Bento extends tenure as Portugal coach
Thursday, May 3, 2012
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Paulo Bento will remain in charge of the Portuguese national team beyond UEFA EURO 2012 after agreeing a new deal that will keep him at the helm until July 2014.
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Paulo Bento has agreed to prolong his tenure as Portugal coach after signing a new deal that will keep him in his post for a further two years.
Bento, whose contract was due to expire following his side's UEFA EURO 2012 campaign, will now remain at the helm for Portugal's bid to reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The 42-year-old replaced Carlos Queiroz at the helm of the Portuguese national side in September 2010 after a disappointing start to their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign in which they mustered just one point from their opening two matches.
Bento made an immediate impact, masterminding five straight competitive wins to get their campaign back on track. Defeat by Denmark left Portugal in need of a play-off victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the finals in Poland and Ukraine, but they passed the examination with flying colours, winning 6-2 on aggregate.
Former Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Bento will name his 23-man squad for next month's finals on 14 May. Friendlies against FYROM on 26 May at the Estádio Municipal de Leiria and against Turkey on 2 June at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica will provide their final tests before they head for Ukraine.
Portugal will face Group B opponents Germany on 9 June before taking on Denmark four days later. Their final match of the section pits them against the Netherlands on 17 June.
