Carlos Queiroz confident of keeping his job with Portugal
The World Cup campaign for Portugal was nothing more than a major disaster. On the other hand, Portuguese national coach Carlos Queiroz finds himself embroiled in an unwanted controversy.
Queiroz allegedly insulted anti-doping agents during a camp on the eve of the soccer World Cup held in South Africa last month. The scandal is set to further demoralize the coach who had his World Cup ambitions cut short by a clinical performance by Spain who ousted Portugal in the second round of the tournament en-route to the title.
The tournament was also a failure for the captain of the team and one of the most renowned international player Cristiano Ronaldo. The star striker was a shadow of his former self in the entire tournament, especially when Portugal needed him the most in their second round match against Portugal.
Luckily for Queiroz, the last few days have seen the controversy tone down a little. This is largely because the investigations into the matter are being conducted by the Portuguese Football Federation's Disciplinary Committee.
"I think now things are running normally and being driven by the Disciplinary Committee and we have to await their decision. Since receiving notification of the charge, I stepped away and since being heard by the Committee I am stepping as further away as possible from this process, excepting to greet and thank the witnesses that came here to help me," Queiroz said.
The PFF started the inquiry after they received a complaint from doping officers that included anti-doping doctors, that they were insulted by the man at the helm of the Portugal squad during a surprise visit preceding the World Cup in May.
Local media reports insist that the ruckus can jeopardize his career, besides leading to the termination of his contract with the PFF.
Queiroz found support from Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson who flew to Lisbon to support his former assistant.
"It is very difficult to get good men in football and Carlos is one of the good guys. Thirty years of sacrifice in the game, his six years' work at my club was fantastic and he should stay because he is good enough," Ferguson said.
"Understandably in Carlos's situation, preparing for the World Cup as he was, this became a great interference for him. Carlos Queiroz, as I know him, is not against doping (control) as we all know, he is a fantastic coach and teacher and his main thirst in life is to develop young people," he added.
Queiroz also called former international Luis Figo and to stand as witnesses for him as the probe continued to unsettle him.
"I think this trip by Sir Ferguson to Portugal to testify in a case like this, in which one phrase without an objective sense, there is talk of firing a national coach, will take this case to the world of football and will fill with ridicule the Federation that is sponsoring it and those who are behind it," claimed the president of Porto.
The Federation of International Football Association FIFA has time and again claimed that it has a zero tolerance policy against doping. All member countries are asked to co-operate in any anti-doping campaign which might include random testing of their players at any given time.
These tests generally take place during or just before a major competition, in conjunction with the guidelines set by the World Anti Doping Agency.
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