Why Portugal didn’t make it, again

Another tournament and Portugal miss out, once again, on the big prize. Other than the obvious, that there was some weakness in defending set pieces (as was the case in Euro2004), Portugal have more deeper problems. Portugal were closed down in midfield by the Germans, and weren’t able to play their normal exquisite passes that often open up defences. Just as with Arsenal in the premiership and Barcelona last season in the champions league, the best way to defeat a technical passing team is stop them in their game plan. Here I believe is the problem with Portugal, when teams close them down, they lack the ability to play direct football — the use of set pieces, crosses and intelligent long balls from the back. The ability to improvise.

Maybe one obstacle for Portugal in adapting their game plan (as Gary Neville noted after the match), is the absence of an out and out striker. A player like Klose, Van Nistelrooy or Torres, someone they can target with quick balls. In the last world cup they were toothless in the semi-finals against the French. Their main striker (Pauleta) was woeful at times (he was substituted by Scolari against France). On the other hand, in the match against Portugal, the Germans, as the Dutch, showed the potential of combining different styles of play – technique & passing coupled with quick direct football (often through counter attacks).

The future of the game? Any team that can improvise their game plan against the dictates of the game itself. Obviously this would require more intelligent footballers who would be able to think on their feet — when to attack, when to hold the ball and when to make that decisive move. North European direct football, dynamic total football or Brazilian/Portuguese flair/technique all have their advantages. I suppose its about keeping the strengths of a certain ethos alive but combining it and improvising with different styles, with good teams being able to change and switch styles when necessary. A recent example of this would be Manchester United last season, where they often played contrasting styles in the premiership and the champions league, changing the team line-up when necessary — the players best suited for any given system.

To quote Hans van Breukelen (Dutch goalkeeper of the 1988 European Championship winning team), when commenting on Van Basten’s tinkering with the age old 4-3-3 formation:

In our country we have a great reverence for 4-3-3, for the Ajax way of playing. But there are other systems and you have to be open-minded. Marco Van Basten thought a change of shape would better suit the players he has at his disposal. He had the courage to be flexible … It’s been wonderful watching us dismantle the Italians and the French. We’ve proved ourselves to be the complete team. Collectively we look strong, we have a vast array of individual attacking talent and are able to take the game to the opposition or hit very effectively on the break. Our combination play has been outstanding, we’re able to change rhythm quickly and at the back we’ve been pretty solid’

On a side note, when will German luck run out in major tournaments?! The third goal against Portugal should have been disallowed, it was a clear push by Ballack. England scored from similar situations in the 1998 world cup and Euro 2004, but both were disallowed. Then there was the legendary luck that got them through the 2002 world cup, where the draw and woeful refereeing decisions (remember the quarter finals against America?) got them to a final, only for them to be brushed aside by stronger opposition in the final (this not including the never ending wins by penalty shootouts). In Euro 2008 that tradition continues. I honestly think that this German team is not that special. Either way since 2006 the ‘Mannschaft’ has shown some improvement, considering the spiral decline from the late 90s all the way to 2006.

I find it interesting that German players, in contrast to the England players, do not always perform well for their clubs (e.g. Podolski and Klose) but seem to do well with the national team. I think Germany has always set the national team as a priority, while England (as Spain) have a stronger club culture, more considering the insanely long and energy sapping football season we get in England.