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
Turkey |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
Switzerland |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
Portugal
go through as group winners after Turkey beat hosts Switzerland 2-1 later in the evening, knocking them out. It means that Portugal will stay in Switzerland,
where the following, principally from emigrants there, has been phenomenal. They will play the runners-up from Group B (which could be Croatia) on 19 June in Basel.Felipe Scolari
"It was a game of great quality. I'm happy with our effort. We played against a spectacular team. It's with a victory like this, difficult but well played, that shows that
we've done our work well. … I was surprised with the choice of Baros instead of Koller. We planned for Koller, and Baros complicated matters – we didn't have
anyone to mark in the middle. … We were positioned badly for their goal – Petit can't mark anyone with his height. … Cristiano Ronaldo (UEFA MOM) showed that he's a team
player – it's not just the team that plays for him, he plays for the team too." Cristiano Ronaldo "I'm happy that I scored and could help underprivileged children [Red Cross] … I
maybe held onto the ball too much – my game's like that – sometimes it works, and this time I scored and made a goal. … Working together, we can go far." Ricardo Quaresma
"We're to be congratulated for the great display. We kept our concentration and fully deserved the win. … I was happy with the goal, but even more so with the win. We
have great players, and I have to work so that I'll be called upon. but of course, I hope to play more." Deco
"We were good throughout, and not even Cech could stop us. ... It was a hight tempo game, and that made things easier for us. Ricardo Carvalho
"We didn't start as well as we did against Turkey. It was more difficult than we expected, and with the goal we conceded, our defenders couldn't do anything. …
We have no explanation for the first half. We knew we had to change in the second, and we did. We played to our level and created more chances." Simão
"For two hours we can make people forget their problems." 08/06/08 Portugal got off to a promising start on Saturday with a comfortable 2-0 win over Turkey
in the Euro 2008 championship in Geneva. The Selecção hit the post twice (Cristiano Ronaldo and Nuno Gomes) and bar once (Nuno Gomes) but scored through central defender Pepe
on the hour, following a nice 1-2 with Nuno Gomes, and then made the score safe in added time, sub Raul Meireles finishing off a
counter attack involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Moutinho. Portugal go top of Group A after the Czech Republic beat hosts Switzerland 1-0 earlier in the evening. They play the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
The teams lined up: Portugal: Ricardo, Bosingwa, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Petit, João Moutinho, Deco (Fernando Meira 92), Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Nani 69),
Simão Sabrosa (Raul Meireles 83). Turkey: Volkan Demirel, Hamit Altintop (Semih Senturk 76), Servet Çetin, Gokhan Zan (Emre Asik 55), Hakan Balta, Emre Belözoglu, Mehmet Aurélio, Kazim Kazim,
Tuncay Sanli, Mevlüt Erdinç (Sabri Sanoglu 46), Nihat Kahveci. 07/06/08 Portugal open their Euro 2008 participation on Saturday against Turkey in Geneva.
Cristiano Ronaldo said at Friday's press conference that "[Portugal] can go far." He also expressed his surprise at the Selecção's following in Switzerland:
"The support from the Portuguese is fundamental, and I have to admit that I never thought there were so many in Switzerland." 06/06/08 Deco
did not train with the rest of the squad Thursday, although Henrique Jones, in charge of the players' fitness, said that all the players will be fit for Portugal's Euro 2008 opener against Turkey on Saturday. According to goalkeeper Ricardo "I can be in one goal, Quim in the other", following speculation that he may lose his place to the Benfica ´keeper. Portugal have learned who the
referees will be for their first two games in the group stage: 07/06 Portugal v Turkey: Herbert Fandel (Germany);
11/06 Portugal v Czech Republic: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
Popular singer Tony Carreira dined with the Selecção in Neuchâtel on Thursday. He had also paid the squad a visit during their training camp in Viseu.
Portugal's games, plus those from the later stages and the Final, will be shown in ten cinemas belonging to the Portuguese cinema chain Lusomundo. FPF president
Gilberto Madaíl is trying to play down the scandal caused by the barring of FC Porto from next season's UEFA competitions (decision to be appealed): "The image of Portuguese football is the image of the
Selecção at Euro 2008." 03/06/08 National coach Felipe Scolari was pragmatic in his interview to the UEFA site,
published on Monday: "We're not the best in the world simply because we were vice-champions in 2004 and fourth in the 2006 World Cup. We were good in those
championships, but everyone knows how difficult it was to reach those levels. It's not history that determines results, especially when you've got a short history like ours.
The secret, which is, at the same time the most difficult thing to achieve, is to face each competition with the maximum effort. We're on the right track, but we're just
starting. If we think too much about the past, we lose the present. [...] Portugal has great talents who are still growing, as well as very experienced players, and I think
we can be optimistic about the future. [...] I think we've managed to create a fantastic feeling around the Selecção. … Of course the Portuguese people can and
should have fun, but they also have to understand that we're going to be in Switzerland to work at the highest level." 31/05/08 Luís Figo and Fernando Couto
have been named official ambassadors of the Selecção. Both players represented Portugal over 100 times. Portugal has a squad with one of the lowest average ages in the Euro 2008,
competition: 26.35. Italy has the highest, with 29.57. Portugal has 11 players that played in the domestic league this season. Croatia has just two, Russia 22. 22/05/08 Deco and Miguel are currently unable to train because of physical problems at Portugal's pre-Euro training camp in Viseu. Real Madrid's central defender Pepe
only arrived on Wednesday evening, while Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, along with Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira of Chelsea, are due to arrive on Friday. 12/05/08
National coach Luíz Felipe Scolari announced his quad for the European Championship on Monday. Relative surprises are the exclusion of Maniche and Marco Caneira, Miguel
Veloso and Jorge Ribeiro, Maniche's brother, coming in. Also out is the Benfica striker Makukula, who hasn't been playing regularly for his club. Goalkeeperss:
Ricardo (Betis)
Quim (Benfica)
Rui Patrício (Sporting)
Defenders:
Bosingwa (FC Porto)
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea)
Miguel (Valência)
Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea)
Pepe (Real Madrid)
Bruno Alves (FC Porto)
Fernando Meira (Stuttgart)
Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista)
Midfielders:
Miguel Veloso (Sporting)
Petit (Benfica)
Raul Meireles (FC Porto)
Deco (Barcelona)
João Moutinho (Sporting)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Nani (Manchester United)
Quaresma (FC Porto)
Simão (Atlético Madrid)
Forwards:
Nuno Gomes (Benfica)
Hélder Postiga (Panathinaikos)
Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen) |
