Portugal manager Fernando Santos was undoubtedly the big winner of Euro 2016. It’s an almost certainty that his name has entered the conversations of many top European clubs looking for their next coach.
Euro 2016 did not provide many spectacular moments, unforgettable games or tactical innovations that’ll redefine 21st century soccer, but it did bring back the necessity of having a fantastic manager in international play.
Every national team manager has very few days to work with his players, unlike the coaches of club teams who have their footballers almost all year long.
Before winning Euro 2016, Santos won the Portuguese league in 1998-99 with FC Porto. The following season, Santos led Porto to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Portuguese coach went on to coach in Greece, eventually becoming the manager of Greece’s national team.
Santos says his game plan always depends on the players he has at his disposal, so his strategy varies greatly.
In fact, he repeated the same starting lineup just once in seven matches at Euro 2016.
Another strength of Santos is that he really believes in his players, and that belief translates into confidence throughout the squad. Nobody could imagine that Portugal would be the Euro 2016 champions with the relatively unknown Joao Mario as their number 10.
It’s also amazing that the only time the Portuguese National Team had three forwards in its starting XI, the match ended in a 0-0 draw with Austria.
In those situations, Fernando Santos’ hand appeared to maintain competitiveness within the group. Portugal even won their match against Croatia with only one shot on goal.
Ultimately, he worked a lot on defense. Santos made controversial decisions such as substituting Renato Sanches and putting in Eder, who eventually was the hero in the final.
Obviously, Santos counted on Cristiano Ronaldo, a three times Ballon d’Or winner, but he also managed to win the title without him.
Santos is an electronic engineer, so he knows how to build perfect devices with many different pieces. Portugal got better and better the further they advanced in Euro 2016.
The 61-year-old knows how to use the virtues of his players, but he’s also had some fortunate luck.
André-Pierre Gignac could’ve ended it all in regular time, but the ball hit the post. Antoine Griezmann could’ve ended the match on multiple occasions but failed.
The image of the moth settling on Ronaldo’s face wasn’t an omen for forthcoming darkness, but a sign of good luck’s attraction toward Portugal.
