When it comes to the endangered species, some animals instantly come to mind: polar bears, giant pandas, rhinos, snow leopards. But sadly, the list is so grave that many don’t get a mention. What about Portuguese strikers?
Unsurprisingly, in their recent friendly, ten-man Portugal failed to excite without captain Cristiano Ronaldo. Nevertheless, a defeat at home to the Cape Verde Islands was never on the cards.
Sitting top of their qualifying group for Euro 2016, Fernando Santos decided to rest Ronaldo against the African side. Odair Fortes put the visitors ahead before the country ranked 38th in the world went two up shortly after the break. To compound the home fans’ dismay, Andre Pinto was sent off after an hour.
Friendly or not, Portugal shouldn’t be losing at home to Cape Verde. Nestled in between Wales and Scotland in FIFA’s very debatable world rankings, the African outfit were eliminated at the group stage of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
January 2014 saw Eusébio, aged 71, succumb to cardiac arrest, and how Portugal crave a striker in the same mould as one of football’s greatest ever stars. Yes, obviously, they have Ronaldo, but the dependency on the 30 year old borders on desperation.
Affectionately known as the “Black Panther” for his predatory instincts, Eusébio, won the European Cup with Benfica in 1962 and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1965. Before Ronaldo, Luis Figo was the only other comparable Portuguese talent in recent times with the late great. Figo, as we know, was not a striker, and Ronaldo is not your classic up front type, even if his goal scoring exploits state otherwise.
Some things never change, and that’s just the way many of us feel about the Portuguese football. Playing with roughly the same strengths and weaknesses for decades, Portugal’s starting XI painted a familiar, all too predictable picture – decent defence, industrious central midfield, flamboyant wide players, and not a prolific striker in sight, and this was something Cape Verde took advantage of.
Because Portugal have based their entire attacking philosophy around the Ballon d’Or holder, Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence was painfully evident. Although the Real Madrid man is often afforded too much positional autonomy, it’s a justifiable sacrifice, especially when you consider the damage he causes on the counter-attack.
If producing classy, ball-playing central midfielders was enough to win you silverware on a regular basis, Portugal would be an international force to reckon with. Joao Moutinho, a genuinely gifted player, possesses tremendous spatial awareness, often at his best when collecting the ball and pushing forward, although Ronaldo often relieves him of this duty.
Then there’s William Carvalho, a talented young performer who displays real midfield authority. Like a young Miguel Veloso, Carvalho brings stability and solidity to a team with only one thing on their mind: attacking. Lastly, there’s Raul Meireles, the Jordan Henderson of Portuguese football. With impressive levels of stamina, he does everything quite nicely without ever excelling in one particular area.
Moving on to the attack (this shouldn’t take too long)—Hugo Almeida, all 6ft 3in of him, is the Fred of the national team, so often a scapegoat for poor performances. A divisive figure, the consistently inconsistent Almeida is mercilessly ridiculed by many a Portugal fan. A tall and imposing striker, the powerful front-man simply frustrates, especially at international level. In all his caps for the national team, rather sadly, it is difficult to cite one truly memorable contribution from a player that’s gone MIA in the big games.
Ronaldo aside, Nelson Oliveira has been the Selecao’s most talked about attacking option in recent times. Beginning his career at Benfica, Oliveira was called up to the Euro 2012 squad, and fans felt that the search for a ‘real’ forward was finally complete. However, it wasn’t to be, and his carrer nosedived, so much so that Oliveira found himself farmed out to he Deportivo La Coruña on loan. Failing to make a real impact there, the striker then headed to French side Rennes on another year long loan. Netting seven times in his first eleven games, this French renaissance started in a promising manner. Flatter to deceive, this is an expression that follows the young man like a cliché-infused shadow.
With Wilfred Bony making the move to Manchester City, Swansea sought to replace the Ivorian rapidly. Soliciting the services of Oliveira, the international striker began life with the Swans on January 1st and has so far failed to have any impact whatsoever.
Portugal is renowned for producing exciting wingers, and this has come at the detriment of developing even one notable striker in recent times.
Finally, this brings me on to Eder, the most current failure. A whipping boy of sorts, although he holds the ball up and provides a physical presence, his movement and finishing leave so much to be desired. Fernando Santos favours playing a false nine, and Humberto Coelho was the last manager to deploy a 4-4-2 formation, more than two decades ago.
The struggle for goals looks likely to plague Portuguese football for years to come, especially if Eder continues up front.
