Goosfrabba...

I got used to live with a not-so-flattering image of Portuguese, but there was always a quality accepted by everyone and reinforced by tourists going to the country: Portuguese are nice people!

In this World Cup, suddenly I was shocked to see that suddenly we are not nice anymore and further to that, after the match with Holland, we are said to be violent!

Portuguese violent?

Up to know (or the Euro 2004), in competitions like the World Cup we were the nice guys, playing a pleasant football - the European version of Brazil they say - but always loosing in the decisive moment. We were cool, with entertaining football, able to make the others look good in their wins...

Last two years have been different, specially this World Cup. Not playing such a fancy football (also because we are not allowed to), we are scoring when we have to and winning the matches, like Brazil or England.

So we are not nice anymore, we are violent!

I just don't go around beating up everyone that calls us violent because I close my eyes, breathe deeply and shout:

Goosfrabba!!!


PS: The end of a myth - since I remember football, Van Basten has been a reference to me. But after the match on Sunday and specially the bad intentioned tackles in the first minutes against C. Ronaldo (that managed to injure him), he lost my respect. That was not my image of Holland or Van Basten, especially him who had to finish his career at the age of 29 due to injuries... Gullit, that was the man!