World Cup 2010 revisited: Portugal 0-0 Brazil reflects dour effort by the Seleção in Africa | OneFootball

It was a dream come true. For years, everyone in Portugal was dying to meet the mighty Brazil eye to eye. There were recollections of that memorable win in 1966, but, most of all, for a country that had so many issues for so many years to book a place on the world’s greatest stage, supporting Brazil became a way of being emotionally connected to the World Cup when Portugal missed out.

By 2010, however, Brazil were already becoming a shadow of what they once were and Portugal were seen as a nation on the rise, no longer the perennial underdogs of old who usually disappointed everyone who believed their time had finally come. Sadly, when the two titans collided in South Africa, the spectacle was far from memorable, probably anticipating the grey ending that both suffered weeks later.

Queiroz goes full circle

It was special for everyone, but for him it was more than that. In 1991, Carlos Queiroz looked around and saw the greatest crowd ever assembled in a football match in Portugal. Perhaps more than 130,000 people had come to Benfica’s Estádio da Luz to watch Portugal win back-to-back under-20 World Cups in a final against Brazil, the nation everyone admired. It was a dull affair that ended with a penalty shootout when Rui Costa netted the winner, but it made Portugal a superpower in youth football and gave an enormous sense of pride to both supporters and the staff who had followed Queiroz ever since he arrived in the Portuguese Football Federation, back in 1985.

A year later, he was appointed head coach for the senior squad but failed to deliver. Portugal were beaten by Italy, and surprisingly by Switzerland and Queiroz left in anger with the FPF before taking a role as Sporting manager. His decision shook up Portuguese football from top to bottom as leaving the national side and embracing Sousa Cintra’s offer meant that Bobby Robson ended up at Porto – where he assembled the Penta side that would dominate the decade – and allowed Benfica to run for a league title they didn’t expect, the last before their decade-long Vietnam period. It also took António Oliveira to the FPF so that he could build on Queiroz’s work and lead Portugal to their first Euros finals since 1984. It was one of those sliding doors moments.

Fast forward to 2008, and Queiroz was back as head coach for the national side after a curious career that saw him manage both Real Madrid – the end of the Galactico project, sadly for him, as well as becoming twice the assistant manager to Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. In between jobs, he also coached other national sides, and when Luiz Felipe Scolari decided to end his six-year-long relationship with the FPF, his name popped up to finish the job he first tried in 1994.

Between generations

It was a dour moment for Portuguese football, however. On one hand, the national side boasted the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, and promising newcomers such as Nani, João Moutinho, Miguel Veloso, Bruno Alves, Fábio Coentrão, Pepe and even Ricardo Quaresma, who had never progressed as expected wearing the national colours. On the other hand, several players from the fabulous generation that had led Portugal to the Euro 2004 final and the 2006 World Cup semis were saying their goodbyes. Maniche and Costinha were no longer options, Luís Figo, Rui Costa, Fernando Couto, Ricardo, Nuno Gomes and Pauleta had retired, and the likes of Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho and even Deco were at the end of their brilliant careers on the international stage. Queiroz had less talent available than he had had in 1993 or that Scolari enjoyed from 2002 onwards, but there was still a pool good enough to make Portugal believe that the 2010 World Cup could eventually go their way.

The qualifying disrupted that thought. Portugal played poorly in most matches; the approach seemed excessively defensive and too dependent on Ronaldo’s genius. They finished the group second behind an unfancied Denmark, who beat Portugal 3-2 in Leiria in September 2008 with a late comeback and then held Queiroz’s men to a draw at home. Portugal couldn’t beat Sweden in either match and even suffered to go one better than the likes of Albania and Hungary.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lúcio played out a tough battle throughout the 90 minutes

Queiroz tactics stifle Ronaldo

Critically, Ronaldo didn’t score a single goal during the entire qualifying campaign despite becoming Europe’s top goalscorer for Manchester United and leading the Red Devils to another Premier League trophy and Champions League final before moving to Real Madrid in a world record transfer. Those were the first signs that Queiroz’s playing model wasn’t getting the best out of the world’s best.

Then, come 2010, the first cracks started to pop up. The national coach refused to take João Moutinho with him, as the player was preparing a move to Porto, and a last-minute Nani injury left Portugal without the promising winger for the finals. Ricardo Quaresma had been snubbed, once again, while Deco, Simão Sabrosa and Tiago proved to be solid choices, but neither Hugo Almeida nor Liedson looked like the striker Portugal needed to become a serious contender.

Tricky group

Moreover, the draw had been tricky. The group comprised a much-fancied Brazil side and the unknown North Koreans, two rivals that brought back great memories from 1966. Then there was Ivory Coast, a nation that included some of the best footballers in Africa, such as Yaya Touré, Gervinho, Salomon Kalou, Kolo Touré and Didier Drogba and who wanted to impress in the first tournament ever held on their home continent. It became clear Portugal were in a difficult position, and Queiroz took the more pragmatic approach, focusing on not losing matches instead of winning them, counting on the tie against the Koreans to go their way.

At first sight, his plan worked. On the debut at the event, in Port Elizabeth, Portugal held Ivory Coast to a draw in one of the dullest games ever played at a World Cup. Sven-Göran Eriksson managed the West Africans, and both sides looked more worried about not conceding than looking for the win. Next came North Korea, a side that had lost only by 2-1 against Brazil in the first match. As the Brazilians knocked down the Ivory Coast the day before, Portugal knew they had to press for a win and got what they looked for in numbers. A 7-0 trashing with Raul Meireles, Simão, Hugo Almeida, Liedson, Tiago (twice) and finally Cristiano Ronaldo, as scorers.

Fábio Coentrão and Dani Alves, two of the most exciting full-backs in the world at the time, in action

Mission “Avoid Spain”

The win provided the best possible goal difference for the last round, so Queiroz knew that an already qualified Brazil side would probably settle for a draw that benefited both sides. In the Brazilian camp, many expected Dunga to rotate the squad – he who had been criticised before for not taking a young Neymar with him – but they were in for a surprise as he was looking way ahead.

Whoever won the group stage knew they would not face heavy favourites Spain in the last sixteen. The European champions in 2008 were already being tipped as the side to beat, and after a poor start, losing against Switzerland, Vicente del Bosque’s men came back to claim a win against Honduras. If they beat Chile, as expected, they would top the group and play the second-placed from group G, where both Portugal, Brazil and Ivory Coast still had a chance to progress to the last sixteen. The thing is, Portugal and Brazil played before the Spanish, so they could only guess what was about to happen. Queiroz decided that was a worry for another day, though.

Queiroz goes ultra-conservative group denouement

Portugal ran onto the pitch of the Moses Madhiba ground in Durban with some crucial changes to their first eleven. Eduardo was still in goal while the offensive-minded Miguel was replaced as right-back not by Paulo Ferreira, who played the first match, but by Ricardo Costa, a centre-back. Duda was called into the left-back position instead of Coentrão, who was shifted to be an attacking left winger, and Pepe, crucially, was fielded as a holding midfielder to support Raul Meireles and Tiago.

Pedro Mendes, the preferred choice until then, was sent to the bench alongside Simão Sabrosa and Hugo Almeida, with Queiroz playing Ronaldo as a lone striker for the first time, moving Danny to the wing. It was a lineup that was screaming for a draw, with two left-backs and a centre-back on the right, a centre-back as holding midfielder and the star winger as a striker – it should be remembered that at this stage of his career Ronaldo was still very much a wide player.

Dunga rested Robinho and Kaká, his star figures, but nonetheless called up most of his main men. Julio César was in goal, Maicon played as right-back with Dani Alves moved to play in front of him, while Michel Bastos remained on the left alongside both Lucio and Juan in the centre of the defensive line. Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo patrolled the midfield, and Nilmar joined Julio Baptista and Luís Fabiano on the attacking front. It was, by no means, a weaker side as some expected, and Queiroz felt validated by it. The plan was to hold on for as long as Portugal could before bringing on fresher legs from the bench in the second half.

Dour in Duban

Under brilliant sunlight and the sound of the vuvuzelas, Portugal, with their white shorts recalling the 1966 kit, started the match slowly, trying to make nothing happen for as long as possible. Brazil had the best chances in the early stages, but always from long distance. First, a distant punt by Dani Alves crossed the box but went out without creating real danger for Eduardo and minutes later, the right-back converted winger tried again, but this time the ball went weaker and found itself easily in the hands of the goalkeeper.

Portugal, on the other hand, tried to exploit Coentrão’s pace and crossing ability to cause mayhem in the Brazilian defensive line, but could not muster any real peril. One of the most decisive moments of the game came right in the middle of the first half. A Meireles long pass to Cristiano went wide, but Juan foolishly intercepted the ball with his right hand. It was a straight red card situation as Ronaldo was moving towards the ball at full speed, but surprisingly the Mexican referee Benito Archundia decided to settle for a cautionary yellow. When Duda protested, he was booked as well.

A Bola nominated Fábio Coentrão as the man of the match

Ronaldo’s frustration evident

Even though the offence had occurred nearer the halfway line than the Brazilian net, Cristiano Ronaldo decided to shoot for goal. The ball went way wide, but that decision represented the frustration that was creeping into the national team captain’s play. He had been a shadow of himself in the previous games and had the eyes of the world on his back. He also believed Queiroz’s plan was not benefiting his style of play and, sadly for Portugal, Ronaldo decided it was he against the world from then on until the end of the tournament.

Three minutes later, Brazil were close to scoring. Once again Dani Alves, their best man on the pitch, crossed a ball that the defensive line couldn’t deal with. It found its way right onto the foot of Nilmar, who probably never thought of the possibility, and came a fraction of a second too late to blast it in. His shot was poor, and Eduardo had the necessary reflexes to save it by pure instinct, deflecting it onto the post. It was as close as the Canarinhos got to opening the score. The first half ended not before Portugal claimed a foul inside the box on Tiago, who was hoping to conclude a fast move on the break, but he only got a yellow card for diving instead.

False advertising!

The second half wasn’t much better. Dunga replaced Felipe Melo for Josué, and ten minutes into the half, Queiroz did the same with Duda, who was booked, sending Simão Sabrosa on with Coentrão returning to the left-back position. Cristiano kept on playing for himself, shooting from wherever he got the ball, both from set pieces and in open play, although he finally created real danger on the hour mark, setting up a good chance for Raul Meireles by Júlio César denied the midfielder. As the match unfolded Queiroz steadily returned to his original game plan, sending on Pedro Mendes for Pepe, moving the lines up the field, and later changing an exhausted Meireles for Miguel Veloso while Dunga rewarded Grafite and Ramires with some playing time in the dying stages of the match. It was the Benfica midfielder who almost snatched victory, his long-range shot deflecting off Bruno Alves but Eduardo made a sharp save to keep it out.

Come the final whistle, everyone seemed pleased with the final result. Brazil topped the group, unbeaten, while Portugal, also undefeated, qualified thanks to a better goal difference since the Ivory Coast only put three goals past North Korea, the third coming in the final stages of the match. Four years prior, a Nike advert had got together the best footballers Portugal and Brazil had to offer and it was glorious. A true testament to the Brazilian Jogo Bonito and the rise of the Portuguese as a recognised football power, the ad was fun, flashy and colourful. Four years later, and on the world’s biggest stage the fare was a million miles from that feeling of football magic.

Iberian clash another letdown

Spain won their match against Chile, setting up an Iberian showdown for the last sixteen. It ended up being one of Portugal’s poorest displays in a World Cup knockout round. The side that had played some magical football to reach the semi-finals in 2006 was nowhere to be seen. There was no ambition, no forward thinking, just a plan to hold the Spanish as long as possible, letting them have the bulk of possession and trying to surprise them on the counter. David Villa scored the only goal of the match and the Spanish would progress all the way to their first ever World Cup win.

The strained relationship between Ronaldo and Queiroz broke for ever after Portugal’s defeat by Spain

At the end of the match, a devastated Cristiano Ronaldo blamed it all on Queiroz. Asked by a reporter why Portugal had lost as he was walking off the pitch, the captain tersely responded: “Ask Carlos!” Weeks later the national manager was out of the job. The father-son relationship that had begun in Manchester went down the drain and would never be repaired. Queiroz remained a popular national team manager in Asia and Africa but never again coached at the highest level, while Portugal lost a brilliant opportunity to make a name for themselves in the world stage.

Brazil went on to beat Chile in the last sixteen but were then halted by the Netherlands in the last eight, a poor result for a side that was dreaming of reaching the final, given that the winner of the match would play Uruguay in the semis. It was a disappointment that also cost Dunga his job.

Golden decade with a forgettable bookend

Four years later at the next World Cup both nations would find themselves in different scenarios but with an equally bitter end. But in 2010, Portugal’s fans were left scratching their head as to how a side that boasted the presence of the best player in the world at the time and one of the greatest forwards the game has ever seen were incapable of becoming an attacking threat to anyone else.

After a brilliant decade that had started at Euro 2000, included a first major final and a second World Cup semi-final, with a slump along the way in South Korea, Portugal were about to enter a zig-zag period that mixed glorious results with bitter disappointments.