EURO 2004: Winning spirit drives Portugal
Success has come thick and fast for Portugal's flying left-back Nuno Valente ever since he made his international debut against England less than two years ago, at the ripe old age of 27. Back-to-back league titles with FC Porto, not to mention UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League winner's medals, have helped to transform the once journeyman footballer into a confident, classy international player.
National expectations
But the 29-year-old star is now experiencing the weight of an entire nation's expectations for the very first time in his career, as he and his team-mates prepare for Portugal's moment of destiny in Thursday's UEFA EURO 2004™ quarter-final with England at the Estádio da Luz.
Rooney threat
And Nuno Valente is more than aware that the precocious talent of England teenager Wayne Rooney is the next, and biggest so far, obstacle standing in the way of a sensational European Championship triumph on home soil for Luiz Felipe Scolari's talented side.
'Man of the moment'
"Wayne Rooney is the man of the moment, there is no doubt about that," Nuno Valente told euro2004.com. "He has shown himself to be a fabulous striker - he's been absolutely sensational. All of Portugal's defenders will have to work together and be at their very best to keep him quiet on Thursday night."
Extra stars
But the Portuguese defender believes it would be wrong to assume that stopping the tournament's leading goalscorer will be enough to see Portugal through. "The thing about England that makes them special is that they are a team full of stars, so even if you keep Wayne Rooney quiet, they have [Michael] Owen, [Steven] Gerrard, [David] Beckham and [Frank] Lampard who can also hurt you," he said.
Confidence rising
Since their crushing late collapse at the hands of France in their opening game, Sven-Göran Eriksson's England side have impressed. With eight goals to their name already, they are the competition's highest scorers and are now beginning to emerge as genuine contenders to win the tournament.
Good form
And their form has not gone unnoticed in the Portuguese camp, according to Nuno Valente, who said: "England's confidence has obviously increased since their excellent performance against Croatia, so we must be aware throughout that England pose a great threat to us. They are a very talented team."
Spanish boost
But after suffering a scare or two of their own on the way to the knockout stages, Nuno Valente senses his side are hungry for success too. "Our 1-0 win against Spain has given the team great belief and I know that the players and fans all believe that we can now go even further in the competition," he said.
Scent of success
Certainly, the Porto players who form the core of the Portugal first team have the smell of victory in their nostrils after their success in this season's Champions League. And Nuno Valente believes that the Porto factor has seen other sides tread more carefully against Portugal.
Renewed respect
"We have a lot of Porto players within this team and people who play against us know that Porto are European champions," Nuno Valente said. "We have noticed a different mood from the opposition when they face Portugal now. And this change in attitudes helps us as well. It gives us confidence."
Important half
Whether England walk in fear of Portugal remains to be seen. All that Nuno Valente will say is that he expects a massive first half, predicting: "Against England it should be a great game, but I believe it will be decided in the first 45 minutes."
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