Luckily, Portugal is one of the world’s top producers of football talents and one of the nations that is more deeply connected to the sport itself. With hundreds of talents plying their trade abroad, the national team coaches have plenty to pick from when coming up with a squad to take on a competition of such high importance as the European Championship, for example.
But let’s imagine that that’s not true. For a few minutes let’s forget all of those who play in the biggest competitions on the planet, let’s forget the best player on Earth, and let’s focus on our own league. What would this national team look like if it consisted of players who decided to stay in their home country? Probably just a simple mix of the “Big Three”, right?
Well then, in an attempt to give the limelight to some of the smaller clubs and less well known players, let’s make it a bit more difficult to pick a line-up and forbid the entrance to those who play for Porto, Benfica or Sporting as well. Here’s what our national team to approach Euro 2016 would look like if it could only be composed of footballers who play within their country of origin and who aren’t part of any of the big three’s rosters.
Disclaimer: I decided that players who are on loan from Benfica, Sporting or Porto couldn’t feature either because they are technically still part of the club. This is the reason why players such as Iuri Medeiros, André Geraldes, Rui Fonte and Ivo Rodrigues (four players that I would pick for this team) aren’t part of the roster.
STARTING ELEVEN
Marafona
After spending seasons in lower tiers of Portuguese football, he helped Moreirense make the jump to the top flight and had a fantastic debut season in the league under Miguel Leal. A transfer to Paços ensued in the summer and after Braga’s Kritciuk move back to Russia, the Portuguese moved to the “Arsenalistas”. A smart, agile, goalkeeper with a 190cm/6'3'' physical frame who rarely makes mistakes - Marafona would be by far the most complete option to have in goal.
Ricardo Ferreira
After showing flashes of his quality last season with Paços, Paulo Fonseca brought Ricardo Ferreira with him to Braga as another one to compete for a spot in the centre of the defence. Not being a regular part of the starting eleven early in the season, the 23-year-old had chances to prove his quality due to injury/suspensions of his centre-back partners. The Canadian-born defender now has 32 matches played, even scoring twice, having become a staple in the team’s backbone.
Hugo Basto
At the moment, Arouca is the biggest surprise in the league: standing in 5th, with the 5th best defence in the league just after the big 3 and Braga. One of the greatest contributors for this is Hugo Basto. The Portuguese centre-back has been a part of Arouca’s 11 ever since joining from Braga’s B team in the January of 2015 and always showed quality, but this year he has improved alongside his teammates and is performing at an even higher standard.
Bruno Gaspar
Bruno Gaspar is one of those typical Portuguese young players who, after not getting a chance in the first team of the big team in which he learned the ropes, grabs a place and succeeds in one of the smaller sides of the country. Despite the quality showed when on loan at Vitoria Guimarães, Benfica didn’t give the right-back a chance and eventually made him a part of the deal that brought Rui Vitória to the Estádio da Luz. The prolific defender already has 54 appearances for Vitória’s main team and is widely regarded as one of the top full-backs playing in Portugal. At 22 he has a lot of time to further his career.
Hélder Lopes
Hélder Lopes from Paços would take the spot on the left of our defence as a result from the quality displayed by him in the past three seasons. A modern full-back, who likes to push up the wing but who doesn’t concede too much space to opposing wingers, Lopes is at the peak of his career at 27. With 87 matches played for the “Furniture capital” club, the left-back has had a lot of great moments with the bright yellow jersey on and will most likely keep on having them after another solid season.
Ruben Pinto
In a similar fashion to Bruno Gaspar, Ruben Pinto also moved on from Benfica’s squad after understanding he wouldn’t break through into the 1st team. In the second half of last season the now 23-year-old showed first division quality on his loan to Paços and signed a permanent deal with Belenenses in the summer. Characterized by his superior vision and passing qualities, the youngster even comes up with the odd goal from time to time. With massive game awareness, the midfielder has the capacity to play in a handful of different positions in the centre of the pitch and has done so under the two coaches he had this season. The importance that the ex-Benfica player has in the team is well reflected in numbers: whenever he plays the full 90’ the side’s win percentage goes up to almost 40% when compared to the 25% in matches where he comes off the bench or is subbed during the game.
Tarantini
While most players on this list are having the best season of their careers so far, Tarantini is definitely the “Mr. Consistency” of the team. A staple in a splendid Rio Ave side for the past couple of years, the midfielder would definitely provide much needed experience to what would be a very young national team. Despite not having the quickness to pressure that he once had, the 30-year-old is still a quality passer of the ball and a big threat for the opposition. Both from outside of the box with is great long shooting abilities but also being an aerial threat in the box, standing at 6’5’’ and having the technique he has showed us in plenty of headed goals.
Rafa Silva
Braga’s star player doesn’t need much introduction: the rumours connecting him to massive European clubs ever since his talent was first displayed in the quarry are solid indicators to his qualities as a young footballer. Usually starting from the left, the only senior international of this eleven also tends to drift inside and is just a handful for opposing defences to hold off. Not only will Rafa be a part of the squad that goes to the Euro 2016 – and most likely the only one mentioned in this article that will end up doing so – but he also has a real shot at being in the starting eleven. I know he would be in mine.
Pedro Santos
Perhaps the most traditional winger in the side, Pedro Santos is now well known for the consistency of his performances for Braga. Able to take on full-backs on the wing and to score the odd goal here and there, the right footed player is also a great penalty taker which always comes in handy.
Diogo Jota
You knew he would be here. We have talked about him on the PortuGOAL podcast. He is the most hyped youngster of the league at the moment. He is…Diogo Jota. Terrific for Paços ever since he was promoted to the first team by Paulo Fonseca last year, Jota is now crucial for the “Beavers”. We just had to take the chance to put him in this team before he is officially introduced in Madrid with Atlético. Plus, could you imagine him playing with Rafa Silva? Continuously interchanging between the left and the middle, creating chances… Maybe someday.
Bruno Moreira
Alongside Red Star’s Hugo Vieira, Bruno Moreira has been the most requested player to occupy the striker spot in the main Portuguese national team. A hard worker for his side while also being clinical in front of goal – you don’t get to be top Portuguese goal scorer of the league without being so – Bruno is a classical number 9. So…exactly what our national team needs and “doesn’t have”. To top it all off, he’s used to playing with Jota.
OTHER CALL-UPS
Goalkeepers:
- João Miguel Silva (Vitória Guimarães)
- José Moreira (Olhanense)
My personal preference when it comes to the goalkeeping roster is to have: a youngster with immense potential, an experienced player who can have an important influence in the locker room and a player in is prime to get the starting spot. The latter one is Marafona. The other two spots would ideally be occupied by Miguel Silva and José Moreira. The Guimarães goalkeeper has been fantastic and quickly “rose to fame” ever since taking the starting spot for the team from the north of the country. Known for being extremely passionate about his profession, he would definitely fit the environment. And so would José Moreira – the ex-Benfica goalkeeper is going a bit unnoticed at the moment despite his great performances in the Segunda Liga for Olhanense. At 33 he’s still proving to be in great form, managing to keep clean sheets in his last five matches, and would be good to have on the roster amongst these other youngsters.
Defenders
- Paulo Monteiro (União da Madeira)
- André Pinto (Braga)
- João Aurélio (Nacional)
Nacional's versatile João Aurélio takes the full-back spot on the bench with Paulo Monteiro and André Pinto as the backup centre-backs. The latter is a somewhat obvious choice, having an international cap for Portugal already and being an important piece in Braga’s defence since arriving from Greece in the summer of 2014. An injury earlier this season led to a bit of a decline and the consequent rise of Ricardo Ferreira, thus the presence of the latter in this eleven. Paulo Monteiro was another fairly obvious choice: fighting for safety from relegation in the heart of União’s defence, the experienced player has been having the season of his career. The fact that União is the team with least goals conceded at home is impressive, if not unthinkable, for a side that is in the middle of a tough battle to avoid relegation so the club’s top defensive asset just had to be here.
Midfielders:
- Andrezinho (Paços de Ferreira)
- Fábio Pacheco (Vitória Setúbal)
- Josué (Braga)
Each of these very different midfielders could easily be in the starting eleven, since the quality in this side is so even. Andrezinho is a youngster who has been fantastic for Paços but who has been a bit outshone by the presence of Jota as the other talent of the team. Fábio Pacheco is another one who hasn’t been getting the attention he deserves for the season he’s having with Vitoria. After helping Tondela get promoted last season, the defensive midfielder has been impressing under Quim Machado again, but in Setúbal. Finally, Braga’s January signing Josué grabbed a place in his side right after the transfer ensued. The ex-Bursaspor offensive midfielder already helped his side get to the Europa League quarter-finals and seems to have matured a fair bit since leaving the country.
Forwards:
- André Claro (Vitória Setúbal)
- Fábio Sturgeon (Belenenses)
- Ukra (Rio Ave)
- Salvador Agra (Nacional)
As per usual in Portuguese teams, lots of offensive talent on the bench could make an impact when necessary. André Claro started the season extremely strongly for Vitória and while his momentum hasn’t really carried on to the second half of the season, he’s still the closest thing to a bench striker in this squad. Salvador Agra and Fábio Sturgeon have both been starting for their teams all season long, always with an impact, and Ukra is not only quality on the pitch, but there are also not many players with his capacity to unite a locker room.
Please tell me your thoughts on the team: who would you change? Why? I wouldn’t say it’s a bad squad at all and it certainly wouldn’t be the worse one at the Euro!
By Tiago Estêvão
