EURO 2012 Squad Announced

May 14th, 2012 | by: Paulo | Comments(9)

Paulo Bento has named his 23 man squad for Euro 2012:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício (Sporting), Beto (Cluj), Eduardo (Benfica)

Defenders: Pepe (Real Madrid), Bruno Alves (Zenit St. Petersburg), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), João Pereira (Sporting Lisbon), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Rolando (FC Porto), Miguel Lopes (SC Braga)

Midfielders: Carlos Martins (Granada), João Moutinho (FC Porto), Rúben Micael (Real Zaragoza), Custódio (Braga), Miguel Veloso (Genoa), Raul Meireles (Chelsea),

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Hélder Postiga (Real Zaragoza), Nani (Manchester United), Nélson Oliveira (Benfica), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Varela (FC Porto)

No real surprises at goalkeeper. Beto and Quim were competing for the third spot, but the nod went to Beto. Eduardo and Patricio are a solid pair and I have a lot of confidence in Patricio as our goalkeeper.

Pretty typical choices at defender except for the inclusion of Braga’s Miguel Lopes. I can see Bento’s trace of thought as to why he chose Lopes and that is his versatility. With Silvio out and obviously no Bosingwa, I think Lopes was a better choice than Nelson, who was really one of the only other options available at full back. But let’s be honest here, other than our usual four at the back, I don’t want to see any other defenders on the squad see the field unless we are ahead and trying to shut down the opposing team. We all cringe at Ricardo Costa’s name, but to be fair he finished the season very strong for Valencia, playing every minute of their last 11 games, and he played well. I would have to make him the first reserve CB ahead of Rolando.

Another Braga player, Custódio, has snuck into the squad at the last minute ahead of the likes of Manuel Fernandes and like I said earlier, Daniel Carriço. This is one that I can’t understand. Fernandes is a proven player at the NT level, and has the ability to change the game going forward when replacing Veloso. Custódio is not nearly as solid as a defender as Carriço, and isn’t as good a passer or scorer as Fernandes. This one makes little sense to me and makes us rely even more on Micael and Martins, which doesn’t bode well. A lot of you also were probably hoping to see Hugo Viana get included also. Bento didn’t think he fit well in the squad, but I can’t see how. His playmaking ability isn’t one we could afford to pass on, and since Martins and Micael’s game is so similar, Viana would have been a good change up to throw in.

I am very pleased with the picks at forward. I personally like Varela even though he had a tough year, and am happy to see him back in the squad. It was nice to see Bento roll the dice at least a little bit with his inclusion of Oliviera. I hope he gets some minutes, because he is as talented as they come. Also, let’s hope Quaresma brings his A game to Poland/Ukraine.

All in all I would give a C+ grade to Bento’s picks. I was hoping to see a combination of Viana/Carriço or Fernandes/Carriço, but that was not to be. Let’s just pray our usual 11 stay healthy and composed out on the field to avoid suspension because it is painfully obvious how thin our bench is. We may not love all of Bento’s selections but now is the time to get 100% behind our team and give them all the support they need to be successful this summer. FORCA PORTUGAL!!