Portugal's golden goodbye

I don't think its end of the Golden Generation, until the last one retiree's, the Golden Boys are still around just check the list, Baia,
F. Couto, Rui Costa, Figo, Joao Pinto will be back next month, the Golden Boys will be around for 04.

 

Frank,

I think we could be down to two for 2004 -- Figo and Rui. Maybe, JVP hangs on, but it's going to be hard to keep Viana out of the rotation.

 

Fernando Couto will be around, I don't see anybody at the moment, I know you going to throw names at me but is still the best we got.
As long has there is one the golden generation is not dead. If one wins the Euro 04 its enough to keep them in mind for awhile. You can't say they dead yet. Baia is going thru a bad period but he my recover and have 5 more good years, Dino Zoff had is best year at 40 when he won the WC for Italy in 1982,
let's see what can Gaspar do for the goalies, he has special trainning never seeing before 1993.

 

I think the Golden Generation is great and I thank them for everything they have given to cheer about and watch for years now. I think we need to stop hanging on to the Golden Generation. It was great but it’s time to think about the future. It’s time to stop thinking about the gold and start thinking about the untouched diamonds (sorry for sounding cheezy). That is a big problem with Portugal is that they rely on the same players over and over that when those players are done we are far behind some of the other teams. We have some untouched players like Viana, Quaresma, Tiago, Neca, Moreira (although he still needs another year or two) just to name a few and let’s not forget some fairly young guys with more experience like Frechaut, Simao, Gomes. We need to stop worring about the Golden Generation and start worring about their understudies. We have the next two years to do a lot of experimenting with lineups, formations, strategy and playing some of the youth and I just hope that we do things right.

 

We always have to relay on the best, and nothing but the best, and sometimes it didn't happen, if Portugal had put away the three chances they had against Korea in the last 5 minutes, we would be talk a lot different. At the time we were playing 9 vs 11. We didn't have the luck to put the ball away. Golden Boys is just a name given to the players the won the two junior Gold Cups, the same 5 of 6 are stilll around and nobody knows in what form they will be in 2004 and 06. The only World champion player that retired was Paulo Sousa none the others were part of the teams that won the youth championship, some of theme are playing in Portuguese lower leagues.
Peixe is still with Benfica.

 

If you look at that three-man back line that AO had out there today, I could picture a future back three of Beto - Caneira (or Meira) - Andrade. I think that formation has potential.

 

Remember the name Ricardo Rocha
Caneira who?

 

Ricardo is playing very well these days, which is nice to see. Believe me, Frank, I would like nothing more than Portugal developing a solid nucleus of defenders to battle it out and push the next person for playing time. The complacency that crept into the seleccao over the past couple of years was another factor in thier premature exit out of Korea.

 

I know. Everybody got there favor/
Once Caneira left Benfica he no longer was part of the portuguese national team. Its the power of the big three.

 

I disagree with that statement. I think AO wisely left him off, since Caneira only joined Bordeaux a couple of weeks ago. It may have been something he worked out with the Bordeaux manager. Marco Caneira is 22/23 years old, and he will be a fixture on the seleccao for years. Mar(co) my words!

 

Will see in the future, but we have better players for his positions, I know he played all four with Benfica.