We were always very conditioned, that’s the truth» :: zerozero.pt

2023-07-23 01:04:29

After having seen the Spain winning the European title, the national coach, Renato Garrido, was very critical of the refereeing team.

In the quick interview given to RTP, broadcast on RTP 3, the Portuguese coach began by saying directly: «I won’t even talk about that», when asked about the influence of the refereeing team on the result. Without pointing the finger at the players, Renato Garrido noted: «We gave everything, we were always behind the result and when we tried to get closer or there was a direct free kick or a goal. We are sad, we really wanted to win this European and I cannot point anything out to these players, they were brilliant.»

The national coach was of the opinion that Portugal suffered constraints in the challenge: «We have a team to be able to beat any opponent and with this Spain, now, I don’t feel like talking, I’m already tired of talking about these situations. We were always very conditioned, that’s the truth.»

João Rodrigues, captain of Portugal, in action with Pau Bargalló @WSE

In the same space, the Portuguese captain, João Rodrigues spoke of lack of effectiveness: «We had opportunities, in the first half, to put ourselves in front and that could change the course of the game. Afterwards, I think we could never be too dangerous and Spain were superior, they deserved to win and we have to work on the next opportunity to surpass them and win.»

The number 9 of Portugal was proud of the team’s performance, despite the «missed opportunity», but underlined another aspect: «It was difficult, and I don’t like to talk about the refereeing, but I think the refereeing was weak, quite weak for a European championship final, perhaps it has harmed us more than them. We already know that’s how it is, in a final there are always cases and it usually benefits the home team, we knew all of that and we had to be superior, but we didn’t know how to be and we’re frustrated by that. That beginning of the second half marked the game a lot, we tried to react, but it was more with the heart than with the head.»

Portugal left Spain with second place in the European Championship, a competition where it only suffered one defeat, precisely in the final.