Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderball
But Simao is often used as a striker, no? You don't think he might get employed there with Nuno Gomes?
Either way, Portugal has some sick offense... it will be interesting to see if that defense is up to task though.
|
No, Simao is used as a winger, pretty much all the time. Portugal only uses one striker and from the sounds of it, it's gonna be Gomes. For the last little while, it was always Pauleta, who was unreal in qualifying, scoring more goals than the great Eusebio, but never really did anything in the big tourneys. Now, it's Gomes, who was less than stellar in qualifying, as was anyone else who played that role, be it Almeida, Postiga, Makakula.
I would love to see Simao, Quaresma and Ronaldo on the field at the same time, but the only time I can envision that is if they are down and pushing for a goal. I remember at Euro 2004, I wanted Rui Costa, Figo, Simao, Ronaldo and Simao to be their five mid, and it happened, although briefly during the England qtr final when they were pushing for a goal. Figo came out dejectedly for Helder Postiga and sure enough, he scored the goal in the 83rd minute.
I am not a fan of having only one striker, never have been. Too many half chances are wasted, because the ball will be sent up to him and he's all alone, with no help in close proximity. But, I understand, a team has to be defensively reliable and having 4 d-men with 2 holding midfielders provides that. Ronaldo will have a free pass to roam wherever he wants, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him playing a striker-esque role.