PANJIM: The defeat of Portugal by France in the quarter finals of the Euro 24 has resulted in a pall of gloom settling over fans of the team. The feeling was that the team members played well, but were unable to convert the chances that came their way.
Portugal’s exit in the Euro 24 left many Portugal fans in Goa in tears.
A long time supporter of Portugal, Conal Lobo sounded sad when he said there was too much reliance on Ronaldo. He said they were definitely relying too much on him and there was extra focus on him. One man cannot take over the functioning of a team. When the team comes together, he said then they achieve more. “I am sad like so many other Goans, but I wish them well and hope they fare well in the future. The Olympics, he said, was coming and he hoped they would do well.
For the former football administrator Savio Messias, it was a frustrating experience watching the match. He said, “Portugal played a very good game, but they missed too many chances. I was very disappointed by their performance. I felt they should have substituted Ronaldo. He was a misfit in the team. He did not have a single shot at goal. He did nothing of worth in the match. A good team that did not make it work on the day it mattered.”
Former Indian goalkeeper Brahmanand Sankhwalkar said he was very happy because Portugal played very well but missed sitters especially in the final minute.
He said, “It was anybody’s game in the tiebreaker, but the quality of penalties taken was awesome. The young Portuguese kid who missed the penalty did well, but that’s how the game rolls.” Speaking about Ronaldo, he said he was there mentally, but physically it looked like it was getting beyond him.
He said, “That is football, sometimes you succeed and sometimes you don’t. Ronaldo is still the leader of the team, it is a good team and I think they can still make an impact on the world level during the next World Cup.”
For Ritch Dodamani, an engineer, the history of Goa meant there would always be a strong connection with Portugal. He said everyone was pretty much heartbroken due to the loss to France. Speaking about Ronaldo, he said, “Ronaldo is undoubtedly a key player for Portugal, but football is a team sport and success or failure doesn’t rest solely on one player.”
For musician and football enthusiast Omi, the match was a boring affair with each team dominating possession in their own half. He said there was nothing to write home about and the penalties were essentially a lottery. Speaking about Ronaldo, he said there was not much of a reliance on him because he was hardly in play during the whole Euro.
Hakunamatata De Souza said that it was a case of the inevitability of the passage of time. She said, “It was unexpected that most of Portugal’s attempts were in vain despite being slightly the better team than France. They failed to convert crucial chances, one of them being the miss by Bernardo Silva. One of the biggest mistakes was substituting Bruno Fernandes early on in the game, which changed the entire playing style. He is also crucial during penalties. It was sad to see that it was Pepe and Ronaldo’s last Euro match. In my opinion, it’s time for Ronaldo to understand that as he ages, he is losing most of his abilities. People need to accept this and give the younger generation a chance.
“I agree that Ronaldo is the GOAT, but as he ages, his performance declines. Sadly, Portugal are currently better off without Ronaldo, she said.
Liam Vas said he believed Portugal has indeed relied excessively on Ronaldo, which isn’t surprising given his status as a great player. However, this over-reliance he felt had led to repeating the same mistakes seen in the 2022 World Cup. Key issues such as basic passing and ball conversion need significant improvement; merely maintaining possession is not enough. Addressing these fundamental aspects and quite particularly changing the coach to someone who has a decent amount of experience would indeed bring fresh strategies and enhance overall team performance, with which Portugal would indeed see the addition of more medals and trophies.
However, For football consultant and the man behind the Football Dugout, Conrad Barretto was bitter about the tactics followed by the coach. He said, “Portugal’s loss was all down to disappointing management by Martinez. It’s genuinely horrible, sycophantic, self-destructive management to allow your side to revolve around someone this ridiculously washed. He did not have the guts to take Ronaldo off who was probably by far the worst Portuguese player on the pitch. Nor did he bring on Jota who legit won him a penalty in the last game after coming on. He wasted a whole generational talent at Belgium and now at Portugal too. Pretty rare you can blame a team’s poor performance on one player, but it’s pretty appropriate here. They made it all about CR7, just like he makes it all about himself.”
Pity a dream had such a sad ending for so many people.