Scolari stresses hosts' power

By Frederico Oliveira & Paolo Menicucci

When the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge of Portugal for the first time in January 2003 his side were beaten 1-0 by Italy in Genoa. "We're stronger now," was the coach's assessment of the hosts of UEFA EURO 2004™ ahead of another meeting between two nations expected to impress at this summer's tournament.

Lone striker
As hosts, naturally, there will be added pressure on the Portuguese when they take on Spain, Greece and Russia and Group A, yet Scolari has already proved that he possesses the acumen to lead a country to success in an international tournament, his Brazilian class of 2002 lifting the FIFA World Cup. Scolari fielded Ronaldo as a lone striker to devastating effect in Korea/Japan with Rivaldo and Ronaldinho offering support, while Pauleta is his preferred spearhead for Portugal with Luís Figo and Simão Sabrosa providing creativity from wider positions.

Postiga poised
Nuno Gomes, Portugal's leading scorer at EURO 2000™, is pushing Pauleta, his country's top marksman in the Far East, for that role, however, and will do his case no harm by scoring in Braga against an Italy defence weakened considerably by injury. Another striker, Hélder Postiga, is likely to feature and must impress having failed to do so at Tottenham Hotspur FC. "I was a little surprised to be called up as I'm not playing much for my club," said the 21-year-old.

Aggressive marking
Nuno Gomes is faring better at SL Benfica, the Lisbon club for whom he scored twice in a 4-3 UEFA Cup defeat at FC Internazionale last week. "It's tough scoring goals against Italian defences," he said. "Their object is not to concede and they know how to close up, cut passing lines and mark aggressively." His Benfica team-mate Petit has a thigh injury and Sporting Clube de Portugal defender Rui Jorge was also ruled out following training yesterday.

'Playing well'
Scolari, who will play four at the back and Costinha, Tiago and Rui Costa in midfield, said: "I'm not worried about the result, as long as we work hard, show discipline and look for the win." Scolari's opposite number, Giovanni Trapattoni, also stressed the importance of performance over a result. "This match is part of a project we began a long time ago," he said. "We have been playing well for a year and a half and want to continue doing so because the tournament will soon be under way."

Defence decimated
Trapattoni's first-choice defence has been decimated, with captain Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta and Gianluca Zambrotta all injured along with Nicola Legrottaglie. Matteo Ferrari and Daniele Adani are expected to fill the central positions, with Christian Panucci at right-back and Giuseppe Pancaro on the opposite side. The coach will "weigh up some alternatives" in midfield, including Stefano Fiore on the right, and Christian Vieri will play as a sole striker.

Trapattoni excited
For a man with a wealth of coaching experience, Trapattoni remains excitable at the thought of competing at EURO 2004™. "I can't wait to get to Portugal for the finals because I'm convinced of our ability," he said. The Azzurri get their Group C campaign under way against Denmark before taking on Sweden and Bulgaria.