i said i'd never watch a portugal match again but there was nothing good on TV, so i saw the lsat half-hour of Portugal vs Norway. i can't even say i'm underwhelmed these days, it was pathetic.
the assistant manager, standing in for the suspended Queirosz, only made his 1st substitution 70 minutes in, true Queiroszian tradition. when people asked him why, he said "it was in the game plan". that must be one of the stupidest statements i've ever heard in football.
BTW, dunno if you're familiar with the mess going on in Portuguese football. Queirosz was signed in 2008 for a 4 year contract for i think 100 grand a month. after the terrible qualification and WC, the federation realised it would be prohibitively expensive to fire him, so they made up some charges about him insulting the anti-doping staff and suspended him for 6 months, in an effort to justify firing him with no settlement.
i hate Queirosz but i'm siding with him, what the federation is doing is pathetic.
after going to every competition since Euro 96, except WC98, Portugal now find themselves calculator in hand once again, only 2 matches into qualification. we're going back to the days when we only made a major competition every 20 years. people think we are worse than usual, but i disagree. since 1996 we have been better than usual and this is no more than a return to form.