Mama Said Knock You Out

With all due respect to LL Cool J (and anyone who has watched 'In The House' WILL show proper respect), it wasn't Mama so much as Ricardo who said goodbye to Portugal's dreams of a Euro victory. As is well known to Sons' readers, we were never convinced by Portugal's group displays. Or rather, we were convinced that they could dismantle mediocre teams with ease. But that back-line was never really tested in the group stages...

And we saw exactly what happens when you test Ricardo with corners and free kicks in the box. Ricardo is half-midget half-bird, which is a terrible combination for any goalkeeper, but especially one facing the Germans. Ricardo feverishly flaps at any ball within ten yards of him, and for a moment there on the Ballack goal, I think he actually attained human flight. Yes, Ballack pushed off in the box to score what turned out to be the game winner, but soccer is a physical sport in the box, and defenders need to be able to stand their ground - don't look for the refs to bail you out.

Portugal won't be able to win a major tournament, even with all that attacking firepower, until they have a dependable keeper and stronger center-backs. I wouldn't trust Ricardo in goal for my pub team, let alone a national teaming dreaming of glory. In the end, Portugal got our hopes up with some beautiful attacking play, but as the entire Iberian peninsula is wont to do, they let us unfulfilled. Maybe in 2010...

A word on Scolari: The unfortunate timing of Scolari's move to Chelsea had nothing to do with Portugal's performance in the competition. Yes, Portugal was 2-0 prior to the announcement, and 0-2 after the announcement, but they lost because Germany ruthlessly exploited a huge weakness. Scolari is a hypocrite and an egomaniac, but as we learn in sports, those traits are not necessarily hindrances and in some cases are helpful. Scolari moved this team forward significantly over the last six years, but both sides need to move on. Oh, and maybe Portugal should try to convert an American goalie to Portuguese citizenship in team for 2010.

Spain, I hope you took note of Portugal's failure. You very well may face the same situation in two days time.