Golden Generation (Portugal)

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Talented footballers of one age, i.e. one generation of society, are usually referred to as the golden generation . The players of the Portuguese national team , who represented the colors of their home country from the beginning of the 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s , were particularly associated with this expression .

history

Beginnings

At the end of the 1980s, work in the youth sector in Portugal was revolutionized. From then on, trainers like Carlos Queiroz and Nelo Vingada headed the youth department, challenged and promoted the talents in the individual age groups. The duo reorganized the youth sector in Portuguese football. These changes within the association were intended to usher in a successful era in the youth sector.

The golden generation is born

As early as 1988, the country's U-18s reached the final of the UEFA European Championship. There you had to surrender to the Soviet Union. The first major successes could only be celebrated a short time later. Many of the players in the U-18 squad formed the new foundation for the Portuguese for the upcoming U-20 World Cup. Although started as an outsider, the great coup was achieved. In 1989, the FIFA Junior World Cup was held in Saudi Arabia , where the Portuguese national team survived the group stage and advanced to the final. There you met Nigeria. At the end of the game it was 2-0 for Portugal and the first junior world title was made perfect. Led by João Pinto and Paulo Sousa , the team showed good football and surprised everyone.

Two years later the title was defended in the final against Brazil. Some players like Fernando Brassard and Luís Figo were still in the junior squad. In their own country they showed that winning the first title was no coincidence and repeated the success. In the final this time you had to go the long way through extra time and penalty shoot-outs. The game was won 4: 2. Rui Costa scored the decisive goal . 120,000 spectators at the Estádio da Luz cheered on their home team.

With these two wins, the Portuguese Association and the fans hoped for successful times on an international level in the men's field.

The golden generation in the senior national team

Many of the youth team players quickly made their debuts in Portugal's senior team. Vítor Baía made his debut in 1990, Luís Figo in 1991 and Jorge Costa in 1992. With a young team and good players, Portugal should qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the USA . But already in the qualification all dreams of participation were buried. After Italy and Switzerland , they only came in third. The 1-0 defeat against Italy in the last game, which sealed the failure, was particularly bitter.

In 1996 the team presented itself for the first time on the international stage at the European Championships in England. Apart from the older José Tavares , Vítor Paneira , Oceano , Alfredo Castro and Rui Correia , the remaining seventeen footballers belonged to the golden generation. In goal, Vítor Baía was already the undisputed number one, which was also the case at the EM 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.

Two years later, the team failed again in qualifying when they had to place behind both in a group with Germany and Ukraine , among others , even though they only suffered one defeat and conceded one of the best defenders of the qualifying phase with only four goals .

The team competed successfully in Euro 2000 and was only eliminated in the semi-finals against eventual winners France. Eighteen players from the years of birth between 1969 and 1974 as well as Nuno Gomes were part of the squad at that time.

For the soccer World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002 , the Portuguese qualified for a World Cup for the first time since 1986. 33 goals in qualifying were the best of a European team. Many Golden Generation players still played in the Portuguese team. It was Nuno Gomes (7 goals), Luís Figo (6 goals), Sérgio Conceição (4 goals) and Pauleta (8 goals) who paved the way for the World Cup with their goals. So it was not surprising that national coach António Oliveira kept the team together at this tournament and most of the players already knew each other from the junior national team. As one of the secret favorites, the Portuguese did not get beyond the preliminary round. Goalkeeper Baía was a regular goalkeeper during this tournament, although he had not played a game for Portugal in qualifying. After the World Cup, however, he was no longer taken into account. This marked the gradual departure of the stars of the golden generation.

EM 2004: Final between Portugal and Greece

At the European Championship tournament in their own country, Portugal reached the final, but lost 1-0 to Greece. Of the golden generation, only Rui Jorge , Fernando Couto , Luís Figo , Rui Costa , Nuno Gomes and Pauleta were in the squad after Luiz Felipe Scolari , who has been in office since 2003, took over the coaching position and initiated a change.

In 2006 , the team made it to another World Cup finals. But not many remained of the players of the golden generation. Only Luís Figo, Nuno Gomes and Pauleta remained in the team and led them into the tournament in which they came fourth.

Two years later, at the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland , it was only Nuno Gomes who wore the Portugal jersey as the last remaining member of the Golden Generation.

Farewell to the golden generation

After many children of the Golden Generation were appointed to the squad for the World Cup in 2002, the image of the Portuguese national team changed noticeably when Luiz Felipe Scolari took office. The aging players like Vitor Baía, Abel Xavier , Nuno Frechaut , Paulo Bento , Pedro Barbosa , Paulo Sousa , Nuno Capucho , João Pinto and Sérgio Conceição were no longer considered. Younger players were preferred to them. After the European Championships in their own country, Rui Costa , Rui Jorge and Fernando Couto also said goodbye . As one of the last big stars, Luís Figo and Pauleta announced their departure after the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Despite a great predicted future, with many successes, the Golden Generation never achieved a major title.

useful information

The top ten people with the most games for Portugal currently (as of March 2010) include seven players who can be assigned to the golden generation. With 127 games, Luís Figo was his country's record player until mid-2016. Pauleta held the record for most goals with 47 goals until March 2014.

Golden Generation Players (selection)

Luís Figo

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Golden Generation on d21.de
  2. ↑ Golden generation resigns without a trophy. from 7 July 2006 on ksta.de