After his two goals against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984 but the
Real Madrid winger is not the only one that they should be looking out for...
A lot has been made out of Ronaldo’s rise to stardom for Portugal in the 2012 European Championships. The former Manchester United man had a disappointing start to the tournament but since then he has made up for lost time and
his body language along with his form suggest that Spain will be in for a tough time against Portugal in their semi-final encounter.
Ronaldo is undoubtedly a threat to the Spaniards but the Portuguese forward does not function as a sole-standing star in Bento’s Portugal. Even though Ronaldo dwarfs his team-mates in terms of talent and capability on the field,
Portugal’s recent revival can be attributed to the spirit that has been nurtured inside the Portuguese camp by their coach, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Ferguson made Ronaldo was made the centre of his tactical formation and
a similar style has been formulated by Bento.
The team functions to bring the best out of the Real Madrid star and such an approach is praiseworthy considering that Ronaldo is perhaps one of the best footballers to ever grace the international stage. However it will be foolhardy
to reduce Portugal as a unit to just Ronaldo’s brilliance. There are other stars in the Portuguese line up which pose a threat to Spain’s chances of making it to their second EURO final in a row.
As the defending champions, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nani-c27299 has been impressive on the right wing for Portugal and has developed a good understanding with Ronaldo who has thrived from
the service that the Manchester United winger has provided him thus far. Moutinho is another one who has fared well at the European Championships.
Three years ago, the Portuguese playmaker was seen as the next big thing in European football but he failed to live up to the tag of the new Rui http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Costa-c9458. Nonetheless, Moutinho has done well this time around and his cross for Ronaldo’s
goal against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Czech-Republic-c2882 is just one of the reasons as to why Spain should look out for him in the midfield arena. Spain’s approach to the match will be simple; they like to stifle their opponents in a particularly unconventional way.
Whilst teams like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 of old like to get men behind the ball and defend on all fronts, Spain focus on retaining possession. Once a monopoly over ball possession is maintained by the FIFA World Cup winners’ it is
difficult for the opponents to attack. Not only that, such an approach also starves players like Nani and Ronaldo of the ball and makes them less threatening by default.
It will be interesting to see whether Portugal go for the jugular or wait for their chances on the counter attack against Spain, a tactic that failed to serve them well in the round of 16 of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, when they were
sent packing by La Furia Roja.
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