Wednesday, July 05, 2006

French learn to expect rough ride from Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari arrived at his pre-match press conference to a standing ovation and left to a chorus of jeers and whistles yesterday. The applause came from Brazilian journalists delighted to have one of their countrymen left in Germany to follow, while the abuse was supplied by the international media, upset that a promise to answer questions in English and French had been broken.
The mixed reception was typical of how Portugal have divided opinions at this tournament, but as befits a man now unbeaten in 12 World Cup finals matches Scolari could not care less. As the FA discovered to its cost when attempting to recruit him as Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor, Scolari is far more concerned with winning that what others think of him.
Portugal's progress to their first World Cup semi-final in 40 years has been marked by a cautious, sometimes negative, gameplan in a series of explosive encounters. The second-round match against Holland featured 16 yellow and four red cards and Saturday's display against England was memorable for the worldliness shown by even the youngest of the Portuguese squad rather than the creativity of a side apparently bent on stifling their opponents above all else.
The approach has come as little surprise in France, where resentment still lingers at the behaviour of Portugal's players during the Euro 2000 semi-final in Brussels, when the award of a penalty three minutes from the end of extra-time prompted a brawl that saw the officials assaulted. Zinedine Zidane, one of 10 survivors of that game in the two squads, withstood a five-minute delay and repeated attempts to distract him to convert the spot-kick. The history between the two sides does not end there.
In 1996 the French coach Raymond Domenech was in charge of the French Olympic team that lost to Portugal in the quarter-final, a game that saw Jérôme Bonnissel sent off and 11 players booked. In 2003 meanwhile Domenech's Under-21 team met Portugal in the European Championship. Djibril Cissé was sent off for kicking Mario Sergio, Portugal's players declined to take a drugs test after the game and Domenech accused the Portuguese of "loutish behaviour".
Scolari dismissed suggestions that his side will again seek to upset their opponents rather than beat them. "This is a joke," he said. "It is stirred up to sell newspapers, but all you have to do is count the red cards that my team has had in the last 3½-years and the number the French have had then you have your answer," he said. "France are the hardest team we could have faced. They are the best organised and most talented team in Germany. We have to work as a team and in football you never know which team is going to win."
Few would bet with confidence against Scolari coaxing another odds-defying performance from his side. He has instilled fierce belief into his players and despite regular rotation of the side, in part because of suspension, they will test Domenech's France. Deco returns after a red card removed him from the quarter-final - "He is crazy to play," said Scolari - as does Costinha, who will step into the suspended Petit's destructive shoes at the base of the midfield. Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo are both carrying knocks but are expected to start.
In the French camp an intense evening is anticipated. "We must be fully focused for 90 minutes because Portugal are a good team and they will try and do everything they can to destabilise us," said William Gallas. "I think they have the ability to destabilise teams with actions and little fouls and it's essential that we keep cool. In this sort of match we must be careful of the Portuguese - they like diving, you can see that."
Zidane, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira, Willy Sagnol, Louis Saha and Franck Ribéry will not play in the final if they pick up a yellow card tonight.
Posted by Samvit :: 11:26 AM :: 0 comments

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