Ronaldo Points Way Forward For Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari may be going into Portugal's UEFA EURO 2008™ campaign without many of the figureheads who served him so well four years ago, but in Cristiano Ronaldo, he insists he has a worthy talisman to take a new golden generation forward.

Faith

Speaking to euro2008.com, Portugal coach Scolari stated his belief in the Manchester United FC player's ability to carry his scintillating form into UEFA EURO 2008™, and to assume the responsibility of being a leader in the team. "He is a young player who has been on a spectacular journey so far in his life," said the Brazilian. "Today he is one of the main reference points for our team."

Inevitable

Scolari said that like former talisman Luís Figo, it was natural Ronaldo would develop leadership skills. "One day he could well be the sole captain of the Portuguese national team," Scolari said. "For now he is part of a group of five team captains, with some of the older players in the group. But he has the stature to do it. Whoever the captain was, whether it was Fernando Couto or whoever else, he [Ronaldo] has already assumed positions of responsibility. A team captain is formed naturally. Figo didn't need to wear the armband either. He imposed his presence with the quality he has."

Great future

Ronaldo's development, according to Scolari, is in tune with the changes in the Portugal side as a whole since UEFA EURO 2004™. Though many feared the end of the much-discussed golden generation would weaken Portugal, Scolari always had faith in the talent coming through. "We have great players with excellent qualities, who have great futures ahead of them," he said. "I don't know for sure if we will, but we will probably have players who can form another golden generation."

Repeat performance

The 59-year-old admitted the experience of the likes of Figo, Rui Costa and Pauleta would be missed, but he believes his current side's youthfulness could be an advantage as they look to improve on Portugal's run to the final four years ago. "What we have today is a group who still have great technical quality but less experience than the players of four years ago. [The younger players] are privileged from a physical perspective. If we have confidence in ourselves I'm sure we can reach another final in this competition."

Goalscoring options

Nor is the Portugal coach worried about goalscoring being a problem, despite the retirement of all-time top scorer Pauleta. "We have quality. In fact, we have probably four of the best ten wingers in the world," said Scolari who believes the likes of Simão, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma can be key in taking Portugal out of Group A and beyond. "We have the quality to go all the way to the final, and to win the final, because we have players in all sectors of the pitch who can score goals."