It was a strange match, and I didn’t like Roberto Mancini’s way of paying deference to SCP. Despite their loss in Lisbon, he didn’t take them seriously: He let Figo rest again (but one of his coaches said that he hadn’t been willing to play, which I can understand – he doesn’t want to lose his popularity in Portugal), replaced Dacourt only because he was hurt and Grosso went off the pitch just to give Esteban Cambiasso a nice comeback after his injury.

Once again, Zanetti had a great match.

http://www.live-footy.org

So eu sei,
Porque nao fico em casa…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uud30o9p-Ek

Most of my wifes family are Sporting supporters. It will be a much talked about game at dinner tonight. I always like watching Figo play against his former teams…he gives it that little bit extra. Like cheating on his first love.

Anyway, this was the 1991 batch… It’s very nice to see Lisbon in 1991 – and the Estadio da Luz (The Cathedral), the old one – completelly full… This meant, at the time, some 120 000 people gathered there… The new satadium is smaller than the old.

The trend had started 2 years before, with the tittle in 1989, in Saudi Arabia… I remember still everybody going downtown – actually to the roundabout you can see in the beggining of the video – with flags, to celebrate what was to be the real start of a new dimension in portuguese football…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_World_Youth_Championship

Of course, what is still today called the Golden Generation is a mix of both this team and the one from 1989. From this one, this is also quite a famous name…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Sousa

Currently this guy is also coaching the NT… Just like Brassard, the goalie you can see in the video, is now one of the goalkeeper’s coach of the NT…

ps – by this time, if I remember properly, the most mediatic player was “Peixe”, I think one of the holding midlfielders. This was THE player, at the time. It all happenend after once people saw him crying during the anthem… But he was an extremelly good player, at least during the tournement, and was the type of kid everybody liked, very simple, without a bullshit speech and not too cocky… This and Joao V Pinto – one of our famous “all-purpose” midfielders, more dangerous than a “pure striker”…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrA3Ek7iENA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOc_7NXnwfM&mode=related&search=

JV Pinto went on to be one of SL benfica stars, but never won anything, at the end… Peixe fell totally in oblivian, shortly after the tournement, until years later he was playing for FC porto. But he never regained his status back… On the other hand, F Couto and J Costa became legendary NT and FC Porto defense spinal cord; P Sousa went abroad and became one of the best #6 of his time, Figo set the neighbour country on fire for the past decade, Rui Costa left his beloved SL Benfica (it’s really an acute pashion case) for 12 years, and is now with his “dream” carreer end, with SLB…

pps – I don’t know if it was Roberto Carlos, still with hair, but I wouldn’t be surprised…

Also, on the brazil team, I’m not sure, but I think that is Roberto Carlos with hair….but he went by his pseudonim ‘Roberto’….