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Despairing Portugal blame coach for exit Posted: Friday June 14, 2002 11:15 AM
They claimed Oliveira had thrown away Portugal's chance when he substituted defender Jorge Andrade for striker Pauleta in the 69th minute. Portugal was down to nine men after two red cards and South Korea scored a minute after the change. "What was he waiting for, a miracle? They don't happen every day," said fan Antonio Sousa in a sun-baked midtown square. Jose Augusto, a winger on the team that finished third in the 1966 World Cup, said Oliveira had become rattled during a tight game surrounded by 50,000 screaming South Korean fans. "Antonio Oliveira didn't take charge and that's serious," he said. "This (loss) has to do with the coach." Portugal, one of the European Union's smallest and poorest countries, virtually shut down during the match. Streets emptied as whistling, chanting fans gathered around giant TV screens set up in parks and theatres. The stock market was at a standstill as traders were glued to TVs watching Portugal fail in repeated late attempts. Hangdog fans said the loss meant the final glow was off the "golden generation" of such stars as midfielders Luis Figo and Joao Pinto, which won the World youth championships in 1989 and 1991. "This was the end of the golden generation," said Jose Carvalho, wrapped in a scarf in the national colours of red, gold and green. "Now is the time to rebuild the team, so that what happened to France doesn't happen to us," he said, referring to the French squad's ageing stars. Deputy Prime Minister Luis Arnaud said the squad's next step was to get ready for the 2004 European championships. Portugal is hosting the tournament. "We've got to move ahead so that in 2004 we'll have a team that's corrected everything that didn't go so well in this championship," said Arnaud, who is in charge of the government's role in the tournament.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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