After more than eight years as the Head Coach of the Portuguese National Team, the country’s football federation has now come to an agreement with Fernando Santos to finally put an end to their relationship and the 68year old announced his decision to step down on Thursday.
A very good move but maybe a little too late. However, better be late than never because terms has changed for the good of the national team with brilliant players coming through the ranks, and now they deserve a more tactically endowed manager.
Fernando Santos was appointed as the head coach of the nation in 2014 following a poor spell under Paulo Bento for four years, which saw them got eliminated from the group stages of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, finishing behind the USA.
When Fernando Santos was employed, it was obvious Portugal were far behind the other European elites but the only positives and as well as the reason they were relevant is because of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is one of the best of all time.
Portugal had never won a major title since they started to be represented in international tournaments in 1921 but in 2016, against all odds, Fernando Santos led them to their first ever major international title by beating the host nation, France in the final.
It was a very lucky run for them as even their best player, Cristiano Ronaldo played the tournament with injuries but still managed to deliver when it mattered, like his brace in a 3-3 draw with Hungary in their final group game, which ensured qualification into the knockout rounds.
Portugal drew all their three group games and managed to qualify as one of the best third placed teams and won just one game in 90 minutes in the entirety of the 2016 European Championship, a 2-0 win over Wales in the semi final.
In the 2018 FIFA World Cup despite managing to hold Spain to a draw in their first game, they could not capitalize and emerge as the group winner following Spain’s slip up against Morocco as they also failed to win their final group game against Iran.
They faced Uruguay in the round of 16 and were beaten 2-1, thus ending their campaign in Russia on a disappointing note but they did record another success under the 68year old the following year by beating the Netherlands in the final of the UEFA Nations League to claim another title.
Before journeying for the European Championship in 2021, Portugal have already become blessed with very good players to even challenge the other top nations and defend their title.
They are already being considered as one of the heavy favourites and even ranked fifth in the world by FIFA in her final ranking of countries before the start of the European Championship.
The level of quality and the prospects they paraded at the time matched the demands of modern football so fans were optimistic that they have all it takes to defend the title and this time play as the real deal and not rely on luck to get them desired results.
Albeit they found themselves in a very tough group where they faced the likes of Germany and France. But even if they were disappointing in the game against the two, their big win over Hungary in the end proved very useful as they managed to qualify as runner-up to France.
In the round of 16 they got beaten by Belgium through a Thorgan Hazard’s first half goal. The biggest weakness of Portugal had under Santos is their inability to match the strength of the other elite nations, a flaw which can be blamed only on their coach.
Their elimination in the hands of Belgium did occur to many as a surprise because they have proven not being able to compete with other big nations and the same was the case leading to their group elimination in the UEFA Nations League, following a 1-0 loss to Spain in their final game.
After the loss to Belgium, Portugal should have considering taking Santos off the job. The team is no more the way it used to be and even though very exciting players are ready to dethrone the aged and weary ones, the manager had no clue and preferred to stick with the ones that brought him success in 2016.
Were Portugal really that good in 2016 ?
The anatomy of their success says otherwise actually. The fact that they were champions however overshadowed how close they were to disaster in that very tournament.
A side that failed to win a single match in a group comprising Hungary, Iceland and Austria. In the round of 16, they needed a Ricardo Quaresma’s brilliance, three minutes from the end of 120 minutes to beat a Croatia side that had never reached the knockout round of any international competition since 2008.
In the quarter finals, they beat Poland on penalties while only against Wales in the semi final that they won in 90 minutes and that was even thanks to another inspiring performance from Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored one and assisted the other.
In the final against France, though not many will care how the result was achieved but what mattered is getting the result, they ousted the host thanks to Eder’s goal in the second half of extra time.
It is not that the players are too good to be replaced but appeared the former Benfica manager is afraid to try something new, which makes the time right for a successor to be named.
In the 2-1 loss to South Korea in their final group game in Qatar, Matheus Nunez, Ruben Neves and Vitinha started in the middle of the park but were unable to get real hold of proceedings.
It is not nothing that this has come to be and many overlooked it because Portugal had already qualified but the main cause of alarm is that the trio is good enough to be the main starters for Portugal and the fact that they can’t impose themselves more on that game shows the flaws of the manager’s tactics.
After what can be said was a poor outing in Qatar only because not many would have predicted them losing to Morocco in the quarter finals, it is already time for Portugal to do the needful and now a new man will assume the reigns and Santos has been kind enough to step down.
The legendary Manager has been a very good servant for Portugal and his name will forever be etched in the history of the national team as the man who won their first ever major international title.
Looking at the current crop of players, this set has to be the best put together in the history of the country and something has to be made of them. They have already failed in two international tournaments, European Championship and the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
However, there is still time to achieve better memories and the federation acknowledged this. The right step they have already taken and now they need to make a good decision in naming Santos’ successor.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
