Portugal vs Luxembourg WC Qualifier Nov 17 [R]

So, five posters have said that Boa Morte isn't good enough to be a starter on the national team. Two Portistas, leaster and deco10. Two Benfiquistas, myself and Benfica_fan. And, CrisRicHeldTiago too.

The guy didn't play a great game today. Why was he subbed at the end of the first half if he was so awesome with his hussle? Scolari wanted to see what Querasma could do perhaps? And, Querasma came in and played well. Pauleta finally got some service from the kid. Imagine that? Whereas poor Boat Morte was losing balls cos three defenders were all over him. Well guess what? Get rid of it. Something he doesn't do. Like I said, I see him squandering chances more so than creating them.

I critize Simao too. The guy holds on to the ball to damn long at times and loses chances too. But, when he does cross, they are good crosses. And, he can play both wings along with Ronaldo and switches off with him too during the games. Is that not a good advantage in soccer? Is it not good when a LB is covering Ronaldo so well that he can just switch over to the left and Simao comes over to right?

Who would you rather have taking free kicks? Boa Morte or Simao? Right now I know that Deco is the man. But, I wouldn't mind seeing Simao and Deco line up behind a dead ball for a free kick instead of just one option.

I think Querasma will end up winning the spot if he continues to improve for Porto.

 

I would have to agree that Boa played poorly. I would also say in the NT games I have seen Simoa play, he has also played poorly and was the only downside to a great performance verse Russia. Of the three I think Quaresma has the most upside and should continue to get his chances.

To my surprise no one has mentioned how poorly Deco played today. Is it just me that thinks so?

 

nop, i think the same way, Deco and P.ferreira were very poor in this game, although both set up some goals

 

The funny thing is that I hate Simao and I'd rather see him there then Boa Morte.. But I'd rather have Quaresma there... but I might be a little biased towards Quaresma.

 

isn't figo coming back for the WC so the position is only open during qualifiers, the person who finally takes it will be aiming for 2008 so between now and then a lot can happen, during qualifiers the guy on the wing opp ronaldo can play half assed for all i care because qualification should be pretty easy. so give each a couple of games to prove they deserve the spot. i like Boa a lot, he is a class player and has something to offer this team, i dont mind simao to be honest, a lot dont like him in the NT jersey but i think he is a good player that can also offer a lot even though he hasn't yet, finally its not about whether or not Quaresma is good enough for the spot its whether he is mature enough to play in a team.

 

It seems some people suffer from what we call in Portugal "Clubite aguda" (spellng?). As long as we win & qualify, I don't give a flying ********** who plays where.

 

I believe that Scolari should stir things up. When he finally names the players for the Friendlies he should call up a few of the U21 midfielders, and leave out Boa, SImao, Deco, Costinha, hell he should maybe even leave out Poorletta. Send a signal to this players give an honest effort you are in play poorly and your out.

It won't happen but it would be good for the A team

 

Stirring things up should be the last thing on Scolari's mind. With the exception of a poor showing against Leichenstein, Portugal has been playing absolutely superbly. One of Scolari's errors leading up to EURO2004 was that he mixed things up during the games too much, meaning that he would start 11 and then change 7 of them at half time.

From now until the end of qualifying (and hopefully WC) he should play only those that have a realistic chance of making the team. With so many players playing abroad and on different teams, the Selecao should be stable enough to ensure that a cohesive, team mentality can develop. That being said, I think Pauleta will be too old for WC and therefore that is the one position that should have some experimentation in it...


ALBU

 

I also believe costinha and valente will be to old..but valdir and m fernandes are perfect replacements..


but we need another number 10..if deco is tired or goes down..who do we replace him with??

i have a feeling vierinha ..being 19 in 2006 can pull a ronaldo and cover adequetly

 

A coach has to constantly keep his players on their toes. Just look at Mourinho! It works wonders.

Superbly? I dunno about that! Maybe more like WELL. I don't think you have to play superbly against the likes of Latvia, Liechenstein, or Luxembourg for that matter. Portugal's in one of the easiest groups. Therefore hard to judge their play at this point. Wait for the Slovakia match.

It kind of worked didn't it? I mean they reached the finals did they not? Scolari has a good year and half to experiment. Experiment on, Felipao.

Realistic chance? Alot can change in a year and a half. Just look at our team at Euro2004. It was drastically different then the one from WC 2002.

I believe Pauleta will be on the WC team in Germany. The only thing that may stop him is a serious injury or a loss of complete form.

 

If you want an unbiased opinion.......Simao is better than Boa Morte. Simao has proved himself in the past with some decent perfermances and has the edge in experience as well as knowing his teammates better. That being said, I think Quaresma is POTENTIALLY the better of the three players if he convinces himself of that and developes the proper mental attitude to succeed. Boa Morte in my opinion will be a good sub for the NT that can spark the offense late in games with his speed and tenacity, but I wouldn't consider him a starter. If that were the case I think Portugal would have some problems. As well, I think Simao is the only one of the three that I could trust not to screw things up. Ideally speaking we could use a winger that's a notch higher than Simao, but unless figo returns there really isn't a better option.

 

A couple of things in terms of Mourinho: first, he tends to start the same 9 every game but does rotate one or two players depending on the calibre of the opposition - lately, that means Tiago has been coming off the bench and Smertin has been starting. I don't disagree with tactic and in fact, strongly believe that Portugal doesn't try to match its line-up to the opposition enough. And second, it is a difficult comparison that you are trying to make, a club team is not similar to a NT. Often, players only come together and practise a few times, which makes it very difficult to gel.

I'm not against bringing in someone that is playing some good football but Scolari needs to be cautious because the Selecao are doing quite well at the moment. It is definitely easy to say that our group is easy once Portugal is ahead but 3 other teams in the group have made it to big tournaments in recent years: Latvia EC2004, Russia EC2004 and Slovakia WC2002...

 

slovakia hasnt been in a major tournement

haha

i think we need someone to step up as a number 10 to compete with deco..a left back..and maybe someomne to replace costinha..such as manuel fernandes as i said already

i think quaresma..if he develops will be as good as c ronaldo....and portuga will be scary once again

 

Yeah, Slovenia/Slovakia what's the difference? My main point still remains - I have no problem with alternating a trinco or a striker but the main composition of the team needs to remain fairly consistent in order to foster the development of a team mentality.


ALBUfeira