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Bento insists Portugal will not rely solely on Cristiano Ronaldo
May 29, 2012 4:50:00 PM
The attacker is coming off the back of a wonderful season with Real Madrid, but the former Sporting boss knows that he cannot be expected to carry his country this summer
| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £26.25 | Draw £38.00 | Real Madrid £25.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £25.00 | Draw £35.00 | Real Madrid £26.20 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £26.00 | Draw £34.00 | Real Madrid £26.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £26.00 | Draw £36.00 | Real Madrid £25.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £25.00 | Draw £35.00 | Real Madrid £26.20 |
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PORTUGAL
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GROUP B
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*Portugal secured qualification with a play-off victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Portugal coach Paulo Bento has revealed that his side can ill afford to rely solely on Cristiano Ronaldo if they are to have any hope of qualifying from Euro 2012's 'group of death'.
The beaten finalists of eight years ago have been drawn alongside Germany, Netherlands and Denmark.
And Bento is aware that the Real Madrid forward will not be able to drag Portugal into the quarter-finals all on his own.
"Cristiano has always played at a high level for us," he told AS. "In the qualifying round he helped us a lot but we still think the same: we will not rely on any player to resolve all problems.
"We try to do things as a team and there will be some players who will help us solve certain problems, as in the case of Cristiano thanks to his talent and dynamism.
"But if anyone should take on the burden of pressure, it will be me. Moreover, Cristiano should not have the added pressure of thinking that winning a European Championship may be decisive in terms of the Ballon d'Or, because it will not be."
However, the Seleccao boss did acknowledge that victory in Poland and Ukraine this summer would boost Ronaldo's hopes of ending Lionel Messi's three-year reign as officially the best player in the world.
"Cristiano had a fantastic year [so far], with his goals and winning mentality," Bento continued.
"With the [Spanish] league title and the Euros [to come], he does have a great chance to win the Ballon d'Or.
Turning his attention back to Portugal's group, Bento admitted that his troops, who were held to a 0-0 draw by Macedonia at the weekend, will be up against it this summer.
"Our first goal is to reach the quarter-finals and from that moment on we will start thinking game by game," he explained. "But not since 2000 have we been in as balanced a group as this, with such strong teams.
"The three teams we must play have been champions of Europe. Denmark was the first in our qualification group and for many they are the weakest team, but I do not think so.
"The Netherlands were finalists at the last World Cup and they only lost one game in qualifying, their last [against Sweden], when they were already guaranteed a place in the Euros.
"And Germany claimed 30 of a possible 30 points. The only team that beat them at the Euros and the World Cup was Spain."
Bento succeeded Carlos Queiroz in charge of the Portuguese national team two years ago, less than 12 months after his resignation as Sporting Lisbon boss.
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Live!
Champions League final - LIVE!
German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.
7:19 PM BST
And one final question for Carlo ...
@OmarAb96: What is the most important battle on the pitch tonight?
CG: This is going to sound like a cliche, and probably not the answer you are looking for but whichever team is more clinical will win the game. That is the real battle, more so than any individual contest because these are two sides who value the collective. I expect Bayern to have more possession, but Dortmund are still incredibly dangerous on the break. Bayern may create more chances, but Dortmund will have their opportunities too. It really depends who is more efficient.
And like I said earlier, the first goal will be crucial. If Bayern score first, it will be very difficult for Dortmund to come back.
@OmarAb96: What is the most important battle on the pitch tonight?
CG: This is going to sound like a cliche, and probably not the answer you are looking for but whichever team is more clinical will win the game. That is the real battle, more so than any individual contest because these are two sides who value the collective. I expect Bayern to have more possession, but Dortmund are still incredibly dangerous on the break. Bayern may create more chances, but Dortmund will have their opportunities too. It really depends who is more efficient.
And like I said earlier, the first goal will be crucial. If Bayern score first, it will be very difficult for Dortmund to come back.
7:13 PM BST
Carlo's now had his attention turned to the intiguing arrival of a certain Spaniard at the Allianz Arena this summer ...
@A_Mostefa17: Do you think Bayern will be even better with Guardiola next year or will it all go wrong for them?
CG: Everything suggests that Guardiola's Bayern will be a great team. The setups at Bayern and Barcelona are comparable, both on and off the pitch. Only Barcelona have monopolised more possession than Bayern over the past two seasons, while the Germans have enough top quality young players for Guardiola to build a great team around.
Everything is there for Guardiola to do well, the problem is that if Bayern win tonight and clinch the treble - as expected - how on earth do you better that? The simple answer is you can't. So Guardiola will almost be in a no-win situation from the outset, and that is never an easy starting point.
@A_Mostefa17: Do you think Bayern will be even better with Guardiola next year or will it all go wrong for them?
CG: Everything suggests that Guardiola's Bayern will be a great team. The setups at Bayern and Barcelona are comparable, both on and off the pitch. Only Barcelona have monopolised more possession than Bayern over the past two seasons, while the Germans have enough top quality young players for Guardiola to build a great team around.
Everything is there for Guardiola to do well, the problem is that if Bayern win tonight and clinch the treble - as expected - how on earth do you better that? The simple answer is you can't. So Guardiola will almost be in a no-win situation from the outset, and that is never an easy starting point.
7:09 PM BST
And the rest of that response (trust me - it gets even better!) to the question on whether Germany deserves four Champions League places:
CG: Germany took a place off Italy purely because Uefa's coefficient system - which rewards the same number of points to Europa League competitors as it does for those in the Champions League - was so ludicrously flawed.
There is no doubt that the Bundesliga is on the up and Serie A has since struggled in Europe - and this season Germany has proven its worth in the Champions League - but the league should hever have been granted a fourth place until they earned it in the Champions League ... not in a Mickey Mouse Cup that no one outside Germany and the minor nations takes seriously.
CG: Germany took a place off Italy purely because Uefa's coefficient system - which rewards the same number of points to Europa League competitors as it does for those in the Champions League - was so ludicrously flawed.
There is no doubt that the Bundesliga is on the up and Serie A has since struggled in Europe - and this season Germany has proven its worth in the Champions League - but the league should hever have been granted a fourth place until they earned it in the Champions League ... not in a Mickey Mouse Cup that no one outside Germany and the minor nations takes seriously.
7:07 PM BST
A cracking question here from Adam Scime, who has provoked an even better response out of Carlo, which I'll have to split in two!
@Scime_Live: Does Germany deserve four CL places?
CG: Germany were granted four Champions League places at the end of the 2010-11 season, which led to Italy losing one spot. This came into effect at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
When Italy lost their place, their Champions League record was so far superior to Germany whether you looked at the last two,three,five,10,20 or 30 years. Serie A boasted two of the previous four winners of the competition, whereas the Bundesliga hadn't won a European trophy of any sort since 2001 ...
@Scime_Live: Does Germany deserve four CL places?
CG: Germany were granted four Champions League places at the end of the 2010-11 season, which led to Italy losing one spot. This came into effect at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
When Italy lost their place, their Champions League record was so far superior to Germany whether you looked at the last two,three,five,10,20 or 30 years. Serie A boasted two of the previous four winners of the competition, whereas the Bundesliga hadn't won a European trophy of any sort since 2001 ...
7:04 PM BST
Carlo's finally been asked to put his neck on the line in our Twitter Q&A ...
@jagger_jagz: Who do you tip to win #UCL final?
CG: Bayern are clearly the favourites on paper. Individually and collectively they have the advantage, plus they have won two and drawn two out of their four meetings this season, so psychologically have the edge.
But, anything can happen in finals. The first goal will be crucial. If Bayern break the deadlock, it is hard to see them losing as they are so good at strangling the game and picking teams off. If Dortmund are to spring a surprise, I think they have to score first. If they manage that, then it will be interesting to see how Bayern react. They have developed a reputation as a team who bottle it on the big stage and fall at the final hurdle. Mentally, they seem a different proposition this year but falling behind could bring back all their bad memories and prove fatal.
@jagger_jagz: Who do you tip to win #UCL final?
CG: Bayern are clearly the favourites on paper. Individually and collectively they have the advantage, plus they have won two and drawn two out of their four meetings this season, so psychologically have the edge.
But, anything can happen in finals. The first goal will be crucial. If Bayern break the deadlock, it is hard to see them losing as they are so good at strangling the game and picking teams off. If Dortmund are to spring a surprise, I think they have to score first. If they manage that, then it will be interesting to see how Bayern react. They have developed a reputation as a team who bottle it on the big stage and fall at the final hurdle. Mentally, they seem a different proposition this year but falling behind could bring back all their bad memories and prove fatal.
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