Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Scotland
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Wales
Home 
World
Portugal
Norway 1 – 0 Portugal : All hands on deck! This ship is sinking!
Comments(68)
We dominated the Norwegians for 80 minutes of the game, but unfortunately it was Norway that scored a goal. The players displayed an extraordinary attitude and gave all they had to give showing us we can rely on them for the future!
Am I tripping? Whatever I’m on you want some too don’t you?
You must be asking if we watched the same game. Because if we did the only logical conclusion is I have no clue. No clue what so ever as to what just hit us. I propose the following exercise:
- Repeat the first paragraph and picture Agostinho Oliveira’s lips moving as you utter that complete set of rubbish that makes up said paragraph.
There you have it. The picture is complete. The conclusion is obvious. Blame Eduardo all you want but in the end it all boils down to the simple fact the NT didn’t have any technical guidance for the first 2 matches of this campaign. “Agostinho Oliveira” was but a name on a piece of paper. Nothing more. The team was as clueless as it’s boss on how to stop this ship from leaking -badly- and turn it around. Yes Eduardo f-ed-up… again… but with 70 more minutes to be played nothing was lost. Agostinho’s empty gaze at the pitch sadly said otherwise.
Initial Line-up
I had whished on this line-up in my previous post:
Eduardo
Silvio – Alves – Carvalho – Veloso
Fernandes – Meireles
Nani – Tiago – Quaresma
Almeida
Silvio on for Miguel, Veloso replaces the injured Coentrão and Danny makes way for Tiago.
It looks good on paper doesn’t it? A couple of hours ago it looked very good. Except you can’t just place names aimlessly on the pitch. Direction is needed. Adjustments must be made if the game calls for them. That’s right… a good coach is needed no matter how galactic your line-up is. Ask any Real-Madrid fan.
To me this looked like us dropping the holding midfield position (aka trinco) but Radio Renascença’s Sport commentators went on about how we added an extra trinco to the equation. That we continued to base our game on fear of our opponent. As the game played out it became apparent Meireles played much closer to Tiago, often leaving Manuel Fernandes in that holding midfield spot. Unfortunately the entire midfield trio is terribly out of shape.
First Half
The entire first half can be summed up in 3 moments.
- Meireles missing a sitter 5 minutes into the game.
- Eduardo preparing us for the worst as he fails to intercept a Norwegian throw-in. Scary moment. Nothing more.
- Silvio passing the ball back to Eduardo who, with plenty of time, shoots it against Carew only to see it land in the back of his net as Huseklepp sprints past our helpless defense.
And that’s it folks! 22 Minutes had past but besides possession of the ball we did absolutely nothing with it. Quaresma was all flare but no end result. No through balls. No dangerous crosses. Zero shots on target. Worthless first half. Sickening feeling started to settle in.
45 Minutes to go. There was time. We would need to change our approach of the game. Change. Damn it. You need a coach for that don’t you?
Second Half
The same team stepped on to the pitch. Would it mean more of the same or did they have a Mel-Gibson-Braveheart-inspiring-speech during the break and come out guns blazing? Norway did. It took them 1 minute to fire off a dangerous shot close to the goal-post as Veloso pretended to be a left-back. 5 Minutes later Ricardo Carvalho (FFS you to Ricardo?!) heads the ball straight onto Abdellaoue’s feet but the effort goes wide. Norway was closer to increasing the lead then we ever were to leveling it.
In the end we had 2 shots on goal by Fernandes and Nani. Very little. Agostinho talks about domination when in fact Norway gave us possession but held us on a closely controlled leach. Well played. A deserved win.
Late substitutions came from the bench in the form of Danny for Tiago at the 72nd minute and Liedson for Quaresma 7 minutes from the end. Yes you read 7 correctly. No typo. Yes we were losing. Yes we left in all defensive players. Yes we don’t have a coach. Yes we are fucked.
I can’t go on any more. This pains me. A steady flow of negative thoughts flood my mind. We are fourth in the group. 1 Point. 5 points lost already. Calculators start coming out. Damn you Queiroz/Oliveira for taking us back to times forgotten!
Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 68 comments.
Read the rest of the comments
Don’t flatter yourself Alex.
The only witch hunt I’d ever participate in would be for Gilberto Madaíl’s head.
@João
Maradona as Portugal’s number one, can you imagine? What a shit show that would be.
I’d love to see his player selection derived by his chemical induced dreams. He’d probable call back Ricardo & Petit, and bring back Abel Xavier from retirement. All this plus making Boa Morte the Captain. And of course Ronaldo, Nani, and Fabio wouldn’t be called up for future games.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Posted from 
Canada
the next two matches i find to be the toughest for our new coach, since they are only a month away, and i really wish the new coach to get assigned already cause he will need every day to prepare the proper formation, players etc…
after the two matches he will have around 7 months before the second part of qualifications begins, so that should be enough time for him.
Posted from 
Russian Federation
apparently we’ve contacted diego maradona…i definately dont want that crazy dude as our manager…we need someone who’s proven to revive a national team to glory…but i feel our first priority is getting fit..
Posted from 
United States
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! GO AWAY DIEGO!!!
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=823338&sec=euro2012&cc=5901
Posted from United States
JN says that P Bento was confirmed as the new coach:
http://jn.sapo.pt/PaginaInicial/Desporto/Interior.aspx?content_id=1663208
I still think Manuel José would have been a better option, but let´s wait for confirmation on this one…
Posted from 
Netherlands
Don’t worry, guys, with Paulo Bento we’ll play with “tranquilidade” xD
Posted from 
Portugal
I have just saw a similar video with the same guy we all know, but it was on the studio.
Posted from Portugal
The plot thikens… http://sol.sapo.pt/PaginaInicial/Desporto/Interior.aspx?content_id=183771
Posted from Netherlands
The plot thickens indeed.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=823713&sec=euro2012&cc=5901
I’m not a religious man, but this is worth praying for. Even for just 2 matches, his influence can only be a benefit to the team.
Posted from United States
Eh, as much as we all want that, I’m sure it won’t happen for now, even if for just 2 games.
The pressure of Real Madrid alone won’t let him coach something else at the same time. There are other reasons, but Madaíl is really dumb by thinking he can take him.
If they can’t take anyone’s coach in Europe, why don’t they just settle with a portuguese manager here? Paulo Bento isn’t the best choice, I know, but who else can? Jesualdo Ferreira? Jorge Jesus, who started this season with bad results?
But I really don’t know…
Posted from Portugal
Ehh it’s taking too long the next coach only has three weeks (and that’s assuming he gets pick this week) to prepare against Denmark.
Let’s face it we won’t qualify but at least we’ll get rid of Madaíl.
Posted from Netherlands
I still say M José would be the best option. But he won´t be chosen (I think the majority of portuguese, living in POR, are with me, according to some poll made in a TV show). Not a perfect one, though.
Second to this I also see P Bento and I agree with you, Ivan. He´s obviously not the perfect choice but he´s also a decent (and possible) choice.
Aragonés could be a good option, if we weren´t in this turmoil we´re currently in…
Mourinho in the perspective of “D Sebastião” is somewhat funny, but on the other hand > 30% of Real´s team is the spinal cord of the Selecção… So, who knows what could happen…? Personally, I feel this is a bit strange… Maybe they´ll reach some sort of agreement for a dummy coach, pupeted by Mourinho, but until when…? For 2 matches…? And who would be willing to do this?
I also think P Bento might be on stand-by, should this Mourinho story lead nowhere… Currently, P Bento might be the only possible & rational choice…
But my vote still goes to M José… 
Posted from Netherlands
Maradona: C’mon boys, its half time… take a hit, your names are next to your line.
Posted from 
United Kingdom
@João, who said Madaíl will be retiring? 
And also, not trying to be optimistic, but Spain lost two games in a row at the beginning of the Euro 2008 qualifiers. They had 3 points after 3 games, giving 3 to both Northern Ireland and Sweden. Let’s see if we can pull of something similar
*shot*
Hey, calm down, I’m not talking about the title, just to qualify!
Posted from Portugal
And, on top of that, their next game after that was at home against Denmark, with the result 2-1! xD
Posted from Portugal
This is all about timing gents. Right now there is a huge debate going on about holding the next FPF elections. The 2018 WC will be announced in early December, so don’t expect anything to change before then. That’s why Medail is pushing for an interim appointment. There is also a PT v SP friendly that is supposed to highlight the Iberian candidacy on Nov 17. They want a spectacle for that game just before the committee makes a decision. Beyond that, we don’t have qualifiers until the Spring.
So basically, it’s a push until the new year. And ultimately, who are we kidding, the new FPF board will look a lot like the old FPF board. Nobody wants Medail’s chair anyway. It’s a hot seat! I say appoint a coach and make sure they have a red phone connection to Mourinho.
Posted from United States
looks like CQ is a true candidate to become Ukraine’s new coach….i feel sorry for them already 
Posted from 
France
@alex
Should we just start calling the club Real PT?
Posted from United States
Yeah, CQ wanted to be in Euro 2012, so he signed with Ukraine. He realized his dream xD
Luis, didn’t Maradona keep up by cell phone with Mourinho in the World Cup? Oh yeah, Maradona’s too dumb 
Posted from Portugal
Supposedly, Mourinho, along with his agent, met directly with Madail this afternoon.
http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/selecoes/interior.aspx?content_id=463412
Posted from United States
Aparently Jose Pekerman has thrown his hat in the ring.
Not a bad possibility…
This story keeps getting more interesting. Apparently, Madail and Mourinho discussed more than just covering the next two games. It seems Madail also pitched a long term project that would involve Mourinho taking over as head of all national teams. Meaning that he would be director of the entire national team system but at a distance. He would pick the coaches for each team and give them direction, strategy, etc. Ultimately, he would only mark his presence, as coach of the senior squad during finals of the WC or EURO when the club season is over and there is no conflict.
We can only dream…
Posted from United States
ok seriously whats with this blogger. coach gets fired and no blog update. you fall asleep here man or what?
Comments are closed
MORE EUROPE BLOGS
CATEGORIES & ARCHIVES
Been hunting many witches these days, Zé…?
Posted from
Netherlands