Portugal is losing at half time 0-1... incredible isn't it?

but most incredible is how mr. Scolari continue putting that pile of **** in the goal and most incredible than that is how can a ref don't see a defender acting like a goalkeeper and stoping a goal and no penalty and no red card... the biggest ref blunder i ever saw.

Ricardo go kill yourself. because mr. sargentão will not take you out of the team so you do us this favour you wortheless piece of crap :f***: :f***: :f***: ! and try to convince Pauleta to do the same!

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WOW!!!!!!!!!!

not cheering against Portugal or anything here but I can't help but laugh.

it's about f*cking time Pauleta!!!! do your damn job assh0le and score the opportunities provided for you!!!!!!

penalty...

FIGO MISSED LOL CMON MAN

C. Ronaldo is playing sh!t, he needs to come out. Put in Nuno Gomes for f*ck's sake!

2-1 NUNO GOMES!! He scores 2 minutes after coming in! Scolari is an idiot, I'm sorry but this man won the WC only because he had Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, he knows sh!t about the game of football.

Nuno Gomes enter and scores. LEARN PAULETA!

WooHooo we're qualified.....now excuse me while I go puke. :-puke:

Congrats to Lichtenstein for a solid hard-working performance. Nicely organized team with a decent GK and defenders. They have a better keeper than we do, that's for sure...

We were absolutely miserable tonight, our finishing sucks, and I'm not even gonna mention the players anymore who were crap because it's the same one's over and over.

they have 2 great keepers :brow:

Scolari = :sb9:
Ricardo = :sb9: :sb9: :sb9: :sb9:

we won, we are at the WC but somehow i'm not in the mood to celebrate...what a ****ty performance :mad:

C. Ronaldo is playing sh!t, he needs to come out. Put in Nuno Gomes for f*ck's sake!

good call (Y)(H)

I think some of you guys can coach better than Scolari.. So much talent at his disposal and he makes everything so difficult

didnt you already drop points vs. them away? (H)

Again, I will only repeat myself, but this is unbearable, Ricardo why oh why for God's sake ?? And Pauleta, in like 5 ou more chances he scores 1.. And in one of the situations there was nobody on the goal line.. We were playing so bad and only late in the match he changed 1 midfielder to put another, and took a winger to put another midfielder.. Only at the 80' Nuno Gomes entered and showed Scolari something he avoids to see..

Scolari will need to do many campaigns to help Ricardo, since every game he plays he does a blunder. He better start a campaign to help himself as well..





At least we're qualified... yay ?...

congrats to portugal for qualifying...

yeah, scolari is like that... though I think if you keep him at the nt you'll do fine in the world cup.... maybe you'll even get a group like brazil did last time...

anybody knows why Liechtenstein anthem is the "god save the queen"? :confused:

Who assisted the goals?

anybody knows why Liechtenstein anthem is the "god save the queen"? :confused:
The anthem is sung to the melody of the British one, the text itself is some German stuff written in the mid 19th century. Many anthems of monarchies in Continental Europe back then had that melody.

The anthem is sung to the melody of the British one, the text itself is some German stuff written in the mid 19th century. Many anthems of monarchies in Continental Europe back then had that melody.

thanks for the explanation m8

we are always learning :)

Like you already said, awful performance. We have serious aspects that we need to review if we want to do well in Germany, but I won't go into details (like Ricardo... :mad: )

Anyway, we managed to get the most important: qualification. And, for the first time, we'll be in 2 WC in a row (and not 20 from 20 years) and we didn't leave things for the last qualification game.

I also just want to point out that the ignorance and arrogance of certain people (especially commentators like Rui Santos) deeply annoy me... Liechtenstein, since the draw with Portugal, only lost by a maximum of 2 goals. They managed to make 8 points (2 wins and 2 draws), having even drawn with Slovakia and only lost 2-1 to Russia.

Yes, they are clearly a weak team, but increasingly more in modern football there aren't easy games. The level of play is much more balanced all over the world and just take a look at other results from the European, African and Asian groups to factually see that. Liechtenstein has evolved a lot and isn't the same team that lost by 7 or 8 against us in the 90's.

2-1 NUNO GOMES!! He scores 2 minutes after coming in! Scolari is an idiot, I'm sorry but this man won the WC only because he had Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, he knows sh!t about the game of football.

Well, I already expressed my opinion about Scolari, so I won't repeat myself. I only say that although he does have some serious flaws and has made many decisions I totally disagree with, he also has major qualities and to say that he only won the WC because of the players he had isn't true, because Scolari is a very decorated coach and most of his titles were won with teams that had no major starts, but rather relied on team work.

He won a 3 Brazilian cups (one with Criciúma!!!, another with Grêmio and another with Palmeiras), a Brasileirão with Grêmio, two Libertadores (Grêmio and Palmeiras) and a Sul-Americana, also with Palmeiras. He's know precisely for getting results with limited resources and he's a specialist in cup competitions (in the mata-mata as he calls it), as you can see.

if you can't get rid of Ricardo, you won't go to far in the WC. He also made a huge mistake in the second half, but a Liechtenstein player saved Portugal over the line :D

Who assisted the goals?

Cristiano Ronaldo assisted with the first goal. The second started as a Figo corner that Valente headed towards Nuno Gomes.

Ricardo really should be dropped. Everyone else just had a bad day, cause we know they're better than that. And how the heck does Lickitstein get to play with two goalies...at the same time!!!?!??

it was clear that we missed Deco today, he adds a whole new dimension to the way we play.

**** OFF RICARDO, GO DIE SOMEWHERE YOU BIG PIECE OF ****!!!!

It's ridiculous for why we have this guy in net and Benfica's back-up as his back-up.

****, Portugal has so many good keepers (Baptista, MOREIRA, Bruno Vale, Paulo Santos) and yet the prick(scolari calls this guy)

The thing i hate the most about Ricardo is tht he never admits his faults, which are too many to recall, but once something goes well (England game) he takes all the credit and relives the memory in the media constantly. Pathetic Gk and even more pathetic person.

Funky, you gonna keep defending him?lol j/k

The thing i hate the most about Ricardo is tht he never admits his faults, which are too many to recall, but once something goes well (England game) he takes all the credit and relives the memory in the media constantly. Pathetic Gk and even more pathetic person.



great description, he's a truly disgusting human being at least professionally. None of us knows about his personal life.


btw worst ref call ever, no competition here. Blatant is not enough to describe that handball.

hahaha, so I guess theoretically Liechtenstein have the potential to beat Russia 5-0. (H)

nah j/k, sh1t like this happens. But I really think Pauletta is a useless player. I mean he plays well and scores for PSG but when it comes to national team he's worse than my granny. I have not seen a single minute of decent performance from him for Portugal. Kick him out!!!

I'd take Pauleta in goal over Ricardo.

haha...I see some Portuguese folks' frustrating comments here. Thank God they won it at the end. ;)

Liechtenstein aren't an easy team anymore to be beaten. They have good solid foundations in the future, at least in EURO 2008 coming up. :brow:

Ricardo what a clown. :fool:

anybody knows why Liechtenstein anthem is the "god save the queen"? :confused:

They were selling it cheap on eBay.

-----------------------

Good call by Internazionale and Nakamura: Liechtenstein aren't a punch bag anymore. I thought they played with a lot of heart and determination.

Felipão knows how bad Ricardo is but he'll call him up for the WC no matter what. That's why he said yesterday his goal was reaching the QFs. Honesly, who expects to go further than that with that frangueiro defending our nets?
Yesterday we could already listen to a part of the crowd booing him every time he touched the ball. Can't wait for wednesday's game in the Dragão. If Baía wasn't a good guy I bet he'd be laughing his ass off by now.
For the good of the nation, may Ricardo drop a bottle of after-shave 3 days before the competition starts! (Y)

Maniche: way to go, man! Your game has really improved since you went to Russia. (Y)
In case you guys forgot, he was a world-class player in Porto.

Pauleta: he misses easy chances (others, take it from me, aren't as easy as they look) but he also scores a lot. Nuno Gomes should play next wednesday, though, more than fair. Still, we all know Nuno alone in the front is a no-no, so Scolari would probably have to play them both (which he won't).

The thing i hate the most about Ricardo is tht he never admits his faults, which are too many to recall, but once something goes well (England game) he takes all the credit and relives the memory in the media constantly. Pathetic Gk and even more pathetic person.



Yeah that's true, isn't it.. The prick even manages to come off sounding arrogant after f*cking up. :mad: I sincerely hope he breaks a leg, it's our only hope for the WC. I swear I have a minor heart attack every time a cross is made or he receives a pass back.

I was getting pretty annoyed with C. Ronaldo yesterday too, I don't know if it was his lack of respect for Lichtenstein but he looked like the selfish & immature CR of a few years ago. Trying to dribble through 3 players then losing the ball, keeping the ball with open team mates available, choosing to do party-tricks instead of crossing the ball...

Paulo Santos to the NT NOW!

paulo santos>ricardo

although, imo, it's ONLY ricardo who should be dropped...scolari is one of the best coaches in the world...and he didn't won the world cup just because of ronaldo and gaúcho...pauleta is a great player, he may at this moment not have the finishing qualities of other, but he works his ass out through the whole game, so does figo, who's obviously getting old, but proves in some plays he is one of the best of all time, and a great captain...
about the game, we played badly because we can't put three wingers walkin from one side to the other just to cover up for deco..he should have put moutinho or somethin...

bottom line, we are in the world cup, so everything can just f*ck off, but we seriously need to correct some things.....and dump ricardo.

:rockman:PORTUGAL:rockman:

The good news is that we've qualified, but in this match, the bad definiately outweighed the good. A small sampling:

-Ricardo auditioning for KFC's new ad campaign, yet again. Scolari needs to pull his head out of his ass and consider other options (Quim, Moreira, Paulo Santos, etc.)

-The Liechtenstein defender's handball on the goal line. Great save, only one problem: YOU'RE NOT THE F*CKING GOALKEEPER!

-The ref pulling a Wenger and not seeing said handball.

-The mere fact that we were losing at halftime. If the result held, we would have been the laughingstock of the world.

-Figo's penalty miss. I knew even before he stepped up that he was gonna blaze it over the bar. He should never take another penalty for his country ever again.

-Scolari waiting till the 80th minute to bring on Nuno Gomes. Personally, I'd rather see him in the starting XI than Pauleta, but this is one man's opinion and I don't carry the job title of "Seleccniador Nacional".

Anyway, we're off to Germany for the World Cup, but a hell of a lot of ajdustments need to be made before we leave, or it will be another early exit.

A Joao Tomas (I realize he's injured right now) and Nuno Gomes partnership would have bagged 5 goals yesterday, I'm sure of it. Scolari's problem I think is that he just has limited knowledge of Portuguese football and it's players, that being said it's his job to call and play players on form. Nuno Gomes coming in so late in the game was shameful, especially since he's currently going through a good goal-scorring period. I also cursed at the TV when he brought on Hugo Viana, who as far as I know hasn't even played for his club yet :|

I also hope that ref and his linesman receive some sort of disciplinary action, that was the most blatant intentional handball I've ever seen. It's inconceivable how they missed it.

every day i hate Scolari more and more...

from Record:

Satisfeito pelo mais do que natural apuramento, mas muito desiludido com a prestação no encontro que rendeu a qualificação para o Mundial da Alemanha. Luiz Felipe Scolari não poupou nas palavras.

“Não adianta ‘tapar o sol com a peneira’, fiquei bravo com os meus jogadores. Não souberam gerir o resultado após o 2-1, queria que eles trabalhassem a bola”, afirmou o técnico, em tom de lamento. Mas a insatisfação de Scolari até precedeu a conquista da vantagem. Começou logo no tento de Fischer: “Sofrer um golo daquela maneira é um absurdo, deve ser a primeira vez”, referiu.

WTF????????? that wasn't France, or England, they were the amateurs of Liechtenstein (most of them are amateurs)!! :mad:

DIE SCOLARI DIE!! :hit: :hit:

Dammit...why are you complaining? We are at the WC 2006. That's what matters. The team was very anxious and full of pressure. We have drawn 2-2 at their home...At some point I tought that the team was scared of Lichensomething (I can't really spell them).

Mr.Scolari has all my support. He is one of the best coaches that came across Portugal. I like him as a coach and as a person. With the right options, he will lead Portugal to success, like he did on Euro 2004...but always with Portugal helping him (from Greece to Russia game for example).

But...Ricardo as a GK? Figo as a Penalty-Kicker (Simão is the best there)? Ronaldo in the middle? Pauleta...I repeat...PAULETA as a striker? I hope he can really see what's bad in there...

Yesterday's performance was too bad to be true, we missed a lot Deco and his geniality in the middle, Pauleta was the usual crap missing some scandalous goals, Figo don't have a place in the team IMO(don't know why it wasn't Simão taking that PK) and Ricardo was at his best again... :nape: :mad: also Scolari showed again how stupid he is as a coach(at some point of the game he seemed to be playing for the draw) :| ... well at least we're in the WC but to be honest i don't predict a good campaign, hope i'm wrong... :rolleyes:

Oh come on. The man got you to a Euro Final, and i dont think any Portuguese manager would've gotten you past England (other than Mourinho). Felipão isnt a tactical genius, but he can motivate any team and push them to victory like no other coach in the world.

godammit, stop bashing Scolari FFS! It's the same pre-Euro bull**** all over again! everyone thought he sucked, everyone wanted him out... and we we're vice champions!

honestly, the man is World Champion and European Vice-Champion... he qualified us for the World Cup too. If that doens't count I don't know what does!

plus, we didn't deliver a "goleada" yesterday because things didn't work, bad luck! Or have you forgotten 7-1 on Russia? It was the same team (except for Deco... who isn't exactly worth 5 goals), against an even tougher opponent... but things worked that day... did Scolari suck then?

Please guys, let's show a little confidence and respect for the man, shall we?

And about Ricardo... I'll keep my opinion since last season:

http://pfcbfc.com.sapo.pt/carlos.jpg

Dammit...why are you complaining? We are at the WC 2006. That's what matters. The team was very anxious and full of pressure. We have drawn 2-2 at their home...At some point I tought that the team was scared of Lichensomething (I can't really spell them).

Mr.Scolari has all my support. He is one of the best coaches that came across Portugal. I like him as a coach and as a person. With the right options, he will lead Portugal to success, like he did on Euro 2004...but always with Portugal helping him (from Greece to Russia game for example).



Again, let me remind you this was Lichtenstein. Anxious, full of pressure? What kind of a manager has a team full of superstars that get's nervous playing a bunch of amateurs at home in a full stadium!? ...and the fact that we drew 2-2 with them, and could have easily lost this time clearly shows how Scolari's terrible choices (RICARDO!) directly effect the outcome..

Teams like Holland, Italy, France, Germany, England, etc, etc would have pounded Lichtenstein at home in a game that guarenteed their qualification. Imagine the French or Italians getting anxious playing a team like Lichtenstein, the thought is laughable..

why he isn't playing at boavista?

and BTW Paulo Santos is even worst than Ricardo.

yeah, I can agree with that, Paulo Santos has never really stood out as being anything special IMO either. Personally, I really like Bruno Vale, I'd like to see him integrated into the roster for the WC...

for me the keepers for the WC were: Moreira, Baia and Quim.

in that order.

why he isn't playing at boavista?

he's been injured, he resumed training this week...

godammit, stop bashing Scolari FFS! It's the same pre-Euro bull**** all over again! everyone thought he sucked, everyone wanted him out... and we we're vice champions!

honestly, the man is World Champion and European Vice-Champion... he qualified us for the World Cup too. If that doens't count I don't know what does!

plus, we didn't deliver a "goleada" yesterday because things didn't work, bad luck! Or have you forgotten 7-1 on Russia? It was the same team (except for Deco... who isn't exactly worth 5 goals), against an even tougher opponent... but things worked that day... did Scolari suck then?

So, things didn't work out because we were unlucky ? Sure, it was a very bad call indeed from the ref on that "save", but Liechenstein could have scored at the end, but one of the players was on the ball's way, near the goaline.

Scolari (and everone else) already knew the way that sort of teams play, ultra-defensive style, but still what changes did he implement admitting Portugal is clearly superior ? None, just put Figo freely on the midfield cause of Deco's absence. Where he should've put Nuno Gomes with Pauleta at front, if you ask me. C'mon, one defensive midfielder (Petit) and one semi-defensive midfielder (Maniche - that even hurts to watch him play in this form, compared to what he used to show) against a 9 men defense ? Wow, now that would be a big risk wouldn't it ? Even more cause our CBs are so sh*tty.. :rolleyes:

The thing is Portugal does not have a backup plan, we always play the same system, no matter who we're playing with and if it's working or not. And Scolari just takes way too much to realize that and do any changes..

We are the european vice-champions when we could be the champions. Or is Greece a better team ? They didn't even qualified for the World Cup. And we lost TWICE with them in the tournment, even after knowing what was the players' positioning and movments on the field, the way they played..

After losing the first game of the tournment did you see how he did what everyone was telling him to do, starting Ricardo Carvalho and C.Ronaldo ? He only learns this way, and it's not very pleasent to know he will only take Ricardo out if something like scoring 3 own goals in on match happens :nape:

And I agree someone told Scolari has little knowledge of portuguese football. Couldn't be more correct. He, himself admited Portugal only had like 15 players of certain quality. He's afraid to bet on others, cause he doesn't know them. Players like Moreira for exemple, who could bring something to the squad..

On a final note, it showed the importance of Deco on the team as well, after Rui Costa retirement, who do we have when he's injured/suspended ? Because Scolari hardly changes the system.. Hugo Viana ? I admire him but he hasn't been playing much.. And when he is there really isn't much to cheer about lately..

Again, let me remind you this was Lichtenstein. Anxious, full of pressure? What kind of a manager has a team full of superstars that get's nervous playing a bunch of amateurs at home in a full stadium!? ...and the fact that we drew 2-2 with them, and could have easily lost this time clearly shows how Scolari's terrible choices (RICARDO!) directly effect the outcome..

Teams like Holland, Italy, France, Germany, England, etc, etc would have pounded Lichtenstein at home in a game that guarenteed their qualification. Imagine the French or Italians getting anxious playing a team like Lichtenstein, the thought is laughable..

That's SO not true!

Do I have to repeat that Liechtenstein only lost by a maximum of 2 goals since the draw against Portugal, that they drew with Slovakia 0-0 away and that they also only lost by 2-1 against Russia? You can't compare them with what they were 10 years ago!

And about other teams results, sorry to say, but you probably haven't been paying attention. Just some examples: Macedonia 2-2 Holland, Armenia 0-1 Holland, France 0-0 Israel, Faroe Islands 0-2 France, Cyprus 0-2 France, Israel 1-1 France, Moldova 0-1 Italy, Slovenia 1-o Italy, Azerbaijan 0-1 England, Bosnia 1-1 Spain, Lithuania 0-0 Spain, Spain 1-0 Lithuania, Spain 1-1 Bosnia.

Obviously, we have the obligation to beat Liechtenstein and comfortably, but it's arrogant and unrealistic to think that there are easy games and that we can win them all by 4 or more goals. Sorry for repeating myself, but football has changed and for the better! The level is much more balanced all over the world. Just take a look at teams like Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo qualifying and all of them below #50 in the FIFA rankings.

little knowledge of portuguese football? who cares? our NT has far more players playing outside than in our own championship...

off topic

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/t/ptw/index.html
(H) check ou the 7th "Player to watch on WC06"

by "knowledge of Portuguese football" I beleive we're referring to the overall Portuguese football mentality, attitude, and depth of our player base home and abroad, rather than knowledge of what's happening in our Liga.

Anyhow, it doesn't matter, it wouldn't make a difference to Scolari if he knew more anyway. He's already decided who is NT worthy and who isn't...that's why players in great form like Duda, Sergio Conceicao, and others get ignored while others have an automatic spot.

I actually used to support Scolari, especially in the begining, but I can't justify it anymore. His insistance on certain players is hurting the team, we can get away with it now, but we'll have more Greece-type games in the future if we don't make the changes that everyone can see we need ...exept Scolari.

Man, you guys have to start thinking like some coaches...like Mourinho.

Did we play bad? Yes. Did we win? Yes. Ok. Now imagine we play bad in all the WC 2006...but we win the WC 2006. In the end...who wins, playing good or bad football takes the crown.

this was f*cking Liechtenstein. Had we played bad vs Brazil and still won I'd be happy.

That's SO not true!

Do I have to repeat that Liechtenstein only lost by a maximum of 2 goals since the draw against Portugal, that they drew with Slovakia 0-0 away and that they also only lost by 2-1 against Russia? You can't compare them with what they were 10 years ago!

And about other teams results, sorry to say, but you probably haven't been paying attention. Just some examples: Macedonia 2-2 Holland, Armenia 0-1 Holland, France 0-0 Israel, Faroe Islands 0-2 France, Cyprus 0-2 France, Israel 1-1 France, Moldova 0-1 Italy, Slovenia 1-o Italy, Azerbaijan 0-1 England, Bosnia 1-1 Spain, Lithuania 0-0 Spain, Spain 1-0 Lithuania, Spain 1-1 Bosnia.

Obviously, we have the obligation to beat Liechtenstein and comfortably, but it's arrogant and unrealistic to think that there are easy games and that we can win them all by 4 or more goals. Sorry for repeating myself, but football has changed and for the better! The level is much more balanced all over the world. Just take a look at teams like Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo qualifying and all of them below #50 in the FIFA rankings.

yes, I've been paying close attention..

I think maybe the word "pounded" was too strong on my part, what I was trying to say is that I'm sure countries like Italy, France, etc would have at least had a comfortable win and not suffered as we did and tainted the celebration. I think also the point I was trying to make was about the winning attitude which we often lack, especially in decisive situations, rather than the narrow scoreline. I know Lichtenstein is a lot better than they were 10 years ago, I think I was the first in this thread to compliment their play yesterday. Nevertheless, whatever progress they've made, a game like yesterday's should never happen, even today....this was Man Utd./Chelsea/Inter Milan playing against FC Vaduz :|

anyways, doesn't matter now...

this was f*cking Liechtenstein. Had we played bad vs Brazil and still won I'd be happy.


exactly! (Y)

i don't get bothered to see Scolari screaming at the players because they want to score a 3rd goal if we are playing against France, Italy, Brazil or any other major NT...but against Liechentsein?! i don't know about you, but i found his reaction to be ridiculous, when even the public was asking for more goals! i'm not saying that we should have scored 4 or 5 goals, but IMO 3 in the very least we should demand for in games against teams like these...

another point of discussion are the call ups. calling players that don't play, some don't even go to the bench in their clubs, is sth that i cannot support no matter what, even if we win all games. why? well because first of all it's totally unfair to all other players that play regularly and perform well at the same time. players who deserve to be called up and who dream to be part of the NT some day, yet with Scolari they will NEVER have that chance...second, because of his options during the games, for example his insistance on Ricardo as a starter, putting in Hugo Viana or Nuno Gomes only 10 minutes from the end of the game, or playing Deco as a RB in the game against England, just to name a few...

i'm still supporting the NT, though i won't ever cheer for Scolari, and any success that our NT can get i'll always credit it to the players only and never to Scolari...

:rolleyes: i think trashing scolari is just plain fag. the man is a great coach, he know what he does, maybe he didn't put the best eleven yesterday, but at the end of the day it's our players fault (like ricardo), coz we're talkin about professional football players here, ricardo has to know he can't run out of the goal like that..nobody was expecting that, not even ricardo's greatest trasher, let alone scolari...i agree that he should be replaced, but nobody thought that in the game vs. england...also, if greece won the EURO, why can't we play badly from time to time? even chelsea plays bad sometimes, or barça, or brazil, or argentina...i mean, it happens..of course we get angry, coz we're not suppose to shiver against lickwhateverstein, but goddamnit, haven't these 20 or so players proven themselves over and over? let's see how things develop from here, but please don't say it's scolari's fault...
club and nt are different things..pauleta is a great player at PSG..he isn't the best in the NT(although, i repeat, he works his ass out)..postiga is cr*p in porto..he almost always scores in the nt..

believe it, i'm angry too, but we got to see that a team capable of what we were back in 2004, is capable of great things in germany...and it isn't with mourinho coming at this moment like a saviour, or anyone for that matter...scolari and this group are in the 2006 world cup, and - f*ck it - we are going to the final!!!:rockman::rockman:

no we're not, in my opinion the key reason why Portugal was semi-successful in Euro2004 was because of the chemisty in the midfield with the Porto's Mourinho trio. Add C.Ronaldo's superform to that and the inclusion of R.Carvalho after the first game and you have what happened.

yes, I've been paying close attention..

I think maybe the word "pounded" was too strong on my part, what I was trying to say is that I'm sure countries like Italy, France, etc would have at least had a comfortable win and not suffered as we did and tainted the celebration. I think also the point I was trying to make was about the winning attitude which we often lack, especially in decisive situations, rather than the narrow scoreline. I know Lichtenstein is a lot better than they were 10 years ago, I think I was the first in this thread to compliment their play yesterday. Nevertheless, whatever progress they've made, a game like yesterday's should never happen, even today....this was Man Utd./Chelsea/Inter Milan playing against FC Vaduz :|

anyways, doesn't matter now...

I understand what you're saying and I totally agree with you regarding our attitude. It truly was an awful game and we can't play like that if we want to be seriously considered as a top team. The main difference is that I'm not unhappy with because we played like that against Liechtenstein, but because we played like that, period. Although obviously there is a huge difference (and that's an understatemente) between a Brazil and a Liechtenstein, my attitude regarding the two is exactly the same, with the same ammount of respect and seriousness. That, I think, is one fo the major problems of Portuguese football, because against top opposition we play very well, but against theorically weaker teams we sometimes fail miserably. But this is a problem that comes from way back and not from Scolari (in fact, I even think we got better in this aspect with him).

In fact, I'm praying that we get a strong group in the WC, because I think we have much more chances of doing well in that situation than if we get a group were we are seen as favorites and start thinking the other teams are weak... That's a major mistake!

I was just trying to point out facts that are undeniable but are disregarded most of the time. And I'm not that sure that France and Italy would do that great in a situation like yesterday, as in fact recent results by them show the opposite.

Poor result, even poorer display.
At the end of the game I felt ashamed with what I had seen, it was too bad to be true.

I just can't understand how some people can't see what a mess Scolari is.
one might say "f'ck off, Scolari is great as he led us to this and that.....", and yeah the truth is that we've made a good Euro, and a good qualifying campaign to the Germany.
But to win performing like we did yesterday? Hell NO.

I won't even start talking about the players he choses to be part of the squad, since the moment he brings in 2 keepers that are not playing at their clubs and then out of them picks the sh'tmaker to start....I rest my case.

Johnny_Big : Mourinho would never play this way against Liechenstein with a team like we have. Don't even compare both, it's freakin' outrageous.

What disgusts me the most is what he said in the end of the game "I'm disappointed that we couldn't hold to the result safely" Hold to the result?!?!?! 2-1?!?!?! dumbass..if his country's NT, Brazil, was struggling to win 2-1 to Liechenstein i bet he wouldn't be asking the players to hold the result...I hate this dumb stubborn prick...Oh and Big_Johnny: ask Mourinho what he thought about last night's game, and don't be surprised if he disagrees even more than us with the brazilian prick..

So, things didn't work out because we were unlucky ? Sure, it was a very bad call indeed from the ref on that "save", but Liechenstein could have scored at the end, but one of the players was on the ball's way, near the goaline.

Scolari (and everone else) already knew the way that sort of teams play, ultra-defensive style, but still what changes did he implement admitting Portugal is clearly superior ? None, just put Figo freely on the midfield cause of Deco's absence. Where he should've put Nuno Gomes with Pauleta at front, if you ask me. C'mon, one defensive midfielder (Petit) and one semi-defensive midfielder (Maniche - that even hurts to watch him play in this form, compared to what he used to show) against a 9 men defense ? Wow, now that would be a big risk wouldn't it ? Even more cause our CBs are so sh*tty.. :rolleyes:

The thing is Portugal does not have a backup plan, we always play the same system, no matter who we're playing with and if it's working or not. And Scolari just takes way too much to realize that and do any changes..

We are the european vice-champions when we could be the champions. Or is Greece a better team ? They didn't even qualified for the World Cup. And we lost TWICE with them in the tournment, even after knowing what was the players' positioning and movments on the field, the way they played..

After losing the first game of the tournment did you see how he did what everyone was telling him to do, starting Ricardo Carvalho and C.Ronaldo ? He only learns this way, and it's not very pleasent to know he will only take Ricardo out if something like scoring 3 own goals in on match happens :nape:

And I agree someone told Scolari has little knowledge of portuguese football. Couldn't be more correct. He, himself admited Portugal only had like 15 players of certain quality. He's afraid to bet on others, cause he doesn't know them. Players like Moreira for exemple, who could bring something to the squad..

On a final note, it showed the importance of Deco on the team as well, after Rui Costa retirement, who do we have when he's injured/suspended ? Because Scolari hardly changes the system.. Hugo Viana ? I admire him but he hasn't been playing much.. And when he is there really isn't much to cheer about lately..

Portugal lost the Euro because it was fate, destiny, or whatever. In any normal match when your team gets over 15 shots at goal and the opponent 5 or so, and you lose, it's called a fluke. Greece's Euro title was a fluke. But dont lie to yourself, there were many better teams than Portugal in the competition and you should be happy for the fact the squad managed to get to a final.

Portugal were the hot **** in WC 2002 and i remember what it happened. Dont overrate your team. No other Portuguese manager other than Mourinho would've gotten that far. I'm not trying to sound arrogant, or underrate Portugal, but it's simple : getting a team with no goalkeeper and with no striker to a Eurocup final is a feat in itself. You're only saying you could've/should've won the damn thing because the side managed to get to the final. But when it started, i bet my arse that half of the people in your country werent counting on it.

Portugal lost the Euro because it was fate, destiny, or whatever. In any normal match when your team gets over 15 shots at goal and the opponent 5 or so, and you lose, it's called a fluke. Greece's Euro title was a fluke. But dont lie to yourself, there were many better teams than Portugal in the competition and you should be happy for the fact the squad managed to get to a final.

Portugal were the hot **** in WC 2002 and i remember what it happened. Dont overrate your team. No other Portuguese manager other than Mourinho would've gotten that far. I'm not trying to sound arrogant, or underrate Portugal, but it's simple : getting a team with no goalkeeper and with no striker to a Eurocup final is a feat in itself. You're only saying you could've/should've won the damn thing because the side managed to get to the final. But when it started, i bet my arse that half of the people in your country werent counting on it.

well you're sounding arrogant and we got to the final playing the best looking football along with Czech Republic, so it's not like we didn't deserve it.

More than that not only you're sounding arrogant you sound like you don't know sh*t, because if you did you would know that we lost in the Euro 2000 semis with a dubious 120th minute penalty. In Euro 2000 we had a coach with pretty much no real coaching experience whatsoever and zero reputation. And we had a much more sh*ttier defence than we have today.

On that of that I'd be willing to bet but of my balls that if Scolari hadn't changed the team to the one that the public opinion demanded after the first match, we wouldn't even had got through group stage.

All in all, I don't even know why I actually had the trouble of writing this post to someone that gives me the impression that gets his all football knowledge from Pro Evo Soccer or Football Manager player ratings.

IMHO Scolari is the luckiest manager you'll ever find... I don't follow Portuguese football at all, but reading the posts here it seems pretty clear you have better GKs than Ricardo... but somehow I think you'll manage to do well in the world cup... he somehow makes it when it counts...
I remember him losing against Honduras at the Copa America, yet going on to win the world cup...

Portugal lost the Euro because it was fate, destiny, or whatever. In any normal match when your team gets over 15 shots at goal and the opponent 5 or so, and you lose, it's called a fluke. Greece's Euro title was a fluke. But dont lie to yourself, there were many better teams than Portugal in the competition and you should be happy for the fact the squad managed to get to a final.

Portugal were the hot **** in WC 2002 and i remember what it happened. Dont overrate your team. No other Portuguese manager other than Mourinho would've gotten that far. I'm not trying to sound arrogant, or underrate Portugal, but it's simple : getting a team with no goalkeeper and with no striker to a Eurocup final is a feat in itself. You're only saying you could've/should've won the damn thing because the side managed to get to the final. But when it started, i bet my arse that half of the people in your country werent counting on it.

better teams in euro2004 than us? for example??
i only see one which played the same football than us: the czechs.

and don't talk about what you don't know. WC2002 was a failure because of a bunch of reasons that you don't know and we weren't the only country failing on Korea/Japan. and don't forget we have eliminated Holland in the qualifiers. yes you are underestimating Portugal and you are being arrogant, Portugal has being playing great football before Scolari. just see the entire Euro2000 (the best football i ever saw on our NT) and the WC2002 qualifiers. don't try, like the majority of the brazilians, underrate us and try to pass the image that Scolari is making miracles with us, and we reborn for football with the genial sargentão... in case you didn't noticed Portugal was present in the majority of the big competitions in the last 10 years and almost all times with great results.

and BTW we have keepers in Portugal, mr. Scolari choose the worst of them.

Record's news of the day is that Scolari is pissed with Madail because Madail criticized Portugal's exhibition of Saturday.

Scolari is pondering cancelling his contract.

Let's all cross fingers (H) There's still time to lure Mourinho to coach us in the World Cup.

but of course Madail would bring in someone like ******* Manuel Jose or Jose Romao.

Of course that if the alternative is Mourinho, I say sack Scolari now! But let's be realistic, that's impossible at the moment. And comparing other alternatives, I really think Scolari is by far the best option.

Interesting article by a Brazilian sports journalist:

"Espanha é só fúria

Assisti neste fim de semana a três jogos de seleções européias pelas eliminatórias da Copa: o da Inglaterra, que ganhou de pouco mas com relativa tranqüilidade da Áustria, a vitória de Reyes, ou melhor, da Espanha sobre a Bélgica e a virada de Portugal sobre Liechtenstein.

Não consigo me surpreender com a dificuldade da Espanha em se classificar para a Copa, mesmo em um grupo ridículo de fácil. Me surpreende, sim, que ainda se teime em considerar a equipe, que não é nem ao menos a melhor da península Ibérica, como candidata a qualquer coisa. O time da Espanha é médio, como médios são seus melhores jogadores. Casillas é um bom goleiro e Raul é um atacante esforçado, que poderia ser reserva da seleção B do Brasil. O resto é muito abaixo da média. Pergunto: se não fosse espanhol, Puyol seria titular do Barcelona? O mesmo pergunto sobre Michel Salgado, no Real Madrid.

Se você assistiu o jogo na tevê, vai ter ouvido os cascateiros de plantão falarem em grandes jogadores espanhóis do passado recente. É mentira. Em 82, que a Copa foi lá, os caras ganharam, na copa inteira, um jogo, e empataram dois. Se classificaram para a segunda fase no desempate por gols marcados, e nesta segunda fase, que na época era disputada em grupos de três, conseguiram tão somente um empate, e terminaram em último do grupo. Como dá pra dizer que tinha grandes jogadores? Tinham nomes bacanas, é verdade, me lembro do Arconada e do Naranjito (esse era o mascote da copa, uma laranja...).

Diz-se, também, que a Espanha tem um dos melhores campeonatos do mundo. Tem, isso sim, dois dos mais espetaculares times do mundo, mas acho questionável dizer que um campeonato em que o Betis é uma força e Salva é goleador é um dos melhores do mundo. Será que alguém saliva de vontade de assistir Valladolid e Getafe? Celta e Espanyol?

A Espanha, ao contrário do Brasil, é um país “triunfalista”, valoriza excessivamente seus sucessos e tende a esquecer seus fracassos. Me parece que, para chegar a ter destaque no cenário internacional, o país precisa mudar de postura, admitir que tem jogadores apenas razoáveis e que suas virtudes são a força e a raça. E que seus times só ganham títulos importantes quando povoados de estrangeiros.

Grande time?

Implico um pouco também com este conceito de que a Inglaterra tem um grande time. Um pouco, não muito. Que é um dos melhores times ingleses de todos os tempos não discuto, mas... e daí? Com que nível estamos comparando? Tirando o time de 66, que outro grande time teve a Inglaterra? Em termos individuais, qual é o grande craque do time inglês? Lampard, Terry e Beckham são grandes jogadores, mas quem é ali que tem poder para definir um jogo difícil? Talvez Wayne Rooney. Michael Owen, no passado, que cada vez parece mais remoto. Depende, me parece, da inspiração destes dois o futuro do English Team na Alemanha. Se estiverem inspirados, admito, a Inglaterra pode até chegar lá.

Ando meio “português” ultimamente, confesso, mas não vejo a mesma “badalação” em torno da equipe de Felipão. Que se classificou com muita facilidade para a Copa, calando os que diziam que o resultado da Euro-2004 (ou do Euro, como se diz por lá) era enganoso porque Portugal jogou em casa. A nova geração não tem o brilho da anterior, é verdade, mas, como equipe, é melhor do que a de 2002. Convém não esquecer que seu treinador é o atual campeão do mundo.

Contra Liechtenstein, descontando os “roubos” do juiz, Portugal perdeu gols incríveis – e um pênalti –, e o bom Paulo Ferreira se juntou ao criticado Ricardo para dar um gol de presente ao adversário. A equipe, no entanto, no melhor estilo Felipão, fez o que era necessário. Ganhou com um gol do homem que acabara de entrar, está na Copa e tem que ser respeitada por qualquer adversário.

Baba

Por aqui, cristaliza-se a impressão de que a Copa vai ser “baba” para o Brasil, já que o nível de nossos jogadores está muito acima dos outros. Acho também que nenhuma outra seleção pode se darão luxo de ter tantos jogadores espetaculares no ataque, e que, com exceção da França (se se classificar e se Zidane jogar) e da Argentina, não há outra equipe com número razoável de craques para atrapalhar. Mas nossa defesa é uma das piores do planeta, e quem duvidar deve assistir alguns jogos do Leverkusen.

Mais: a Copa é na Alemanha. O time da casa ainda não está definido e, sem dúvida, não é um dos mais fortes do mundo. Mas é a Alemanha, e joga em casa. Se na Coréia/Japão, que o time era ainda pior e não estava jogando em casa, a Alemanha chegou na final, qualquer um que não considere a equipe como favorita ao título corre grande risco de cair do cavalo.

Além disso, convém lembrar uma máxima que vimos repetindo exaustivamente: futebol não é só técnica. É tática, é garra, é espírito de luta. E é sorte, também."

These brazilians are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too confident..Do they really believe Casillas is just a "good" gk? and that besides Raúl there's only medium players in Spain? and that only Brazil, Argentina and France have the players to make a difference???

And btw, Portugal has much better players now then we did in 2002, we've only lost Rui Costa and Baía FFS!!! I won't even mention which new players came in cause the only one that doesn't know is that dumbass journalist. About Paulo Ferreira being an "average" player..well he obviously doesn't remember when he twisted Roberto Carlos' back, but he'll see when Brazil travels to Stamford Bridge.

I'll laugh my head out when Fernando Torres torn that awfull brazilian defense apart or Cristiano Ronaldo sits all their 4 defenders plus Dida...

They talk about Argentinians but they are the most arrogant ignorant patriotic fools ive seen..They trully think they're football gods and, as a matter of fact, they believe their defense is good!!

Whenever they play a well-organised team in the WC they'll realise what they're worth.

I'm just relishing to see Chelsea-Brazil !!!

And the best part is that i like Brazil and its football...But I hate their freakin mentality..I watch a brazilian channel at sunday nights where they talk about football, and when their NT is brought to the conversation you just can't believe how they hype it...

What really surprises me is how bad they know european football, and how they think Argentina and Brazil are the only two football NT's to count with, and that we, europeans have just money plus those poor native players.

Sorry if this seems too angry, wasn't meant to be (C)


P.S. Agostinho for NT coach! he did a fine job right after the WC, before teimosão's arrival.

Record's news of the day is that Scolari is pissed with Madail because Madail criticized Portugal's exhibition of Saturday.

Scolari is pondering cancelling his contract.

Let's all cross fingers (H) There's still time to lure Mourinho to coach us in the World Cup.

but of course Madail would bring in someone like ******* Manuel Jose or Jose Romao.

U can't imagine how much happy i would be if he resigns as our NT coach... this is an opportunity to bring Humberto Coelho back!

P.S. Agostinho for NT coach! he did a fine job right after the WC, before teimosão's arrival.

I agree, I was very happy with the work he was doing before Scolari showed up. Agostinho actually gave new players opportunities...even those from smaller clubs who were playing well, he experimented, and he called players who were ON FORM, not just the same vacas sagradas. There was no reason to replace him but I guess the FPF needed to sign a big name to please the public. I would love it if Scolari left, these players have worked together for years and know each other well, I highly doubt Scolari leaving would affect their play in any negative way.

One thing's for sure IMO, regardless of who the new coach would be (I think Mourinho would be very difficult to get) I'm sure he would at least replace Ricardo and one or two others who are clearly contributing nothing these days. That alone would benefit the team...

About that article, that was the most arrogant/ignorant thing I've ever read. I love how he mentions "espírito de luta", oh like all those Brasilians (Paulo Almeida for example) who come to Portugal and play in slow-motion and don't bother running after the ball?? ...and Scolari getting offended that the team's play was criticized also shows how arrogant this man is. After how we played the other day, he should assume responsibility and acknowledge we were crap.

Exactly, he was the first one to call-up Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, as a matter of fact most of those players Scolari left in the bench in the first Greece game..

To even think of what that brazilian journalist wrote...How can he say Raúl(the best among the other "average" players Spain has) wouldn't even start in the Brazil's B team...such an asshole, i won't read it again, sick of them, i'm already getting too anxious to their Chelsea game..

']U can't imagine how much happy i would be if he resigns as our NT coach... this is an opportunity to bring Humberto Coelho back!

No, not Humberto Coelho, please! The guy's worth 0 as a coach. We only did the Euro 2000 we did because of the players not him. His career as a coach afterwards speaks for itself: not a single club trained by him (the best he has done in his career was training Estoril in the 2nd league), failure with Morocco and failure with Korea...

I find it incredible how much hatred for Scolari there seems to be. He is already our overall 3rd best coach ever, he delivered the results most of the time and we had several great games with him and not only during the Euro. Did you guys already forget the 7-1 against Russia ore the 2-0 against Slovakia? We had an almost flawless campaign to the WC, being the team with most goals scored and the 2nd with most points. And now, after a game with Liechtenstein (which we won) you're asking for his head? While I do think that you are right in certain aspects (we did play awfully, he's mediocre tactically and some of his choices are laughable) and that you have all the right in the world to dislike Scolari and prefer other coaches, it seems to me that you only look at the bad aspects and not at the whole picture, objectively. I can only imagine what you would be saying about him had we done a campaign like Spain, France or England... If he's doing a bad job and should be sacked, then all of those coaches also should, which is completely ridiculous.

Also, you may believe it or not, but Scolari is a coach that´s very liked by his players and they all honestly want him to stay ahead of the NT. Nobody can deny he managed to create an excellent team atmosphere, totally different from the divided group and powder barrel that the NT was with António Oliveira. Besides, regardless of everything else, I think it would be a huge mistake to change the coach at this point, so close to the WC, but that's just me...

Finally, I must say I do agree that Agostinho Oliveira would make a good coach and I hope he is the sucessor of Scolari, after the WC (well, what I would really like would be Mourinho, but that is impossible in the near future).

P.S. Just some NT results with Artur Jorge, Humberto Coelho and António Oliveira, in case you forgot: Armenia 0-0 Portugal, Northern Ireland 0-0 Portugal, England 3-0 Portugal, Portugal 2-1 Mozambique, Portugal 1-0 Slovakia, Azerbaijan 1-1 Portugal, Portugal 1-4 Finland and even a 1-1 home against Tunisia with Agostinho Oliveira. In comparision, I don't think Scolari's results are worse...

try to convince Mourinho to get the NT as a part-time and we will be world champions :ewan:

Nakamura the only good thing i can see about Scolari is his strong personality, but if u have a strong personality you need the brains to complement it, otherwise you'll make shiat saying u've done wonders...

Scolari is a better coach than Oliveira or Humberto, and Artur Jorge didn't have half the quality in what concerns to players Scolari has now.

And of course everyone IN THE GROUP loves him! they can be as horrible as ever they KNOW they won't be dropped.

Agostinho won 10 possible games with an u-21 team, and to get that kind of performance from such young players isn't achievable for any stubborn dumb coach.

I'm not displeased with Scolari because of this game, i didn't even see it! I'm sick tired of the guy because IMHO he has 1/5 in the team's latest "success", and so must be Baía, Moreira, Miguelito, Duda etc etc etc...why doesn't he call Vaz Tê if he's as concerned with the future as he was when he called Bruno Vale...he's a prick, and wil always be for me, sorry.

I'm destined to watch Portugal's games hoping Ronaldo and Deco invent an assist or put in an impossible goal...Because no matter how bad they play, if we ever get unfortunate and end up playing without'em i won't have the guts to see the outcome..

It would be interesting to see what would Mourinho say.. However he would most likely decline, obviously cause of Chelsea. I don't think they'd be very happy since he signed a full time contract.. It would be awasome though :hump:

well they showed his daily life in TV a couple of months ago and the truth is he does sh*t all in the afternoon except being with his family. He surely could squeeze in a few hours a day of NT's work at home without a lot of trouble. I bet that would be more than Scolari does.

Not sure what would be his take on the situation if Scolari resigns. In one side he'd have less pressure because he wouldn't have spent enough time with the team, for them to get used to his methods and tactics. In another side if he fails to win which would be likely, another bit of the Mourinho myth would go down.

Just let him go already, about f'cking time.

Out of all the options you guys talked about, Agostinho Oliveira would be my choice. There's no way Mourinho would come now.
But as long as it isn't José Romão, I'll be OK with whoever comes (I think).

But as long as it isn't José Romão, I'll be OK with whoever comes (I think).

Even Peseiro?

Notice the words between brackets :read:

Anyway, I guess the FPF wouldn't be THAT dumb.

Wooo...this was only a game...have you guys forgot our Euro 2004 campaign...? 7-1 against Russia? 4-0 against Estonia (should have been 8-0 or something)? Even this game was a fluke for Liechenstein...
Ricardo was at GK.
The referee didn't see a penalty that everyone saw (and red card).
Figo missed a penalty.
Pauleta missed so much sh*t.
Ronaldo wasn't on his days...
Deco wasn't there...he is the most important player in Portugal!

What matters is that we won...I believe that the portuguese players will be chilled out against Latvia and they will make a good performance.

How can you be so damn bad to Scolari? He took the Brazil NT in 2001 with the team in bad-shape, unconfident and in 5th or 6th place...he finished 4th place and won the World Cup (But I can't forget that damn game against Turkey...Turkey deserved the final). He led Portugal to a fantastic campaign in Euro 2004. And Portugal showed that in this qualification a very secure team. The group was easy...yes...we were lucky, but we made it...in other years Portugal had easier groups and didn't make it. I think he will lead us to the success once again!

Oh...and those Brazilians think they will win the WC...oh please...Holland is playing damn good (best football in Europe NT so far). Germany with 1/2 good defenders is an awesome NT. Argentina is a force to be reckoned. Ukraine is going to be the WC 2006 "Greece". Even Portugal might have a chance. Brazil may win...but it won't be a walk in the park.

Scolari and Madaíl are friends again.. :(

http://www.theslant.com/jam/images/downer.jpg

Se você assistiu o jogo na tevê, vai ter ouvido os cascateiros de plantão falarem em grandes jogadores espanhóis do passado recente. É mentira. Em 82, que a Copa foi lá, os caras ganharam, na copa inteira, um jogo, e empataram dois. Se classificaram para a segunda fase no desempate por gols marcados, e nesta segunda fase, que na época era disputada em grupos de três, conseguiram tão somente um empate, e terminaram em último do grupo. Como dá pra dizer que tinha grandes jogadores? Tinham nomes bacanas, é verdade, me lembro do Arconada e do Naranjito (esse era o mascote da copa, uma laranja...).

http://www.furiaroja.com/naranjito.jpg

:Bow: NARANJITO!!!