«I take bags for a month … I also smoke» :: zerozero.pt

Portugal continues to prepare for the start of the European Championship on 15 June against Hungary. Fernando Santos, the national selector, addressed several topics in an interview with RTP 3, including the possibility of “failure”.

“Failed… I don’t like the word, but I understand the question. Obviously being a candidate to not pass the group stage would be a failure. But I think that will not happen to Portugal. Then there are other great teams that have not gone to Europe. This is a very difficult group and I don’t know how these three teams are in the same group, it’s hard to understand. The 66-year-old coach admitted.”

After a promise he made in 2016, when Portugal won the tournament, Fernando Santos again took aim: “As a goal, yes, that’s the goal, I’m clear and I don’t change my mind, we always go to win. I take bags for a month… and I smoke too!” »

“If you see that Cristiano is not doing well and not giving the team what we want, then obviously he has to be a substitute. But when you have one of the best players in the world (…) if they ask Deschamps or Lou, they will say that they will build the team around the players who They may be the most influential. Cristiano is not a player who brings much to the team defensively, and we don’t want him to. The team has to adapt”, he began by telling the national coach about a possible change in the CR7 title holders.

“In the clubs, some of the players who are here are also a little Cristiano Ronaldo. And he concluded that everyone understands this very well.”

Returning to club football is not out of Fernando Santos’ plans: “I loved it, because teaching is one of the things I love. There are always things to correct in the team, but it’s tough here. I have three or four exercises. The coach of the club receives training every day, he orders him to stop and retry … here I can not always stop and re-train, here and there … because the training ends and we do not get out of it. It’s very different. I will gladly return to coaching the club. If I ever had to do it, I would gladly do so.”