I didn´t undermine Ballcks qualitiés. He is very good and he has skill. But he doesn´t have much tallent. Germany doesn´t usually produce Pelés, or Maradonas, or Cruyfs. I´m not saying he´s worse or better. I´m saying what I see.

Germany has never been known, nor assumed it themselves, as a country with tallent. They are, though, the most perfect machine and deserve, quite naturally, all the respect for their merit. Tallent isn´t everything and surelly not the only quality present in a champion. Most of what they won was fully deserved. They strenght is always determination, iron will, repetition, physical superiority. But no tallent. Not a single creative play (they are probably the one team that can repeat exactly the samer moves for 90 minutes and capitalize). I wish Portugal would have that strenght. Especially when it comes to goal scoring.

Poiting out differences is not undermining.

Portugal has chronical flaws, and always will have. So what…?

In my mind, tolerance and flexibility is to accept the difernces. No to, in a politically correct manner, kiss each others a##.

If all the teams wouldn´t play different styles, which at the end defines their identity, what fun would it be to what the WC?

If I say Italy, in spite of all the tallent they have, aren´t a team capable of playing 90 mins fully suported atacking style, am I undermining them? No, I´m describing how they chose to play and everybody sees. It´s the italians themselves that say “In Italy, the first thing you learn is to defend the result. Then you can think of scoring”. It´s a strategy and they are the best defense, almost every 2 years.

A Brazillian would tell you something quite different, about how they see the game.

Are they bad…? No, they are the biggest football champions.

ps – Merci beaucoup, Rachel! La France et le Portugal sont des vieux enemies… Mais finallement jouent d’une façon très similair…