Scolari smack down!

It seems things aren’t all roses with Portugal’s training. After a closed door morning session, Scolari and players took to the field for an open afternoon session, which was marked by crumby weather and bad moods. Scolari seemed irritated with the team’s lack of intensity in their assigned exercises. Scolari called it “uma palhaçada” (a clown act) and threatened to send them all to the showers early.

Scolari worked the team for almost two hours and continued to express great concern about the midfield. He started with Petite and Costinha this time in support of Deco, C. Ronaldo and Figo. The defensive line seems to be finalized now with N. Valente, Meira, Carvalho and Miguel almost certain to start this Sunday against Angola.

With kickoff less then 48 hours away, Big Phil is sending a clear message to his team. You can’t win with pure talent alone. Shape up or you are packing your bags early again. This guy is masterful. With this public display of disapproval, he not only tightens the grip on his players but he also smacks all us “frenzied tugas”, who think Figo will raise the Cup for Portugal in about a months time (myself included), back down to Earth. It’s time to get down to business folks. Força Portugal!

(in portuguese)