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Big shout for 'Big Phil' Scolari the man to get Portugal back on trackPosted: Wednesday December 04, 2002 6:54 AM
Hello all. The status of the Portuguese national team, Real Madrid's struggles and the English media are some of the topics discussed in my latest mailbag. Hope you enjoy it.
Hi Pedro! Which direction do you think will Portuguese football take especially after signing Scolari. Should we expect the "Brazil of Europe" to unleash their true capability by taking trophies?
I was absolutely delighted with the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari to the post of national team manager. Portuguese football has been in the hands of people with more political weight than football knowledge for far too long. I see the winds of change blowing, and I like it. Scolari is a hard but fair man and will do the best for the team. He will not succumb to pressures to play this guy or that guy. Proof of that came this summer when nearly all of Brazil wanted him to take Romario to the World Cup, but he said no. I can't wait to see how Portugal will do with him. At least I expect the players to run, instead of jog around. Scolari will not take the kind of nonsense Oliveira did before.
Hola Pedro. My question is about Real Madrid. I think that the crisis has a simple and logical answer: the coach. Although Vincente Del Bosque has shown great skills in leading the team earlier, I think he is not able anymore to lead such a wonder team to glory. I feel that he is "afraid" of the big stars in the team. A team like that needs someone who has known his great time in football, who was like Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo... in his time, such as Mancini, Capello, or the most adequate to me, Cruyff. What do you think?
I have to disagree with you. Vicente del Bosque has the kind of personality that is needed to manage Real Madrid. If you had an arrogant or imposing coach at the helm of this club, it would lead to a disaster. There are too many egos in the side already, the manager doesn't need to have one as well. If you ask me, the reason for Real's crisis is the number of games their top international stars have had to play. They didn't have much time to rest over the summer with the world cup going on and are now playing important matches week in and week out now. I saw the classic between AC Milan and Real Madrid on Tuesday. My only concern is that nowadays, too many of the big clubs play with only one natural striker, with many attacking midfielders. As a result, like in that match, there are fewer goals scored relative to the chances created and possession achieved. This is bad for the entertainment derived from soccer. Teams should lay more emphasis on scoring, scoring and scoring...-- Wale, Lagos, Nigeria
Was that a great game or what? I was marvelled with all the skill on display. I completely agree with you as far as the 4-3-3 tactic is concerned. Most latin based teams are depending on it too much. Having two wingers opens up a lot of possibilities, but then if you only have one striker in the area, it does make it hard to convert them. The only way this strategy works is if you have top-class attacking players like Brazil had at the world cup or Real has now. There have been too many teams who have been adopting this tactic when they don't have the personel to make it work. Just ask Marcelo Bielsa.
I don't even know where to begin, how is Zidane a nominee for this year's FIFA player of the year award. Not only has he had a terrible World Cup with France but also a bad season with Real Madrid judging by his standards. The only thing he did last season was score a "fantastic" goal in the Champions League final. Where as Ballack has impressed in all competitions but hasn't been nominated for anything this year. Is there some kind of conspiracy or are the FIFA officials blind?
My nominees for world footballer of the year would be Michael Ballack, Roberto Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero and Ronaldo. And I would give the award to Carlos. Zinedine Zidane was too inconsistant throughout the season to be considered for the top prize; Oliver Kahn had a solid year like he has had so often but his mistake in the World Cup final and his failure to lead Bayern to any trophies should be taken into account; Ronaldo? I agree with the nomination because he was simply fantastic in Asia, but I don't think he should win it. I agree with you about Ballack. I don't understand why he was ignored. He was stellar with Leverkusen and pendular in Germany's run to the World Cup final. Del Piero? He led Juventus to the Serie-A title and had a great season overall. The only reason he did not have a good World Cup was because Giovanni Trapattoni did not allow him to. Why would I pick Carlos? His skill is outstanding, his positioning has improved every year and he is so influential for both Brazil and Real. Just a class act and he won both the Champions League and the World Cup. The only player in the world who can boast that! Mr. Pinto, Who do you think is the best goalscorer in the world? Is it Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Raul, or some other striker?
I think Christian Vieri is the best goalscorer in the world. This guy is simply amazing. He is always in the right place at the right time and rarely misses a chance. I know you are probably thinking, "how about that glaring miss against South Korea at the World Cup?" Well, I can't explain that, what I can tell you is that his goalscoring record is amazing. 101 goals scored in 128 league games over the last five seasons. That record backs me up. Ronaldo is a great player, but is not too impressive with his head. Henry? Doesn't score enough tap-ins and misses too many easy chances, although he is improving every season. Raul? He would actually be number 2 on my list of top strikers. The problem is that now he is not really used as an out and out striker, more as a forward.
Growing up in Manhattan I never thought I would ever see greater hype than the NY media was capabable of. I WAS WRONG. The English media is 10 times worse. They are almost delusional in my eyes. They have a workmanlike team with a marginal world class player, Owen -- don't even try to make me laugh by saying Beckham. How can England ever truely be successful when they haven't even the slightest idea about it's own league and players. Am I way off on this? Respect your opinion.
I have to admit that I am very disappointed with the media as a whole. Not only in the world of sport but also in news. Newspapers and television stations are much more concerned about selling stories and sensationalizing them rather than giving the bare facts and being objective. The English and American media are definitely very guilty of this, and it happens more in these nations because there is so much advertising money floating around that the temptations to sensationalize are greater. I think there should be a change of attitude from the people in charge so that we would go back to good journalism. About Michael Owen and David Beckham, I agree that both of them are not as good as the English media makes them out to be. The problem is that there is no-one else to hype up, is there? That's why there has been so much attention now on Everton teenager Wayne Rooney. Pedro Pinto is an anchor for World Sport, the international sports show that airs on CNN International.
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