[ad_1]
Published:
There is a Swedish perception that Portugal can be better without star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The captain of the Federation, Fernando Santos, does not understand the reasoning.
– I don’t think any team in the world is better than the best player in the world, he says.
On Saturday, Portugal convincingly won against Croatia in their first Nations League match. The team did it with Cristiano Ronaldo in the stands.
The star appears to have healed her foot infection and trained Monday night at Friends Arena. He seemed to be in a good mood to be back in the arena where he sent his Portugal to a championship summer in Brazil with his hat trick in qualifying for the World Cup in the fall of 2013.
Photo: Janerik Henriksson / TT / TT NEWS AGENCY
“It becomes different”
Before the meeting with Sweden, it has been discussed whether Portugal win or lose by having Ronaldo on the pitch.
– Apparently they were very good against Croatia without Cristiano Ronaldo. Hopefully they’ll get a bit worse as a team (if he’s with him). Perhaps it is the case that if he joins, the team will be worse and there will be a little more individual play. We may do well, Gustav Svensson said on Sunday.
– It is clear that it is better for us if he does not play, however, said Marcus Berg brusquely.
– They lose some parts but if they get worse I don’t want to say it. Offensively, they may be better, but defensively they lose a dimension precisely by getting the ball back early because it doesn’t put that strength into the defensive game, says Swedish Portuguese spy Lasse Jacobsson.
Photo: Christine Olsson / TT / TT NEWS AGENCY
What does he do to the collective in Portugal with him in the field?
– It will be different, it will be. He is the big star and should be more involved. With him on the field, they’re in the defensive game 4–1–4–1 because he hasn’t done much defensively, but offensively he’s a decent player …
Federation captain Janne Andersson did not want to take a position:
– It is clear that a player like Ronaldo has a great impact on a team with his offensive strengths. If it improves or worsens, I do not want to speculate, continue.
“Meet a good team”
When the captain of the Portuguese national team, Fernando Santos, was asked about the perception that exists in some parts of the Swedish team, he was a bit surprised.
– I don’t think any team in the world is better than the best player in the world, he says.
But he also noted that he was not one bit concerned that Ronaldo would not be able to play due to the sensation in his foot.
– I am sure that if Ronaldo cannot play, we will continue to be a very strong team with the ability and desire to fight for victory in all the games we play. We know a good and compact team like Sweden and then you have to be very good, says Santos.
Sweden, in particular, has a strong collective that does not lean towards an individual key player.
When asked if Ronaldo would get a place in the Swedish super collective, Janne Andersson still has a clear answer:
– If I had a Swedish passport, I would have taken it out … he says.
Published:
