Portuguese Football
 The
names Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes, and Manchester United's young
superstar Cristiano Ronaldo bring to mind a stylish, free-flowing style
of football that may at times remind one of a former Portuguese colony
in South America.
The national team has in recent years returned to the preeminence enjoyed
by sides in the 1960s, thanks in main part to the soon-to-be retired
Golden Generation talent listed above.
However, closer to home, the domestic league is in a sad state. In a
nation with a population of 10 million people or roughly that of metropolitan
London most First Division sides are cash-starved and forced to sell
off talent to more financially-endowed teams in Italy, Spain, and England.
With the prominent exceptions of Sporting Lisbon and Porto, domestic
teams have in recent years fared badly.
The Portuguese top flight I Divisão has been dominated since
its inception in 1935 by the 'Big Three' of Benfica, Sporting and Porto,
with Belenenses by a single point in 1946 and Boavista in 2001 being
the only other teams to lift the championship. If Benfica reigned supreme
in the 60s, lifting the European Cup in 1961 and 1962, Porto were the
team of the late 80s and 90s with Rabah Madjer and Paolo Futre inspiring
'The Dragons' to a famous 1987 European Cup win over Bayern.
Sporting had something of a renaissance when Peter Schmeichel joined
from Manchester United and lead them to consecutive league titles in
1999-2000. In recent UEFA Cup action, Porto and Boavista both went through
to the semi-finals with Porto reaching the final in Seville against Glasgow
Celtic.
Besides domestic talent the Portuguese league is home to
a growing number of African, Brazilian and Eastern European
players. Foreign coaches have also enjoyed considerable success
including Malcolm Allison at Sporting, Sven Goran Eriksson
at Benfica and Bobby Robson briefly with Sporting before
being sacked and moving north to Porto.
Graeme Souness' tenure at Benfica in the late 90s is less
fondly remembered. Brazil's World Cup-winning coach Luiz
Felipe Scolari was the man charged with (and ultimately not
succeeding in) lifting the hosts to victory at Euro 2004
and he has already shown that he will stand up to the national
team's big name players such as Figo and Rui Costa.
A closer look, though, at the history of Portuguese football
reveals that much of it was built on the talent of players
mined from the former colonies, particularly Africa. Eusebio,
the enormous talent born in Mozambique who led all scorers
in the 1966 World Cup, is the most prominent example. In
addition to his exploits at the England World Cup, he led
Benfica to European Cup victories over Barcelona and Real
Madrid.
The reign of Eusebio and other African stars who played
for Portugal - fellow Mozambiquan Mario Coluna, Angolan Jose
Augusto, and others - ended with the revolution in 1975,
which put an end to immigration from former colonies.
In the 1980s, however, homegrown players proved they could
compete at the international level, making it to the quarterfinals
of the European Cup only to lose to eventual winner France,
which was led by the great Michel Platini. At this point,
there was ample reason to hope for a return to the status
Portugal had attained with earlier squads. It was not to
be.
At the 1986 Mexico World Cup, the Portugal team self-imploded
in an event later dubbed the "Saltillo Affair".
In a prelude to the problems that have beset various African
teams in recent years, the Portuguese team met in a mountain
retreat in the middle of the World Cup and demanded more
appearance money.
According to sources, some of these demands were met; however,
the team went on to lose to Morocco 3-1 and bowed out of
the Cup early. As a result, eleven members of the team were
suspended by the country's federation president. In protest,
the remaining team members withdrew from the team and Portugal
was unable to qualify for the 1988 Euro Finals.
The Golden Generation of Portuguese Football won two world
youth cups at the beginning of the 1990s but has never reached
its full potential at the senior level. In typical form,
the national squad arrived in Korea for the 2002 World Cup
highly ranked, only to leave in disrepute.
An ugly incident at the end of the team's brief stay in
Asia brought back memories of the 2000 European Championship,
in which a referee was pushed and spat upon. Grouped with
Poland, the United States, and co-host South Korea, great
things were expected of Figo, Costa, and Nunes.
Eusebio, who now works for SL Benfica as a coach, declared
prior to the World Cup, 'I am convinced that now, in this
group, we can pass the first group and if we can do this,
I believe we can go very far. The team will have its best
ever classification in the history of its football, and can
surpass Portugal 1966, when we came third.'
In Euro2004, Portugal once again came up short. Just. Losing
in the Final to Greece 1-0, the hearts of many Portuguese
were broken. Figo and Costa have now retired from international
play, leaving the hopes mainly on the shoulders of young
Ronaldo.
The future of Portuguese football, though, is bright. As
disappointing as losing the Final was, Portugal native Jose Mourinho is at the helm of Chelsea, the national team appears
set to qualify for the World
Cup in Germany in 2006, and the domestic league is producing
quality football.
Prior to his departure for London, Mourinho, 'the special one', led FC
Porto to win the UEFA Cup in 2002-2003 and the UEFA Champions League in
2003-2004. He took Chelsea in the 2004-2005 season to their first English
championship since 1955 before leaving for Inter Milan in 2008.
Major Teams in Portugal & Stadiums
Benfica - Luz Stadium
Sporting Lisbon - Jose
de Alvalade Stadium
Porto - Dragao Stadium
Boavista - Bessa Stadium
Uniao de Leiria - Dr
Magalhaes Pessoa Stadium
Sporting Club de Braga
- Braga Stadium
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