Giant center forward Hugo Almeida [FC Porto] got the call for the portuguese national team here is the rest of players Guarda-redes: Quim (Benfica) e Ricardo (Sporting). Defesas: Jorge Andrade (Deportivo Corunha/Esp), Miguel (Benfica), Caneira (Valência/Esp), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea/Ing), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea/Ing) e Jorge Ribeiro (Gil Vicente). Médios: Deco (Barcelona/Esp), Petit (Benfica), Costinha (FC Porto), Maniche (FC Porto) e Tiago (Chelsea/Ing). Avançados: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Ing), Hélder Postiga (FC Porto), Hugo Almeida (FC Porto), Luís Boa Morte (Fulham/Ing), Pauleta (Paris Saint-Germain/Fra) e Simão (Benfica).
no really surprises, Jorge Ribeiro, Quim, and Hugo Almeida could be a surprise He pick Quim over Moreira because he doesn't want to change the chemistry of the team, Quim been a good sub, rather complains, and his got more experience then Moreira Jorge Ribeiro - his a true LD and will be his second or 3rd cap Hugo Almeida - because of his hard work with the U21
It looks like he has his mind made up as far as who belongs on the team. I just have a problem with putting 2 players on the team that don't play regularly (Almeida and Quim). I guess it doesn't matter much because they are only subs...
No Big suprises. He should have left Almeida on the Under 21 team. It is Luxembergh and Pauleta and Postiga should be able to do the job.
I think Scolari knows that if Portugal is to be successful we need better strikers and wants to see if Almeida can fill that role. I just wish Almeida was playing regularly on some club (loan him out PDC).
I'm sure he would be happy to play anywhere right now. Scolari on Ricardo: Ricardo defence However, there has been some criticism of the coach's decision to select Sporting Clube de Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo whose performances have not delighted some pundits. "He plays like the others - sometimes badly, sometimes very well," said the coach. "I don't pay attention to the critics because Ricardo is still a reliable goalkeeper." http://www.uefa.com/competitions/WorldCup/news/Kind=1/newsId=257224.html
Scolari doesn't want to rock the boat too much, so he opted for Quim again. Moreira's recall will surely destabalize Ricardo, and thus the team. No need to stoke the fire...Portugal are undefeated and in first place + it's luxembourg. Almeida is a surprise tho. Scolari probably sees this as one of the few times that he's able to call up the youngster in place of an injured regular [N. Gomes]. I like our chances against Luxembourg, and I predict a 4-0 score. On another note, it seems every country in the world has a feared striker: Brazil(Adriano), Argentina (Tevez), Spain(Morientes), Italy (Gilardino), France (Henry), Netherlands (RVN)...even some Scandinavian and African countries have a feared one-two punch upfront. Sad to say...we may yet again be without top-end strikers come WC 06 in Germany(Pauleta is quality but he's still a level lower then the best of the best)
if Hugo Almeida could only learn to use his head more, they should bring old men Jose Torres to camp, the ex player and coach could give the kid some tips
if Miguel is not healthy enough to play in Madeira, he should be excuse from the national team, let's not rush this guys out, like Scolari did with Nuno Gomes on a friendly game that we were winning 3-0 he can always call the Beira-Mar captain Ribeiro BENFICA E SELECÇÃO EM CAUSA Álvaro: «Miguel não está em condições de jogar» Álvaro Magalhães garantiu que, apesar de ter "treinado toda a semana, Miguel não tem condições para jogar". O lateral encarnado falou com Trapattoni no fim do treino de hoje dizendo que ainda não se sente em condições de jogar, motivo pelo qual o treinador não o incluiu nos convocados para o jogo na Madeira. O treinador adjunto do Benfica afirmou que "não faz sentido que Miguel não jogue uma partida importante como a de amanhã e esteja disponível para a Selecção". No entanto, Álvaro acredita que Scolari vai dispensar o jogador, pois "talvez o tenha chamado por não saber da situação". Data: Sexta-Feira, 12 de Novembro de 2004 13:52:00
I really get irritated when posters complain about Hugo Almeida getting called up to the Senior "A" team, even though he isn't even an option for Porto at the moment. So what! Is it his fault there's alot of depth at Porto? Should Italy not callup Vieri to their next qualifying match because Adriano is first option? I don't think so! You have to look at the situation. Had Almeida been a bench player at Gil Vicente, I would understand all the critisizm, but that's not the case. Almeida plays at Porto...there's lots of depth. That should not deterr him from being selected. If anything, Almeida has proven he's a good prospect for the job, and Agostinho Oliveira [No.2], probably gave a good recommendation of Almeida to Scolari. This isn't exactly from left field. Same goes for Jorge Ribeiro. Agostinho Oliveira, and some of the existing coaching staff of the Under-21's, would be Scolari's best reference, hence the inclusion of the two youngsters. I hope that Almeida and J. Ribeiro play atleast 30 minutes.
I'm very glad to see Almeida get the call. Hopefully the game is well in hand and Hugo can see lots of playing time.
i dunno why Jorge Ribeiro was called, he isn't even playing as LB, in Gil Vicente Cmon guys it's time to wake up Bruno Basto is way better than him
What players do we want on the national team? Do we want players who play regularly for their teams and do their best every week to have an opportunitty to get in the A team, or we want always the same players despite not playing or not getting enough time playing or in some cases playing terribly? Well it seems for Scolari only the second option is available, we all know he is a tough coach that doesn´t like to hear other opinions, doesn´t like nobody to tell him what to do etc etc, but he shouldn´t treat us (Portugal fans) like we don´t know nothing about football. What are players like Moreira, Baía, Bruno Basto, João Tomás and others thinking? well IMO they are saying to their teammates "we all know that in order to get a call to the A team, Scolari must like you..."
This will be Scolori"s starting lineup. Goal = Ricardo RB = Paulo Ferriera CB = Jorge Andrate CB = Ricardo Carvelho LB = Jorge Riberio DMF = Maniche DMF = Costinha MF = Deco RW = Cristiano Ronaldo ( I finally got his name right ) LW = Simao Sabrosa S = Pauleta Scolori does not change his team let alone his Starting Lineup.
Boa Morte for Sabrosa at 60 mins Postiga for Costinha at 70 mins *** Depending on how the game goes Tiago at 80 minutes for Ronaldo.
Look for Miguel to get pulled of the team because of injury. There will be no need to call anyone else we will go there with 17 players.
enough of teh scolari bashing the guy knows what he is doing, you might not agree with his selections but it was his intervention then allowed us to do as well as we did in euro, he is the same guy who refused to put romario in the team while everyone disagreed, he is confident he knows whats best for the team and until he does some thing really stupid we should just trust that he knows what he is doing. that said i hope boa gets a chance to prove himself and i want to see another screamer from petit.