Being Portuguese

Two years ago, Fernando Santos, a highly experienced portuguese coach was appointed to lead the Portuguese National Team, one of the best national teams in the world, with some of the best players in the world, but a team that was never the same after the tragic loss on home soil against Greece in the final of Euro 2004.

Still semi finalist in WC 2006 and Euro 2012, quarter finalist in Euro 2008 and after a failed participation in the WC 2014, this team was always living on the fear that victory would be close but would never be materialised.

That same team became one of the surprises of Euro 2016.

First by the difficulties it encountered at the group stage, unable to win a match against lower ranked teams and qualifying in extremis on the last match drawing 3-3 against Austria as one of the best third placed teams in the respective group.

Those difficulties continued over on the round of 16, with a though match against one of the strongest teams in competition, Croatia and a goal scored on the last minutes of added time by the new portuguese wonder kid Renato Sanches, a player that only 12 months before was playing on the B team of Benfica. A dramatic result for the team but the first serious evidence that something was there. The fighting spirit, the will to go against the odds, the inner strength to go over the limits of your body weaknesses. Clean, dry, efficient football, not the kind of football that Portugal has showed the world since that gold generation of Luis Figo, Rui Costa, João Pinto, Vitor Baia, Fernando Couto and Paulo Sousa wonder Euro 1996 with beautiful, dominant football.

Next round, quarter finals and another though opponent, Lewandoski's Poland. Another painful, long marathon, ending on a dramatic penalty round after 1-1 result at the end of 120'. Again Portugal showed steel nerves on the penalty kicks, scoring all 5 and winning the right to compete against one of the other surprising teams of the tournament, Gareth Bale's Wales. Lots of tension, lots of media pressure, lots of controversy around some of the team top players staring by Cristiano Ronaldo. At the end, Portugal plays his best match of the tournament and beats Wales for 2-0, with Ronaldo and Nani scoring, winning the right to be again in Paris, in Stade de France, two years after the first match of Fernando Santos tenure at the helm of the Portuguese National Team, exactly on that same stadium against France.

On that sad day that shock the nation in 2004, Fernando Santos was doing tv commentaries for Portuguese TV. Destiny would take him a few years after, in 2010, to become Greece National Team Coach qualifying the team for both Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 and destiny would take him to become Portuguese National Team Coach in 2014. It is curious to see that Portugal plays today a very similar football style to that Greek Team of 2014, 2012 and also the one that won Euro 2004.

October 11th 2014, France welcomes Portugal at Stade de France and wins 2-1, Fernando Santos opening match as Portugal National Team coach. In the aftermath of that defeat, Santos agreed with his players that together they would be there again two years after on the final of the Euro 2016, which depending on tomorrow's match, might be against France. 1 year and 9 months after, Fernando Santos and his players stayed by their vows and promises and deliver the end result that had committed so dearly as a group, playing as a group and as a family. Objective achieved but this team would not stop here. They still have the match of their lifetime to play next sunday, the second ever final where Portugal will participate and where winning will be an amazing reward for our country, three different generations of players and also by the massive and incredible Portuguese expat community living in France. 80,000 Portuguese were today at the fanzone at the Eiffel Tower celebrating the win over Wales like their collective achievement and a moment of joy in hard times.

A final note for Cristiano Ronaldo, a world class athlete and that as a young 18 year old wonder kid was part of the team that was beaten by Greece in Lisbon in 2004. 12 years after he has his chance to get even over destiny and achieve his biggest ambition as a player - To win a international tournament with his national team. For a man that won everything at a personal and at a club level on his amazing career, this is the last step missing. He has been playing with pain, fighting with injury and the weight of a season where he played almost 70 matches but I am sure that himself, the other 22 players, all our 11 million souls living in this beautiful country at the western side of Europe and all other 11 million Portuguese expats living all around the world will be ONE at Stade de France, next Sunday evening and that is what makes me Proud to be Portuguese.