The recent display of Portugal’s stars versus Georgia was a dismal display of arrogance in football. For starters, there were no stars: they all sat on the bench, and only the living God that is Ronaldo stood around waiting to be served.
His antics increasingly enraged the Swiss ref, even if his shirt WAS pulled a couple of times: that’s part of football, apparently. And it doesn’t trigger a penalty in whatever level you dominate. He eventually departed, to leave the shambles of a team behind that was unable to land a proper attack and played around the (solid) Georgian defence-line, always well outside the 16-meter-line.
It was a match to forget, if you aren’t Georgian. To them, it was a sweet victory and they proved everyone whgo was expecting a disaster wrong.
Yet a disaster it was alright. Roberto Martinez (pictured) decided to “rest” his top players and made eight changes. The A-team was sitting it out, and nothing could sway Martinez to add another Silva or two to the laughing stock that was becoming Portugal.
Having seen this awful display, and also with England’s last performance in mind who also “fought” a football-tiny and didn’t manage to score (in their case matters were worse because they did field what was supposed to be their top team – which is why it is astounding that really exceptional players like Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo were only brought in when it was too late), one needs to think a bit about tactics, and maybe also ethics and respect in football.
For Portugal to assume that the Georgians were a joke and that Team B would be enough to slaughter them, was an aberrant and haughty assumption that went pear-shape from the very start of the game.
The changes introduced by UEFA over the past five years, which give ‘small’ countries a chance to play at “big” tournaments, are showing results. And the ‘big’ teams better learn fast what that means.
But what I mean by arrogance and a lack of respect (ethics, if you want), is self-explanatory. For Martinez to “rest” most of his top players because he had already won the group with six points, is the kind of attitude that is not conducive to much love from fans or neutral spectators at a match. It speaks of arrogant disrespect for a “small” team that is finding its way into a new reality, and punishment was right afoot.
Georgia may not have the overpaid stars that make the Portugal team – but it has fighters whose technical abilities with the ball are spectacular (anybody who can dribble himself through a tough Portuguese defence line, is a star in my book). Georgia didn’t have the overall expertise that Portugal thought they had – but they had attackers who beat them twice and scored (and the penalty was a picture book example of excellence that the English team should study, if they ever meet Germany again.)
Georgia had dedication, they were focused, they were fierce. But they didn’t need to resort to foul play and managed to defend as if their life depended on it. Georgia, as a team, and as individuals, were quite remarkable.
Mamardashvili in goal was tested and won every time: no doubt many a scout was watching with increasing awe. And in George Mikautadze, they have a forward who can create hell in any defence. Add to that the superb dribbler and winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and you got a pretty damned good duo that can wreak havoc in any opposing team’s defence.
What Martinez apparently forgot, is that many of Georgia’s players – managed by Frenchman Willy Sagnol, now a Georgian superhero – are playing in Europe: from Valencia to Levante, from Napoli to Metz, to Basel and far away Atlanta, USA. It is a good squad with potential, and time will tell.
As for the Portuguese coach’s arrogance – a Spaniard whose claim to fame in England were stints at Swansea City, Wigan Athletic and Everton before he was hired to become Belgium’s manager – his arrogance and disrespect for the opposition is pitiful.
As was his team selection, and the team’s attitude to Georgia. They were properly punished and didn’t have to care: they had already qualified for the next round, only to face another small country’s team – Slovenia.
Let’s see what Martinez does next. Will he play all of his stars, or will his arrogance dictate yet another dismal performance? We shall see.
If he hasn’t learned a lesson (although I am quite certain that he didn’t care for the last Group match, which makes his attitude the worse), and if he fields another team of lost-looking misfits wandering about, not attacking (because they can’t) and hoping for Ronaldo to score, he’s got another one coming.
James Dostoyevsky was a Washington-based author until the end of 2018, where he reported on sports politics and socio-cultural topics. He returned to Europe in 2019 and continues to follow football politics – presently with an emphasis on the Middle East, Europe and Africa.