It could be argued that Carlos Queiroz’s negative tactics ruined the biggest two matches of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career so far.
“Ask Queiroz”, said Ronaldo in a post-match interview when asked of Portugal’s tactics, literally spitting with rage after Portugal’s 1-0 loss to Spain on Tuesday. This echoed his reaction after the 2009 Champions League final when his repost to a similar question was “Ask Ferguson”, but maybe it was Carlos Queiroz who was again to blame.
Although Queiroz had left old Trafford after his second stint as Alex Ferguson’s assistant by the time Manchester United faced Barcelona in Rome, his legacy lived on in a cautious 4-5-1 formation. There is no doubt Queiroz’s defensive coaching helped to firm up the back line which played a large part in United’s Champions League victory in 2008, but there is a time, namely when chasing a must-win game, that caution must eventually be thrown to the wind to some extent.
It was demonstrated again on Tuesday that if when you go a goal down you don’t attack a side capable of keeping the ball, they will do just that. United beat Barcelona 1-0 over two legs thanks to superb defending in the semi-final in 2008, but they were never chasing the game. When Barca scored once, then twice in Rome a United side indoctrinated by Queiroz’s masterful defensive tactics didn’t change the formation and attack Barca just as Portugal didn’t attack Spain.
The man who suffered the most on both occasions, isolated up front on his own, was Ronaldo. The man who has changed countless games for club and country was not given the support he needed to get a sufficient amount of the ball to do so again, neither was he dropped into a deeper position from which he could exert a greater influence. It is easy to dislike the ‘winker’ with a penchant for short shorts, but on this occasion it is justifiable to feel a slight pang of sympathy.
In Rome it seemed like Ferguson, a man known for his cavalier tendencies, seemed as shackled as his players, nervous to abandon the Queiroz-influenced tactics that had got him so far, just as Queiroz himself only got Portugal so far in the World Cup. Ferguson suffered much post-match criticism for not reverted to the tried and tested attacking 4-4-2 that has brought him such success during his illustrious career.
I’m not claiming to be Garry Kasparov, and I have already covered this subject extensively in my Otto Rehhegal blog (check the archive), but when you line up defensively but are losing, and losing fairly (by two then three goals in United’s case), surely there is no harm in trying a more positive tactic.
Queiroz is obviously a master of the defensive game, as demonstrated by Portugal’s three clean sheets in the group stages, but his attacking tactics seem to lag some way behind, despite his side’s 7-0 victory over a pub side called ‘North Korea’. For this reason he makes a great assistant but as a manager against the best teams, such as Spain or Barcelona, his tactics only serve to stem the inevitable tide, much to the chagrin of Cristiano Ronaldo.
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