DOHA: ‘Conversation’ was once the buzzword for Portugal forward in their quarterfinal towards Morocco. And predictably, all dialog revolved round Cristiano Ronaldo and the discussion his supervisor Fernando Santos had along with his celebrity participant and captain.
joao felix would squirm in his seat, take a query, essay a answer, then avert his eyes, glance down and away, as though this was once the final position he sought after to be.
Body language stated so much, as a result of seated subsequent to the prodigious Felix, his seasoned supervisor Fernando Santos would instinctively stroke his nostril, scratch his chin in an subconscious try to hide his face. They would lean in opposition to one any other after Felix would have replied but any other query on Ronaldo, smile uncomfortably and most certainly inform each and every different, “When does this end then?”
“No, it is not mandatory to pass the ball to Cristiano,” Felix would you ought to be as emphatic as cordial World Cup press meetings move.
He could be requested the only query on everybody’s minds, most certainly his personal too. “There seems to be greater joy and freedom in Portugal’s play without cristiano in the lineup, what do have to say about it?” The cat have been set a number of the pigeons, because it have been, with former Portuguese defender Jose Fonte pronouncing Portugal are taking part in higher with out Ronaldo: “I don’t feel that,” Felix would say, “We try to do (our) best on the pitch, to pass to the player best placed. pass it to Ronaldo. I don’t agree with Fonte. We possibly played differently. The team always evolves and it doesn’t matter if he is on or off. . . . He has skills others don’t have (but) we have our identity.”
Santos would sigh inwardly and rub his palm over his brow, understanding that the similar query was once quickly headed his method too. The complete narrative is across the speedy long term regarding Portugal’s celebrity participant: will he play, or proceed at the bench, since Santos and his crew appear to have cracked that successful mixture. Did he in fact threaten to depart the squad halfway?
It turns out to topic little that Morocco, Portugal’s opponents on Saturday, are proving to be giant-killers right here in Qatar, having ate up Spain in an unshakeable, indefatigable taste. Santos painfully recalls what Morocco can do. It was once an early Ronaldo objective in 2018 that helped the Portuguese be successful in a difficult recreation. In 1986, the North Africans had in fact overwhelmed them 3-1.
“I don’t care if they are less than Switzerland,” Santos would say, “It’s an extremely organized team with a lot of potential. If you didn’t watch the game with Spain, you don’t realize how good this team is. is. They play in a small part of the field, just 20 metres. There is one of the best players in this World Cup, that player from Bayern Munich (Noussair Mazraoui, The teams of the African continent, particularly the north African ones, have a lot of creativity. These teams have a stronger culture about playing as a group, they play for their grandparents, great grandparents. It is intimate and deep, their culture. Of course, we also have our grandparents to play for…,” he would say.
But who in point of fact was once in a temper to hear all that. The subject of the day was once Ronaldo. Santos would thus make a decision to take the bull via the horns.
“We did have a conversation and it would be very bad if we didn’t have it,” Santos would start. “When I took the helm, we needed to talk and forge a relationship with the players. We don’t (have to) do it for all players. But he’s the captain. You know what he represents for Portuguese football, for people, so I naturally needed to talk to him. We had this conversation on match day after lunch.
“That was once the one dialog I had with him, and I defined to him why he would not get started. Told him on the subject of technique, that it will be higher if we did not get started him and use him in the second one part. Of route , Cristiano wasn’t glad on listening to it. No participant could be, particularly one that’s at all times been in beginning. And he even requested me if it was once a good suggestion. . . . Whenever a participant is capped for the nationwide crew and is at the bench, they are no longer glad. (There are) avid gamers who assume they’ll play each and every recreation. In my time we used to have abdomen ache once we have been dropped,” he would say.
“Ronaldo hasn’t ever informed me that he’s leaving the nationwide crew,” Santos would clarify. “It’s prime time we prevent this dialog, to prevent all of the polemics. He was once the person who warmed up even though he wasn’t beginning. He celebrated all of the objectives. In the top, he invited the avid gamers to thank the fanatics, so it is High time to depart Ronaldo by myself in acknowledgment for what he is performed for Portugal soccer.”
And then, Felix would be asked about the difference between playing for Atletico Madrid, where he has been given rather meager playing time by manager Diego Simeone, and for Portugal, where he has begun finding playing time, freedom and space.
“It’s other once we play for the nationwide crew and when for my membership. Here, I’m taking part in with avid gamers with whom I’ve been taking part in for a very long time. We talk the similar language. Representing Portugal is a pleasure.”
Funny, however that query will have to were put to Cristiano Ronaldo, and we might have noticed the fireworks.