#3 Perfect blend of old and new
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Five years back, in 2012, Spain was at the peak of the footballing world. They dominated throughout the European Championship, with a crushing 4-0 victory against the Azzurri. Fast forward four years, and and the defending world champions couldn’t even get past the group stage. They were humiliated by the Netherlands led by Robin Van Persie before Chile eventually ended their World Cup Dreams.
Out of all the possible reasons given for their horrendous performance, one was their resistance to blood in more youngsters. Every player, as highly decorated as possible, one day needs to be replaced. As quoted by Heraclitus, “The only thing that is constant is change.” And to their credit, the Portuguese team is working actively towards these changes.
We have already spoken about the rising stars that could take the centre-stage. But what’s more encouraging for the youngsters is the presence of an experienced set of players can simultaneously guide them.
Names like Pepe, Joao Moutinho, Nani, Ricardo Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo not only add to the team directly but also help in securing the future by guiding the upcoming talents. While a team like Germany is completely made up of youngsters, Chile is guilty of not giving new faces enough opportunity. Portugal, on the other hand, have seemingly struck a good balance in this regard, something which might prove decisive.
