Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
While England’s footballers sulk in their sun-loungers, the rest of the continent will be contesting the 2008 European Championships. Iain Macintosh, who still won’t allow the word ‘McClaren’ to be uttered in his home, runs the rule over some of the potential stars of the summer. This week, it’s the turn of FC Porto and Portugal winger, Ricardo Quaresma
Jesualdo Ferreira was almost off my Christmas card list. Last Saturday night the FC Porto manager, anxious to protect his stars for the Champions League clash with Schalke four days later, rested a number of his key players including Ricardo Quaresma. I had only tuned into their clash with Boavista to watch the mercurial star perform, so you can imagine my disappointment. Thankfully, the first half was so drab and uneventful, that Ferreira was forced to throw the him into action after the interval in an effort to break Boavista’s spirited resistance. If he hadn’t, you’d probably be staring at a blank page right now.
Quaresma, linked with a host of top European clubs, is a superb player. He’s one of those wonderful modern attackers who defy any attempt at pigeon-holing. He’s not a traditional winger, as he likes to roam around the pitch causing trouble wherever he can. He is, in a very literal sense, a catalyst. He really does increase the rate of a reaction and that reaction is usually the defender covering his eyes and wailing, “I want my mum!”
He’s adept with either foot and, while he’s not as turf-scorchingly quick as Franck Ribery, he has enough pace to regularly get himself into dangerous positions. He’ll always look for a shot, even when a better option presents itself, which is why you’ll find piles of videos of him on the internet clattering in goals from all angles. You won’t find so much footage of his team-mates throwing their arms up in in impotent frustration, though I bet that happens more often.
Quaresma’s biggest problem is that he refuses to ever take the simple option. On the hour here, with the score still at 0-0, he trotted into the centre of the pitch to be met by two on-coming defenders. Instead of looking to pass the ball, he attempted to roll it up the back of his trailing leg and spectacularly flick it over his adversaries heads. He succeeded only in looping the ball to a very grateful Boavista goalkeeper. Ferreira was livid and glared at him from the sidelines.
Porto should have done better than a goalless draw here, especially as Boavista lost midfielder Diakete to a red card with 15 minutes still to play. The league leaders endured the disappointment of a late disallowed goal and saw Quaresma hit the bar in the last minute, but their fans won’t mind too much. With just nine games left, they sit 12 points clear at the top of the table.
Unfortunately, the decision to give their star players the night off failed to secure their place in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. Porto, Quaresma and all, crashed out on penalties after extra-time and the 24 year old will regret not making the most of a late opportunity to seal the win.
Portugal are blessed with creative players, but they’re very much the ‘nearly men’ of global football. Their so-called ‘golden generation’ of players failed to land them a trophy and the pressure is building on Phil Scolari to finally deliver glory this summer. With the likes of Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo, they certainly have the talent, but do they have the application? This summer, we’ll find out.
STAR PLAYER - Ricardo Quaresma (Portugal)
Speed - 7
Skill - 10
Determination - 7
Total - 24
Next week, I'll be tuning into PSV against Ajax to see Holland’s up and coming striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Jesualdo Ferreira was almost off my Christmas card list. Last Saturday night the FC Porto manager, anxious to protect his stars for the Champions League clash with Schalke four days later, rested a number of his key players including Ricardo Quaresma. I had only tuned into their clash with Boavista to watch the mercurial star perform, so you can imagine my disappointment. Thankfully, the first half was so drab and uneventful, that Ferreira was forced to throw the him into action after the interval in an effort to break Boavista’s spirited resistance. If he hadn’t, you’d probably be staring at a blank page right now.
Quaresma, linked with a host of top European clubs, is a superb player. He’s one of those wonderful modern attackers who defy any attempt at pigeon-holing. He’s not a traditional winger, as he likes to roam around the pitch causing trouble wherever he can. He is, in a very literal sense, a catalyst. He really does increase the rate of a reaction and that reaction is usually the defender covering his eyes and wailing, “I want my mum!”
He’s adept with either foot and, while he’s not as turf-scorchingly quick as Franck Ribery, he has enough pace to regularly get himself into dangerous positions. He’ll always look for a shot, even when a better option presents itself, which is why you’ll find piles of videos of him on the internet clattering in goals from all angles. You won’t find so much footage of his team-mates throwing their arms up in in impotent frustration, though I bet that happens more often.
Quaresma’s biggest problem is that he refuses to ever take the simple option. On the hour here, with the score still at 0-0, he trotted into the centre of the pitch to be met by two on-coming defenders. Instead of looking to pass the ball, he attempted to roll it up the back of his trailing leg and spectacularly flick it over his adversaries heads. He succeeded only in looping the ball to a very grateful Boavista goalkeeper. Ferreira was livid and glared at him from the sidelines.
Porto should have done better than a goalless draw here, especially as Boavista lost midfielder Diakete to a red card with 15 minutes still to play. The league leaders endured the disappointment of a late disallowed goal and saw Quaresma hit the bar in the last minute, but their fans won’t mind too much. With just nine games left, they sit 12 points clear at the top of the table.
Unfortunately, the decision to give their star players the night off failed to secure their place in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. Porto, Quaresma and all, crashed out on penalties after extra-time and the 24 year old will regret not making the most of a late opportunity to seal the win.
Portugal are blessed with creative players, but they’re very much the ‘nearly men’ of global football. Their so-called ‘golden generation’ of players failed to land them a trophy and the pressure is building on Phil Scolari to finally deliver glory this summer. With the likes of Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo, they certainly have the talent, but do they have the application? This summer, we’ll find out.
STAR PLAYER - Ricardo Quaresma (Portugal)
Speed - 7
Skill - 10
Determination - 7
Total - 24
Next week, I'll be tuning into PSV against Ajax to see Holland’s up and coming striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
