Portuguese Football in English
Fernando Santos has announced eleven additional names to Portugal's squad for the friendly match against Cape Verde on 31 March in Estoril.
The list will take people by surprise as it includes only three players who have previously been called up to the senior squad: Adrien, André Almeida and Pizzi.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled that the 8-match suspension of Portugal coach Fernando Santos be reduced to just two games.
As such, Santos will sit out only the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Serbia on Sunday and against Armenia on 13 June, but will then be free to take his place on the bench for the rest of the qualifying campaign.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos has named a 24-man squad for Portugal's Euro 2016 home qualifier against Serbia on 29 March.
Belenenses goalkeeper Hugo Ventura gets his first call-up to the Seleção, Hugo Almeida, Antunes and Eliseu are all recalled while Adrien Silva, Raphael Guerreiro, Tiago Gomes, Beto and Hélder Postiga are the players who make way for the newcomers in relation to the previous Seleção squad in November.
As a fan of the Seleção, I think it’s imperative to appreciate the transformation that has taken place in Portuguese football over the last 15-20 years. Though I was not yet an avid follower of the Portuguese national team in those early years, I count myself among those privileged to have born witness to the relative prosperity that Portugal has enjoyed through the emergence of world class players such as Deco, Luís Figo, Ricardo Carvalho, and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Though it is the latter that perhaps best exemplifies the zenith of Portuguese footballing achievement, the role that strong defenders have played during Portugal's transition from “also-rans” to major tournament contenders must not go unnoticed.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) celebrated its centenary last night with a lavish gala at Estoril Casino, attended by both the FIFA president Joseph Blatter and UEFA head Michel Platini.
A long list of the specially created "Quinas de Ouro" (Golden Shields) awards were distributed to celebrate the best the country has produced in 100 years of football in all its forms.
Cristiano Ronaldo was named the greatest player, beating Eusébio and Figo, and José Mourinho picked up the prize for the best coach.
