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Scolari talks tough ahead of Turkey test
by Pete Sanderson from Stade de Geneve
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Luiz Felipe Scolari feels he has a winning team
on his hand (¿Getty Images)
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Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was in bullish mood on
the eve of his side's opening UEFA EURO 2008T Group A match against Turkey
at the Stade de Geneve.
'Winning mentality'
The charismatic Brazilian, who steered hosts Portugal to the final in
the 2004 edition, said: "We have an extremely talented squad with
a midfield which is the envy of almost every team in Europe. To do well
at a tournament like this you have to believe you will be there until
the bitter end. I know we are good enough to win this tournament, but
right now we have to focus on the first match. We lost our first game
against Greece four years ago and put a great deal of pressure on ourselves.
A victory would be the perfect start to get us in the winning mood."
Brazilian blend
Scolari is no stranger to facing Turkey in the finals of a major tournament
having twice encountered them during his tenure as Brazil coach at the
FIFA World Cup in 2002. "I have a lot of respect for the Turkish
team," he said. "They play like a South American team - fast-flowing
football backed by a great coach [Fatih Terim]. Most people expect us
to beat them but they forget Turkey lost very narrowly to my Brazil team
in a World Cup semi-final. They are strong starters so we must be careful."
Ronaldo threat
Portugal are expected to play a 4-3-3 formation with Petit sitting in
front of a defence of Bosingwa, Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe and Paulo Ferreira,
allowing Joao Moutinho and Deco the freedom to push forward from midfield
to support their attack. The major talking point in the Portuguese press
concerns which of their wing quartet will provide the ammunition for lone
striker Nuno Gomes. Scolari has toyed with the idea of using Ricardo Quaresma
on the left but the smart money is on Simao to start there with Cristiano
Ronaldo weaving his magic down the right.
Marking mission
Turkey coach Terim's biggest headache will be taming the seemingly unstoppable
Ronaldo as he squares off against left-back Hakan Balta. "It's not
about just one man marking him," said Terim. "You defend as
a team and I am not going to criticise one player for failing to stop
Ronaldo. He is the best player in the world but we have practised a number
of systems which will help contain him."
Familiar look
Terim admitted that there will be no major surprises in his starting lineup.
"We have a number of systems up our sleeve but we will not make any
radical changes," he said. "We haven't beaten Portugal since
1955 but we have reversed the tide before and why not this time?"
With Volkan Demirel's outstanding form for Fenerbahce SK ensuring his
selection ahead of Rustu Recber between the posts, and Nihat Kahveci now
stepping into shoes of record scorer Hakan Sukur, Turkey are an entirely
different proposition to the side Scolari got the better of in 2002. Perhaps
this new generation are destined to end that 53-year wait for victory
against Portugal.
Euro2008.com,
7 June 2008
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