Well, he was a great prospect, but as always, it's so hard to know if the brains of some of the players will ever match their ability. Always reminded me of Joe Cole, who was extremely talented naturally but people constantly confused his ability on the ball with "playmaking" ability, of which he had very little.
Liverpool's problem is that they can't hold on to a lead!! I'm talking about Barcelona needs another centerback, but Liverpool needs one as well!!
Here is Portugal's squad in full: GOALKEEPRS: Rui Patrício (Sporting), Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dínamo Zagreb) DEFENDERS: Vieirinha (Wolfsburg), Cédric (Southampton), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Carvalho (Mónaco), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), José Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient) MIDFIELDERS: William Carvalho (Sporting), Danilo Pereira (FC Porto), João Moutinho (Mónaco), Renato Sanches (Benfica), Adrien Silva (Sporting), André Gomes (Valência), João Mário (Sporting) FORWARDS: Rafa Silva (SC Braga), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas), Nani (Fenerbahçe), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Éder (Lille) I don't see this team going past the 2nd round!! Shoot I don't even see them winning their group!!!
2 cents for the European Cup Finals this weekend Crystal Palace v Man United = 1-3 Marseille v PSG = 1-3 B. Munich v B. Dortmund = 4-2 Milan v Juventus = 0-4 Barcelona v Sevilla = 2-2 (Sevilla wins 4-2 on pks, Messi and Neymar will miss their kicks!!)
The Jose v Pep rivalry will pickup again in Manchester!! But my 2 cents have Jose outlasting Pep in the EPL!!
Antonio Conte: Pirlo & Giovinco didn't make Italy's #Euro2016 squad because they opted to play in MLS. https://t.co/g7r0qMcTKx— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 24, 2016 Congrats @nicephoras. A brutally honest coach. Dunga probably could use some pointers. After all, Conte did give a speech at CBF HQ.
I think this will change in a few years, especially since Italian managers have traditionally been reluctant to call up anyone from outside of Italy period (see Zola, Gianfranco), but you calling up Kaka remains funny to me, yes.
With that Italy squad, they'll be lucky if they make it out of their group as a wild card team!! Sorry to say this, but if this team happens to make to the Final and get whooped 4-0 by either Germany, France or Spain....it will be a privilege!!
Novo técnico de @HulkOficial7 gosta, mas também é duro com brasileiros: 'Irresponsáveis' https://t.co/B6heh3tgsE pic.twitter.com/OiCGDErEWf— ESPN Brasil (@ESPNBrasil) May 25, 2016
Italians seem to wait for the moment of peak underestimation before going on a run to win it all though...
I will never dismiss Italy in any game, any tournament... Italy always has something to show until after the last minute of any game they play!
Italy is just hard to judge because their best players are in SerieA, and, let's be honest - who watches that these days?
Me. It's probably the second European league I watch the most, after the EPL. Nostalgia sucks me in and then reality kicks in later. Too bad I can't get the RAI feeds like back in the day.