The grudge match is on

[Nutmeg]

I wonder if Portugal will underestimate the US this time around.

The match is official - US v Portugal in Foxboro in June.

I can't wait.

[superdave]

Given that this is part of their preparation for Euro 2K4, and the revenge angle...have we ever played a Euro friendly where the other side took the game more seriously than we do? This might be the one.

I'm assuming that with the local Port. population, this one's gonna be an easy sellout, right?

[JRstriker12]

This should be a real test. I'm sure Portugal will be playing to win and I'm sure that if they bring somone like Figo he'll be in better condition than he was during the World Cup.

Next Step- Speculation on who Bruce will field?

Think he'll call in an all MLS squad or do you think some of our Euro-based players will get a call up?

Either way, can't wait to watch. Should be a good game. Any news on TV coverage?

[Nutmeg]

Where's RuiFigo when we need him? I want him to tell us how many goals the US is going to score on us again. The good old days.

[Paul Nasta]

Originally posted by JRstriker12
This should be a real test. I'm sure Portugal will be playing to win and I'm sure that if they bring somone like Figo he'll be in better condition than he was during the World Cup.

Next Step- Speculation on who Bruce will field?

Think he'll call in an all MLS squad or do you think some of our Euro-based players will get a call up?

Either way, can't wait to watch. Should be a good game. Any news on TV coverage?

European seasons will be over, and we will be preparing for the Confederations Cup. I would expect us to have our "A" team there, including those who play in Europe. Our guys may still be fighting for spots on the final Confed Cup roster, so we should be pretty motivated, too.

It should be a good one.

[anderson]

Originally posted by superdave
I'm assuming that with the local Port. population, this one's gonna be an easy sellout, right?One would think this will be a Portugal home game. Official state estimates place the Portuguese community in Mass over 500,000. And RTPi is often available on basic cable. ;)

http://www.state.ma.us/dph/orih/por1.htm

There's also a large Portuguese community in NJ that will probably be well represented.

[GRUNT]

There are many Portuguese in RI as well. A good friend of mine knows many in the boat building and fishing industries, and told me the local churches arrange bus trips up to Foxboro when Portuguese league teams are visiting.

When I was visiting him in Bristol a couple years ago, I went into a local market, and noticed a framed team photo of Benfica on the wall.

[dcc134]

Originally posted by GRUNT
There are many Portuguese in RI as well. A good friend of mine knows many in the boat building and fishing industries, and told me the local churches arrange bus trips up to Foxboro when Portuguese league teams are visiting.

When I was visiting him in Bristol a couple years ago, I went into a local market, and noticed a framed team photo of Benfica on the wall.

Yeah I was Dartmouth, Mass last week on Business and I was surprised to see a Portugese station on the cable. I thought to my self there must be a lot of Brazilians in the area.


Should be a real nice match, but I would still favor the US. The US is going to have all its horses in preparation for the Confed Cup, because nothing would be more disappointing than falling flat there after our show at the WC.

Isn't Portugal going through somewhat of a rebuilding period. Or is Euro 04 going to be one final shot at glory?

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by Nutmeg
Where's RuiFigo when we need him? I want him to tell us how many goals Portugal is going to score on us again. The good old days.

Fixed your post.

Man, we've got some great preparation games for Confederations Cup.

[Sachin]

Yawn. Spain Jr. doesn't scare me. It seems they have picked up on the Iberian habit of choking when it really counts.

Sachin

[GRUNT]

btw - if this is "confirmed", where is the confirming source? Is there a date?

[anderson]

Originally posted by dcc134
Yeah I was Dartmouth, Mass last week on Business and I was surprised to see a Portugese station on the cable. I thought to my self there must be a lot of Brazilians in the area.The station you saw may have been RTPi, which is the international arm of the main tv network in Portugal. Many Brazilians in the area get Globo, the biggest network in Brazil, on a satellite system. But Globo wasn't available on most cable systems when I was there in the late 90's, whereas RTPi was pretty common. The language on both is Portuguese, but the accents are dramatically different.

There are indeed a lot of Brazilians in the area - unofficial estimates ranging from 150,000-250,000. I happen to be of Brazilian origin and lived in the Boston area for a while and was very surprised to find such a huge community there. Here's some (I think very accurate) info on the Brazilian community in the Boston area:

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~drclas/regions/brazil/brainbos.html

Isn't Portugal going through somewhat of a rebuilding period. Or is Euro 04 going to be one final shot at glory?My understanding is that Scolari is going to rely on the Golden Generation at least through Euro 04. In fact, the leaders of that group of players were reportedly consulted by the FPF on the coaching decision and were very excited to have Scolari.

[dcc134]

Originally posted by anderson
The station you saw may have been RTPi, which is the international arm of the main tv network in Portugal. Many Brazilians in the area get Globo, the biggest network in Brazil, on a satellite system. But Globo wasn't available on most cable systems when I was there in the late 90's, whereas RTPi was pretty common. The language on both is Portuguese, but the accents are dramatically different.

There are indeed a lot of Brazilians in the area - unofficial estimates ranging from 150,000-250,000. I happen to be of Brazilian origin and lived in the Boston area for a while and was very surprised to find such a huge community there. Here's some (I think very accurate) info on the Brazilian community in the Boston area:




Thanks for the info. My comment was sort of tongue in cheek. I guess I assumed that all large imigrant communities in the US are from Latin American and it didn't even occur to me the may actually be a large Portugese community in the Boston areas.

[Bruce S]

http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/
posted there, but I wouldn't call that really official.

[Chowderhead]

For the record, Portuguese immigration to southern New England goes back to the 1600s. Visitors to Newport, RI will notice that those who founded the Touro Synagogue, the oldest in the US, were Portuguese and Spanish.

Later on, after maritime trade routes had been well established, New England-based ships picked up crew members in the Azores and even in Cabo Verde. Probably 80% of the New England Portuguese are Azorean. Cape Verdeans represent the largest African immigrant group in the US and they have coming to New England for over 200 years. Language and colonial history link the groups though they are culturally distinct. The Portuguese speaking communities of New England have made NE a popular destination for Angolan and Mozambican immigrants, as well.

The Portuguese are not just the immigrant group of the week in New England; they, through the centuries, have been instrumental in defining (along with other groups) southern New England culture. Though Catholic and Iberian, their dour, self-denying work ethic allowed them to fit right in among New Englanders, though they, like everyone, faced discrimination. But they paid their dues, busted their asses and demonstrated a knack for social organization that has always been the envy of more recently arrived immigrant groups.

Needless to say, many New Englanders are of Portuguese descent. There is probably not a single town in Southern New England without significant numbers of Luso-Americans.

First generation communities are everywhere and immigrant communities thrive in New Bedford, Fall River, Falmouth, Provincetown, East Providence, Providence, Pawtucket, Bristol, Cambridge, Peabody, Hudson, Ludlow and the cities of Connecticut.

Count on a big Portuguese crowd at the Boro. But they will behave.

[Chowderhead]

In fact, there is a 24 hour FM Portuguese-language station. WJFD, 97.3. It's been around for thirty years or so. "No meio do seu radio..."

[Sachin]

So how upset would they be if we just referred to them as Spain Jr?

Sachin

[Chowderhead]

Originally posted by Sachin
So how upset would they be if we just referred to them as Spain Jr?

Sachin

"Caralho..." They'll be too busy contemplating their next business moves and checking out all the women to be offended. And they are not averse to the suds, either.

[JMU Soccer!]

One nice thing about this game is that if Portugal beats us. We can make the same excuse that the rest of the World has been giving us for years.

Whenever we beat Germany, Mexico, etc in a friendly match the excuses is, "The game means nothing, so our players didn't take it seriously."

Now we can use that!

[Wolves_67]

Originally posted by JMU Soccer!
One nice thing about this game is that if Portugal beats us. We can make the same excuse that the rest of the World has been giving us for years.

Whenever we beat Germany, Mexico, etc in a friendly match the excuses is, "The game means nothing, so our players didn't take it seriously."

Now we can use that!
So if by some miracle Mexico beats us, their fans won't say "Yeah we won! But it was, as we always told you before, a meaningless friendly."???
They will try to make more out of it?
I'll be so shocked!