Eusébio is the man I respect the most in football. You see, Eusébio was as prolific as Pelé and one day, it was an european final, beetween Manchester United and Benfica, the game was tied and it was right at the final minutes, Eusébio grabbed the ball near the goal area, passed two defenders, and was alone facing the goalkeeper, that was easy task for him, he just needed to shoot the ball like always and get it past the GK into the net. But no, this time it was different, the goalkeeper defended his shot.

And what does a forward do when he fails a winning goal in the last few minutes of a CL final? Well, he shouldnt be very happy. What did Eusébio do? He went to the goalkeeper and greeted him, and then applauded the defence.

While I do not agree with the Ronaldo haters (being a Ronaldo fan myself) and I do believe what one says in a conference is all lies, and that Barca itself (and Messi) do the utmost to keep lying to the media and fans. But Eusébio was this kind of person, on the field, of the field, everywhere.

But one thing is true, if Ronaldo ever manages to push Portugal to win a WC, he will have my respect, and will be the greatest Portuguese player ever, if he doesnt, he'll always be below Eusébio, since Eusébio only didnt win the WC because the English robbed us.

I really wouldn't say Figo is above and beyond Cristiano though. He definitely was the better winger by far but better player can be argued. Still, I do believe the Portuguese consider Eusebio their greatest footballing product and until Cristiano can inspire this Portuguese team to World Cup or Euros glory, he'll probably be below Eusebio in terms of opinion.

Question, does only Atletico fans consider Paulo Futre a legend or does Portugal also consider him one of their nation's talented sons...?!

Paulo Futre is a legend in Portugal aswell, I didnt mension him in my post because it was getting too big and all, but he is highly ranked, I'd rank Portuguese legends this way:

Eusébio
Figo/Cristiano (figo better assisting, ronaldo better scoring)
Futre
Rui Costa

And there're also great players from the Benfica team of the 60s but I hardly know anything about them... There's also the "5 violinos" which were extraordinary aswell.

stunt wrote:Eusébio is the man I respect the most in football. You see, Eusébio was as prolific as Pelé and one day, it was an european final, beetween Manchester United and Benfica, the game was tied and it was right at the final minutes, Eusébio grabbed the ball near the goal area, passed two defenders, and was alone facing the goalkeeper, that was easy task for him, he just needed to shoot the ball like always and get it past the GK into the net. But no, this time it was different, the goalkeeper defended his shot.

And what does a forward do when he fails a winning goal in the last few minutes of a CL final? Well, he shouldnt be very happy. What did Eusébio do? He went to the goalkeeper and greeted him, and then applauded the defence.

While I do not agree with the Ronaldo haters (being a Ronaldo fan myself) and I do believe what one says in a conference is all lies, and that Barca itself (and Messi) do the utmost to keep lying to the media and fans. But Eusébio was this kind of person, on the field, of the field, everywhere.

But one thing is true, if Ronaldo ever manages to push Portugal to win a WC, he will have my respect, and will be the greatest Portuguese player ever, if he doesnt, he'll always be below Eusébio, since Eusébio only didnt win the WC because the English robbed us.

i think the fact that eusebio did so much for portugal and won us the world cup(everyone knows we desreved to win, and would have won if the english didnt buy the refs) and the fact that he is a gentle man(never gets dragged into controvorcies) and a great man make him regarded the best by the portuguese people, but if cr7 drags portugal to wc thriump he will be the best ever from portugal

Eusebio won you a World Cup ? Lol. ^

well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Sure...that seems likely, I mean, you guys had a great run in the Euro Cup against Greece !!

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Portugal would still have to face Germany though...

Doc wrote:

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Portugal would still have to face Germany though...

Yeah exactly. It's like me saying if Korea didn't cheat in 2002 Italia would have won the World Cup. There was definitely a chance, but we still had to face Brasil who were just as strong if not stronger than us, so it would be impossible to definitively say who would win, but in the case of Germany and Portugal, quite obvious.

JuvenelCuore wrote:

Doc wrote:

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Portugal would still have to face Germany though...

Yeah exactly. It's like me saying if Korea didn't cheat in 2002 Italia would have won the World Cup. There was definitely a chance, but we still had to face Brasil who were just as strong if not stronger than us, so it would be impossible to definitively say who would win, but in the case of Germany and Portugal, quite obvious.

well i know portugal would have to beat germany and that would be freaking tough, but the way we were playing(after defeating brazil, hungary and dominating england) i am sure we would have won the wc, i know u might not agree but thats just my opinion

JuvenelCuore wrote:

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Sure...that seems likely, I mean, you guys had a great run in the Euro Cup against Greece !!

what are you talking abt here?

theaguia wrote:

JuvenelCuore wrote:

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Sure...that seems likely, I mean, you guys had a great run in the Euro Cup against Greece !!

what are you talking abt here?

That fact Portugal does nothing internationally yet you believe they could have won the World Cup. Maybe if it was Brazil you could say "we've won it five times prior, it's not unlikely," but no, you have not and never will.

JuvenelCuore wrote:

theaguia wrote:

JuvenelCuore wrote:

theaguia wrote:well if the english didnt cheat the ref ya we would have won

Sure...that seems likely, I mean, you guys had a great run in the Euro Cup against Greece !!

what are you talking abt here?

That fact Portugal does nothing internationally yet you believe they could have won the World Cup. Maybe if it was Brazil you could say "we've won it five times prior, it's not unlikely," but no, you have not and never will.

What does that matter? Portugal had a star studded squad mostly of Benfica player's that won 8 Portuguese league Titles, and 2 consecutive European cups, dethroning Champions Real Madrid, and beating World Champions Brazil, they had one of the best squads at the world cup.

The semifinal between England and Portugal was controversial. Goodison Park in Liverpool was the original venue for the first semifinal. However, due to intervention of the English officials, the venue changed to Wembley. This happened because of fear from English officials of the Portugal performance and embarrassment if England lost in their own country with a debuting team.

ronaldo can't lead teams on his own nd he is a big stage flop

figo was portugal leader

the same wth Big E

One more post about Italy vs Portugal then this thread will be closed and posters will be sanctioned.

This thread was locked...but somehow the mystic powers of Mole unhitched it and broke the barrier.

Well played my friend.

@Juvenel, I think you really underrate the 1966 Portugal team, who had 7 of the fearsome Benfica stars who took Europe by storm just years ago.

Here is the team sheet for your reading pleasure.

1 1GK Américo 6 March 1933 (aged 33) Portugal Porto
2 1GK Joaquim Carvalho 18 April 1937 (aged 29) Portugal Sporting CP
3 1GK José Pereira 15 September 1931 (aged 34) Portugal Belenenses
4 2DF Vicente 24 September 1935 (aged 30) Portugal Belenenses
5 2DF Germano 18 January 1933 (aged 33) Portugal Benfica
6 3MF Fernando Peres 8 January 1942 (aged 24) Portugal Sporting CP
7 4FW Ernesto Figueiredo 6 July 1937 (aged 29) Portugal Sporting CP
8 4FW João Lourenço 8 April 1942 (aged 24) Portugal Sporting CP
9 2DF Hilário 19 March 1939 (aged 27) Portugal Sporting CP
10 3MF Mário Coluna 6 August 1935 (aged 30) Portugal Benfica
11 3MF António Simões 14 December 1943 (aged 22) Portugal Benfica
12 3MF José Augusto 13 April 1937 (aged 29) Portugal Benfica
13 4FW Eusébio 25 January 1942 (aged 24) Portugal Benfica
14 3MF Fernando Cruz 12 August 1940 (aged 25) Portugal Benfica
15 4FW Manuel Duarte 20 May 1943 (aged 23) Portugal Leixões
16 3MF Jaime Graça 10 January 1942 (aged 24) Portugal Vitória Setúbal
17 2DF João Morais 6 March 1935 (aged 31) Portugal Sporting CP
18 4FW José Torres 8 September 1938 (aged 27) Portugal Benfica
19 3MF Custódio Pinto 9 February 1942 (aged 24) Portugal Porto
20 2DF Alexandre Baptista 17 February 1941 (aged 25) Portugal Sporting CP
21 2DF José Carlos 22 September 1941 (aged 24) Portugal Sporting CP
22 2DF Alberto Festa 21 July 1939 (aged 26) Portugal Porto

You could have the greatest team in the world, all that matters is the result.

True, but I am just saying that the What If scenario the Pourtagal fans suggested is a feasible one, just as the What If scenario Italian fans suggest in 2002 is.

Portugal lost by one goal, and the match was highly controversial.

You are of course entitled to you opinion, and don't believe me in what I say if you Choose not. The WWW is a huge place where you can find your own opinion in the matter.

Finally, I am not Saying Portugal would have won the world cup if the match was not controversial. I am just saying that they had the ability to do so, as did all the semi-finalists, and Brazil for that matter.

grest posts spencer,
juvenel i am shocked man, you are saying all the great dutch teams are not that great because they didnt win?

theaguia wrote:grest posts spencer,
juvenel i am shocked man, you are saying all the great dutch teams are not that great because they didnt win?

Internationally, no, they aren't great. Why are they great ? Because they had a good team ? Let's start giving out medals for participation and hold hands and enjoy some orange slices and have a nice runner-up fun game where we don't keep score so everyone feels like a winner !!

Magricos wrote: People seem to forget how Italy won their WC.

Which one, the one where Mussolini may or may not have had a say in the outcome? That one?!

Doc wrote:

Magricos wrote: People seem to forget how Italy won their WC.

Which one, the one where Mussolini may or may not have had a say in the outcome? That one?!

The one where Trinidad nearly won it...wait.

JuvenelCuore wrote:
The one where Trinidad nearly won it...wait.

I think he was joking.

How the Dutch still don't have a World Cup baffles me. They're destined to win it, though. If they keep doing what they're doing with their youth then I'm sure a WC will come to them.

http://www.overtimeonline.co.uk/?p=1330

Just one article.