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 has now taken Chelsea in the 2004-2005 season
to their first English championship since 1955.
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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