Heróis do Mar

Heróis do Mar

Welcome to another story of mine. Don’t fret, my Gremio story will continue but I would like to introduce a second adventure which will run simultaneously.

“Heróis do Mar” translated into English means ‘Ocean Heroes’ which is exactly what the nation of Portugal were known for hundreds of years ago. After a reputation for dominating the seas of the world, including a close alliance with England, Portugal’s national team have been nicknamed ‘Os Navegadores’ (The Navigators). Since “Heróis do Mar” is the opening lyric of the Portuguese national anthem, I’ve decided to make this my title as I aim to take Portugal to the top of the Globe.

I will be….



PORTUGAL!!!

Why Portugal?

• Firstly, I’m half Portuguese, yet I have never played as them on FM so a save was long overdue.

• Portugal is a team that has been near the top of world football for quite some time but have slipped down the rankings in recent times. My challenge is to get them to the top in a similar way rivals Spain and Brazil have been.

• Portugal’s squad is ageing and before we know it, a solid generation will have disappeared with a whimper. Portugal hasn’t been the same since 2006 and it will be my job to get back to their good old days and then top that.

• Everyone wants to get to the World Cup but Portugal is actually struggling for qualification in real life. Can you imagine Cristiano Ronaldo missing out on the World Cup? Qualifying in 1st place is a must!

• We are by no means favourites for the 2014 World Cup or the Euro’s two years later but winning one (or both) is not impossible. It’s now or never for us as the likes of Ronaldo, Nani and most of our defenders enter their late 20’s/early 30’s.

• When some players inevitably become too old, who will replace them? The quality of youth players in Portugal has dropped due to domestic teams buying South American talent instead of nurturing local players. That tendency transcends in FM which will make my job tougher (if I make it into the future).

• Finally, with all the illustrious names that have represented Portugal such as Figo, Eusebio, Ronaldo etc. not once have they won a major tournament!!! I hope to make Portugal an unstoppable force so I will obviously be looking to break this pattern.

Enjoy….

Meet Portugal

Population – 10,000,000 (approx.)
Capital City – Lisbon
Currency – Euro

Most Capped Player

Luis Figo
(127)

All-Time Goalscorer

Pauleta
(47)

Legends

Luis Figo



The one time World Player of the Year captained Portugal to the Euro 2004 final and represented Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Eusebio



The ‘Pantera Negra’ (Black Panther) was one of the best forwards ever, scoring a staggering 317 goals in 307 games for the great Benfica team of the 60’s. If that wasn’t enough, he also bagged 41 goals for Portugal in 64 appearances.

Rui Costa



The midfield Maestro formed by Benfica was the main man for Fiorentina in the late 90’s before plying his trade at AC Milan. No wonder he played 94 times for Portugal.

Key Players

Cristiano Ronaldo



This man needs no introduction. The World’s Best Player (Apart from Messi, hehehe) is easily Portugal’s star man and our hopes are on his shoulders.

Joao Moutinho



Moutinho was once full of promise and has taken his time to make a big move in his career. Now at Monaco, he could excel in world football and help Portugal progress.

Rui Patricio



The Sporting number one will be crucial between the posts seeing as Portugal’s main weakness throughout the years has been highlighted as the defence. He still has many years ahead of him so he will be fundamental.

Prospects

Bruma



Bruma has bags of potential and could easily be another infamous Portuguese winger. The fact that he's been linked with Chelsea and Manchester City in real life exemplifies the magnitude of his potential.

Nelson Oliveira



Portugal lack in striking options big time so with a few good seasons under his belt, hopefully Oliveira will be the forward we so crave for.

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MOURINHO: CHANGES NEEDED

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has criticised the Portugal head coach Paulo Bento for his mismanagement of players.

Mourinho believes Bento’s stubborn approach has damaged the team’s unity and affected their chances of progression in official competitions.

“I don’t want to get my nose into peoples’ business but I personally feel a communication problem is to blame for Portugal’s below par performances.

“As a fellow partner of profession, I know players perform better when they are made to feel part of the cause. We are all fighting for one goal.

“However, when we look at Portugal, we are just a bunch of highly paid individuals. It is Bento’s job to make it abundantly clear that they all should win as one but I doubt it happens.

“Portugal cannot go on like this any longer and we must change one way or another. Whether that means 1, 10 or even 100 men walk out, I don’t care but if Portugal wants to regroup, they must change.”

Mourinho has confronted Bento before, having also criticised his man management with his former players Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Carvalho which resulted in the international retirement of the latter.

Despite reaching the Euro 2012 semi-final, Bento’s continuation as national manager has become uncertain with the Portuguese Federation yet to show their stance.

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BENTO QUITS PORTUGAL

The Portuguese Football Association (FPF) has confirmed Paulo Bento will step down as Portugal manager ahead of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

Bento, who led Portugal into the Euro 2012 semi-finals, was criticised by many for his style of play and man management which led to reported feuds with his players.

With the FPF failing to affirm Bento’s position previously, the former midfielder has decided to resign the FPF has revealed.

“It is with great sadness that we confirm the voluntary resignation of Portugal senior manager Paulo Bento.

“Due to much confusion over our state of affairs, both parties met and agreed to Bento’s wishes to give up his post mutually.

“The FPF would like to thank Bento for his hard work and wish him the best for his future. We will aim to find a replacement as soon as possible.”

Former Porto manager Vitor Pereira and current Benfica boss Jorge Jesus are amongst the names heavily linked with the Portugal job.

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OCEANO IN TEMPORARY CONTROL

Former Sporting Lisbon B manager Oceano Cruz has been appointed as caretaker boss of Portugal for the upcoming qualifiers.

Portugal will continue to look at other managers meanwhile Oceano is to takeover for the next few months to pull the strings.

“We here at the Portuguese Football Federation take great pride in announcing Oceano as our caretaker boss. Oceano was more than willing to help and we would like take thank him for his dedication.

“Oceano will take charge of the national side for the first few games meanwhile we aim to find the right manager for the job shortly.”

The ex-Portugal under 21 manager played a total of 202 league games for his beloved Sporting with a collection of 54 international caps for Portugal in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s.