Portuguese Football in English
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.
It’s only been a month since Portugal’s last match, and already March 29th seems so far away. For anyone who is as big a fan of the Seleção as I am, you know what I’m talking about.
The withdrawal pangs begin in earnest as soon as the emotional intensity of an international fixture drains away. I would launch into a tirade about how the emotional “high” of watching Portugal is aggravated by their propensity to underachieve, but I digress.
Having reached the conclusion of the 2014 international football season (at least in Europe), Seleção fans everywhere will have no doubt prepared their individual critiques of a year of football that flattered to deceive.
From the disappointment in Brazil to the rather inauspicious beginnings of Euro 2016 qualifying it was a difficult year to be a fan of the Portuguese national team in many respects. Nevertheless, from the shadows of underachievement has risen a new era in Portuguese football. Paulo Bento is gone and Fernando Santos' reign has begun. But change should not be, I would argue, the greatest imperative. Change can also be bad.
In these situations it can be illuminating to compare the qualities of our current squad with those of the era that preceded it lest we repeat their mistakes and thus subject ourselves to further calamity. Additionally, I'll point out some of the positive and negative signs from the last few matches and what that means for the future, whether it be Euro 2016 glory, or something altogether less inspiring.
