There is less than 12 hours
to begin the world’s one of the most exciting tournament euro Cup
2012 where all 16 qualified European giants will fight for the cup.
www.anantasports.com is bringing
the profiles of all the participating team to its readers and here it is Portugal. Portugal is
taking part in the tournaments under the guidance of coach Paulo bento.
Paulo
Bento's side qualified for Euro 2012 afsecuring second position after Denmark and later played play off against Bosnia to win,Portugal got off to a dismal start
to their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, losing five points in their first two
games as Agostinho Oliveira replaced suspended coach Carlos Queiroz on the
bench. Paulo Bento then took over and brought with him some much-needed
stability.
Play-off opponents Bosnia travelled to Lisbon
optimistic having ensured Portugal
failed to notch an away goal in Zenica. But they were blown away spectacularly,
6-2. Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani slammed in fine shots past Asmir Begovic in the
first half, while Ronaldo added another after the break before old-stager
Helder Postiga struck twice either side of a superb Miguel Veloso set-piece.
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| Portugal Football Team for Euro 2012 |
Portugal took part of the first European Championship, in
1960, where they reached the quarter-finals of the competition after defeating East Germany.
It would take them 24 years to return to the finals, and they did so
convincingly, reaching the semi-finals of the competition.
Still a raw wound to
everyone involved, players and supporters alike, Portugal
managed to reach the final of Euro 2004 on home soil - only to lose against
100-1 tournament outsiders Greece.
They have only played in four other editions of the tournament.
Third place in 1966 in England after beating the Soviet
Union 2-1. They also reached the last four in Germany in 2006, where they were knocked out by France, and
have only played in three other World Cup tournaments.
Coach: Paulo Bento
Paulo Bento took over
as Portuguese coach in 2010, just six years after retiring as a player. Now 42,
Bento was suspended for five months - along with Abel Xavier and Nuno Gomes -
due to bad behaviour in the Euro 2000 semi-final loss to France. Amid
great success with Sporting Lisbon, in 2008 he was linked with becoming
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's new assistant.
Taking control of the
Seleccao is only Paulo Bento’s second coaching experience at senior level,
after guiding Sporting Lisbon from 2005 to 2009
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| Portugal Coach Paulo Bento |
Captain Cristiano Ronaldo
Though the striker and
Captain have played wonderfully for his Club Real Madrid this season he had
hardly shown same performance for his Nation However, his showing in the second
play-off game against Bosnia was evidence that he can show his true colours for
the national team and that he will be a player to watch at the Euro 2012 finals.
The Real Madrid star was
given the armband when Carlos Queiroz took over and he has been doing a good
job as Seleccao’s skipper, even during the team’s most difficult moments.
Arguably approaching peak age for a footballer, Ronaldo is perhaps the most
iconic player at these finals, and his speed, technique and powerful right foot
have become key elements on Portugal’s
left wing.
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| Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo |
Player to Watch: Ricardo Quaresma
Sporting Lisbon,
Barcelona, Inter Milan,
Chelsea. Ricardo
Quaresma has represented some of the biggest clubs in Europe,
but never truly made it big. Hyped as a gifted young talent upon making his Portugal debut
in 2003, the winger has failed to live up to expectations. But, still, there is
hope. Now playing for Besiktas in Turkey,
Quaresma was called up to the national squad in 2010 - after a two-year absence
- and played in four of Portugal's
qualifiers. This is his last-chance saloon.
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| portugal Player Ricardo Quaresma |
How Portugal
Qualify for Euro 2012:
After securing Second
position in Group H Portugal played draw against Bosnia
in Bosnia’s Home ground
while they demolish optimistic Bosnia
and secured place in Euro 2012 by 6-2
victory in Lisbon.
| GROUP H | GP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 |  Denmark (Q) | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 19 |
| 2 |  Portugal (Q) | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 16 |
| 3 |  Norway | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| 4 |  Iceland | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -8 | 4 |
| 5 |  Cyprus | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | -13 | 2 |
Results Of Qualifying Matches:
Sep 3, 2010 Portugal 4-4 Cyprus
Sep 7, 2010 Norway 1-0 Portugal
Oct 8, 2010 Portugal 3-1 Denmark
Oct 12, 2010 Iceland 1-3 Portugal
Jun 4, 2011: Portugal 1-0 Norway
Sep 2, 2011: Cyprus 0-4 Portugal
Oct 7, 2011: Portugal 5-3 Iceland
Oct 11, 2011: Denmark 2-1 Portugal
Nov 11, 2011: Bosnia 0-0 Portugal
Nov 15, 2011: Portugal 6-2 Bosnia
Jersy:
Brand: Nike
Home Jersey: Red and green stripes on both sleeve
Away Jersey: White with red and green cross
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| Portugal Home and Away Jersy |
Squad of Portugal For Euro 2012:
Coach: Paulo
Bento
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio
(Sporting Lisbon), Eduardo (Benfica), Beto (Cluj)
Defenders: Bruno Alves (Zenit
St. Petersburg), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid), Joao Pereira (Sporting Lisbon),
Pepe (Real Madrid), Rolando (FC Porto), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Miguel Lopes
(Braga)
Midfielders: Joao Moutinho (FC
Porto), Miguel Veloso (Genoa), Raul Meireles (Chelsea), Ruben Micael
(Zaragoza), Custodio Castro (Braga), Hugo Viana (Braga)
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Helder Postiga (Zaragoza), Nani
(Manchester United), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas), Silvestre Varela (FC Porto),
Nelson Oliveira (Benfica)
Style of play: Paulo Bento has
used a number of different formations, but he tends to favour a 4-3-3 with a
three-pronged attack led by Helder Postiga as the front man, flanked on either
side by Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. Portugal plays with pace and keeps
the ball on the ground at the feet of its speedy players, relying of quick
movements down the wings. It’s their job to work the ball up front to Postiga,
or to cut into the box from the flanks and create scoring chances for
themselves. Miguel Veloso acts as the midfield enforcer in front of the back
four, allowing Joao Moutinho to pull the creative strings in the middle of the
park, and Raul Meireles to surge forward in attack
