Manchester United winger Nani has said that Portugal manager Bento has been a huge influence on the squad at the Euro 2012. Despite having some of the best players in the world like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, Portugal have been extremely poor in the last couple of major tournaments.
However, the Euro 2012 has been a different story for Portugal after they have now qualified for the quarter-final stage of the competition, despite being in the famed group of death. They have qualified ahead of the likes of 2010 World Cup finalists Netherlands. They will be facing Czech Republic in the quarter-final stage of the competition.
Manchester United winger Nani, who has been linked with a move away from the Premier league club in the summer, has said that a lot of credit for the success Portugal have achieved at the Euro 2012 should go to manager Bento. The 43-year-old has been the national team manager Portugal only for a few years now, but he has been able to transform the fortunes of many players internationally.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been a shadow of himself at the international level, recently scored two goals against Netherlands to cement his status as one of the best players in the world.
“He’s one of the main reasons I am where I am because he opened doors and my eyes and made me see what I was doing was wrong many times. He made me realise that if I wanted to be here, as I am today, then I needed to change certain things. He believed in me and that’s what I remember. Paulo told me lots of things in private and when he became first-team coach at Sporting he gave me the opportunity to play,” said Nani after Portugal qualified for the quarter-finals.