Portugal’s Issues Run Deeper Than This Tournament

Portugal have been drawn in the dreaded "group of death" and it appears it is going to be very difficult for them to progress into the latter stages of the tournament. However, there are more issues for Portuguese football than just group qualification, and this is a worrying period for fans of the country.

Portugal scraped into the play-offs for the Euro's with a mediocre display in qualifying, they finished just ahead of Norway only on goal difference, to say it wasn't all inspiring is somewhat of an understatement. Now they are at the tournament some people believe they have a chance of doing well. In my opinion, they will be lucky not to finish bottom of their group. This Portuguese side lacks the quality of previous sides and an over reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo means they are in danger of being a one man team.

Issues affecting domestic game


In 2004 this side got to the final only to be beaten by the unlikely winners Greece; that game contained players like Luis Figo, Carvalho, Maniche and a young Ronaldo. It was a very good side and importantly had balance and depth. However, since then it has been a steady decline for this nation and this current squad indicates the problems affecting the Portuguese game today. With perhaps only a few players of real quality in Coentrao, Moutinho and Ronaldo, it is the depth in quality that worries me most. 

The issues comes from a similar problem which is affecting the English game; in England right now we are displeased with how we are developing our young players and importantly about how we are seeing less English players playing in the Premier League, which is clearly having an impact on the quality and success of our national team. There is no doubt that the money in the game today is affecting the decisions and reducing the patience of clubs to develop talent, over just buying it in. 


In the short term this may serve a club with success, yet in the long term there are serious repercussions which this philosophy may produce. In England there only 38% of English players in the league, an issue which is affecting the development of a larger group of English talent getting the required experience to develop. In Germany and Spain they have closer to 60% of domestic players playing in their top league. Is it a coincidence that these nations are developing more players and thus having stronger national sides? 

This foreign problem is just as pronounced in Portugal, and perhaps even worse. And it is this issue which is causing the most worry for the future of Portuguese football. Portguese football has been affected by an influx of foreign nationals who have restricted the development of their home grown players. Although the influx of foreign players has arguably improved the quality and standard of the game in Portugal,  the intake of predominantly South American players in the Primeira League, means that a large number of domestic players are not being given the opportunity to develop.

Top sides restricting growth

The issue in Portugal is that players between 17-21 are not being given a fair chance to break into the first team. Unless they are highly talented at their age, clubs will not utilise their youngsters. Sometimes, it takes 2 or 3 years for a player to establish himself, but clubs don’t want to wait, they expect instant success. There is a dangerous mentality across many of Europe's top sides where they prefer to buy talented foreigners than look within their own country or youth setup. Therefore, young players may never have the chance to play at the highest level as they are being ignored. Not surprisingly this issue is more pronounced with the top sides, most notably in Portugal Benfica. 

Although last season saw the Europa League final between two Portuguese sides in Porto and Braga, there is a worry in Portugal that the top sides are neglecting domestic players for the simplicity of bringing in South Americans at 17 years of age. Benfica had a good run in the Champions League this season, yet it came at the expense of Portuguese players. They have chosen to neglect the development of domestic players for the desire to be successful. This season they rarely played any Portuguese player, relying on the talents of Luisao, Emerson, Bruno Cesar, Witsel, Aimar, Gaitan, Cardozo, Saviola and Nolito. There is only one possible youth prospect in Oliveira, who has been selected in the Portuguese squad this summer. He played a few games for Benfica, and although a potential talent, at 20 years of age, he is not playing regularly enough to further his development. The fact Portugal have taken him shows the limited selection of which the national team has. 

The problem is the same with the Portuguese champions Porto, although there are a few Portuguese in Moutinho, Rolando and Varela, yet they are dominated with Brasilians such as Hulk, Kleber, Helton, Danilo and other South Americans in Pereira, Martinez and Gonzalez. Sporting too, who had a good run in the Europa League this past season have only a few Portuguese in their starting XI; goalkeeper Patricio, Daniel Carrico and Joao Pereria, yet it is players like Elias, Matias Fernandez, Capel, Jeffren Suarez and Van Wolfswinkel who are the key men. It is clear that the top sides in Portugal have decided that if they wish to be successful across Europe, then they do not believe that the talent in Portugal is good enough to achieve this. This is a worrying cycle where players who require patience and time to develop their potential, are not given this opportunity due to teams wish for immediate success. It is perhaps only Braga who are seeking to use domestic players, this is not good enough if Portugal wish to improve their international success. 

Stepping stone

The difference between Portugal and England particularly is the quality of the league, many young South American's come to Portugal to use it as a stepping stone to move into one of Europe's top leagues. You only have to look at David Luiz, Ramires, Di Maria, Falcao and now possibly Hulk who is set to leave this summer as to the quality that is developed and then sold on in Portugal. Yet, the worry is the lack of Portuguese replacing these departing foreigners. However, the principal problem is that the larger intake of foreign players has made it harder for home-grown players to break into the first team of a club. When Simao left Benfica it was Di Maria who took his place, when Di Maria it was Gaitan. 

In my opinion for the top players, moving to a better and bigger league is a natural consequence, yet the worry is that replacements come from South America and not Portugal. In the past decade young players like Ronaldo, Nani, Queresma and Viana have departed in order to further their development, yet out of these players who has actually improved? Viana was a flop at Newcastle, Queresma was supposed to be the next Figo, yet struggled at Barcelona, Nani has not become the next Ronaldo either. So it appears there is another issue which may be affecting the development of Portuguese players, of players leaving too young while inexperienced. 

These young players want to depart Portugal to play in a more competitive league, to further develop as a player and receive a greater salary. Yet this is not always the case, surely it would be better for many of these players to stay in Portugal and develop gradually. Young players with big money moves do not often fulfil their potential for the simple reason that the pressure, the change of environment and the fact they are only teenagers has the potential to stunt their development. A good example of a country who are developing their young players right is Uruguay. Currently 2nd in the FIFA rankings, they have quality all over Europe yet their players learnt and developed as teenagers in their home country before leaving, thus allowing the key period between 17-21 to be on the pitch and not sitting on the bench. This is the key for young players. 

Dual citizenship

The issue for Portugal is so pronounced that dual citizenship has been a key aspect of keeping the national team competitive. Deco, Liedson, Rolando and Pepe have all been given Portuguese nationality in order to play in the national side, yet when a national side requires the need to use foreign players to supplement their national side, surely there are issues which are not being addressed in the country. If there were less Brazilians and more home grown players in Portugal, wouldn’t there be more domestic options?  Of course there would be. As there are more foreigners playing in European leagues, the national teams are starting to suffer as there is less choice, this is a worrying trend which is not being rightfully addressed quick enough. 

FIFA rules

I have spoken before of the need to change the FIFA 6+5 ruling, the problem currently is that "home grown" is classed as a player developed in that country for 3 years, meaning these “foreign” players are being regarded as “home grown” and thus getting past the current FIFA 5+6 rule which will be rising to 6+5 for next season. This is no different to England, where it has become common in the past several years to see a side like Arsenal play with few or no English players. If the decision is down to the managers discretion then I am afraid most would not consider the need to play English or Portuguese players but to play their strongest side. If FIFA and UEFA do not implement stricter rules on the 6+5 rule, then sides will not be forced into developing and playing domestic players, which in the long term, will benefit the national sides of those countries.

I believe in the 6 + 5 rule, it protects home grown football players and gives them a real opportunity to accomplish their dream, become a football player. By implementing this rule, teams will have to start looking heavily into their youth teams. In the long run, it will allow national teams to have a greater national pool which gives them more choice in their selections. It won’t be easy to implement at first and many clubs will have to change, but it means that they will spend less on foreign players and start buying national based products. Also, instead of buying players, they can opt to promote youth players, which can save teams millions each season. Borussia Dortmund are a great example of how this approach can be utilized for the successful development of domestic players combined with success.

The issue of the 6+5 rule is that clubs will be genuinely worried about losing competitiveness. As Spain and Germany have the quality already, they could achieve this ruling while keeping competitive. For England, a 6+5 approach may really effect the quality of the football, one only has to look at Liverpool this past season to see what a predominately English side can produce. Yet their approach is much better for the future of England than Arsenal's.  

In conclusion, Portuguese football is in a state of decline and the worries and concerns are not being addressed enough to improve the standards early enough and effective enough. The top sides in Portugal are seeing more value in bringing in South American talent over developing their own players, meaning they are able to attain short term success more. For a club this is understandable for success reasons, yet for national bodies and FIFA, there must be a serious concern. The 6+5 rule must be altered in order for more domestic players to receive the playing time in order to develop. In the long term, this will ultimately benefit the national sides around Europe. Yet, many clubs will not wish to lose their ability to compete and it will be a difficult process to implement, yet it must be if we wish to progress national football.

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