Even before I took the National Team blog over, my predecessor joined me in lamenting the fact that our youth teams were being helmed by an inept moron by the name of José Couceiro. Long story short: he hopped around a number of Portuguese Liga teams before being placed in charge of the youth [...]

Now that the Euro is over for us and focus must begin on the qualification for the 2010 World Cup, we are left with the small issue of presently being without a captain for the Good Ship Porkychop.
Speculation abounds but the only name that’s been somewhat officially thrown out there is Jose Pekerman, [...]

I usually use this spot for the “Team of Tomorrow Tuesday” piece to highlight potential future stars of the Selecção. However, like the title says, the kids can wait. It’s time to get down to the nitty gritty and focus all attention on the here and now.
With the team he put [...]

If there ever was a poster boy for a career that began so huge and then got hampered over and over again by injury and circumstance, Manuel Fernandes would be that guy.
At a mere eighteen years of age, Fernandes broke into regular play with Benfica’s first team and began learning his craft [...]

When I evaluated the selection of talent before Big Philly Style put out his list of twenty three men for the Euro, I gave serious thought to midfielder and U20/1 capped Pélé.
I considered him, I evaluated his form and the results at Inter Milan ever since he stepped in for a number of [...]

I know that this spot normally is reserved for either uncapped or players who have never seen the top level of international football. However, with Scolari’s announcement of the twenty three men he’s taking to the Euro this summer, he included a fair amount of youth and inexperience. Among the “low-capped” players who [...]

This week’s featured footballer is twenty year old right midfielder / winger / back Bruno Pereirinha. Pereirinha not only plays for the U21 team but also has featured a number of times this season for Paulo Bento’s second place Sporting CP side. Bruno is the eptiome of a blue collar player: he does [...]