"Federation and Man U understood each other today- Queiroz until 2012 - The English guaranteed 'indemnizacao' for the exit of the new manager of the national team"
I wish Carlos Queiroz all the luck in the world. The candidate that most Portuguese fans wanted. After 9 days of speculation of whether or not Queiroz will leave Man U, it's done.
I really think he can do a better job than Scolari. Scolari had his favorites in the starting lineup and nobody could understand his choices sometimes. For example, Ricardo in goal, Simao instead of Quaresma, Nuno Gomes after the bad season at Benfica, Ferreira as left-back playing out of position....
The results were good with Scolari. However, they could have been much better with the players and the experience he had.
For instance, in the last Euro 2008 qualifying games he didn't always put the best starting lineup. There were draws against teams in Group A that weren't even in the FIFA top 10! Or, not being able to beat Greece in Euro 2004- Faced them twice. This February, Portugal didn't even dominate in the friendly Greece-Portugal. I wonder if the 4th time Portugal face Greece will finally be a convincing victory.
How will Carlos Queiroz handle these 4 starting lineup issues differently than Scolari?
We'll see in Portugal's 1st friendly match after the Euro 2008, on August 20th.
----1) the captain of the Portugal national team
Scolari had chosen 5 because there is no Figo or Rui Costa. In the Euro 2008 we saw the order. At least the first two, Nuno Gomes and then Cristiano Ronaldo. I heard many fans acknowledge that Cristiano Ronaldo is no captain material. He was 1st captain in the friendly Brazil-Portugal. He was 2nd captain in the Euro 2008. If Nuno Gomes loses his starting position then it might be Ricardo Carvalho as one of the first 2 captains.
----2) 1st choice goalkeeper
It was obvious Ricardo is not fit to be the starting goalkeeper after everyone saw the Euro 2008 quarterfinal Portugal-Germany. I'm positive Queiroz will do what Scolari didn't have the courage to do in the last 12 months: Put Benfica's Quim in goal!
----3) Winger Simao or Quaresma
Simao is Simao. Experience, energy, everything you need in a player when it's an important match. When Simao is not in top form and Quaresma is, will Queiroz put Quaresma in the starting 11 and leave Simao on the bench? Scolari in the last 12 months didn't dare to. I'm sure Queiroz will.
----4) Forward Nuno Gomes on the bench, try new forward in the starting lineup.
Scolari was so inflexible. Always Nuno Gomes in the starting 11. Helder Postiga when he played in the Euro 2008 games showed he can have goal opprtunities and in the most important game of his career, Euro 2008 quarterfinal Portugal -Germany, he scored and didn't succumb to the pressure.
Nani. He sets up goals and scored himself. I think Queiroz will give him more playing time.
These are 4 changes I look forward to seeing with Queiroz as new Portugal manager. Of course there are other issues he'll face like choosing a left-back like Caneira or keep insisting with Paolo Ferreira like Scolari did... I think these are the 4 most important issues he'll tackle.
- Do you think Queiroz will succeed as Portugal manager? How will he handle the 4 changes?
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