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Portugal celebrate - Source: Reuters -
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Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz could afford to breathe a sigh
of relief after his team completed a remarkable World Cup recovery
by overcoming Bosnia on Thursday to reach next year's finals.
Like in their patchy group stage campaign, Portugal looked
unconvincing and wobbly at times in the two-legged playoff but,
despite the absence of injured winger Cristiano Ronaldo, they were
good enough to secure a 2-0 aggregate win over the plucky
Bosnians.
"As I have always said, marathons only finish at the end, when the
final whistle has gone," Queiroz told reporters after a 1-0 second
leg win in the cauldron of Zenica's Bilino Polje crammed
stadium.
"It was a long journey from the beginning to here in this final
stage, with some hiccups on the way, but always with the conviction
and the certainty that we were moving in the right direction.
A place in the 2010 finals looked way beyond Portugal's reach a few
months ago. After starting their Group One campaign with a win over
Malta they lost at home to Denmark then produced three successive
goalless draws - including at home to Albania.
The Bosnians hit the woodwork twice in the final minute of the
first leg in Lisbon and were left to rue those misses, as they
never looked like overturning the deficit despite the support of
their fanatical 15,000 fans behind them in Zenica.
Midfielder Raul Meireles crowned Portuguese domination of the match
with a crisp finish after a flowing team move and said the nervy
moments his team had endured would take a back seat to the joy of
qualifying for next year's finals. "Of course I am satisfied
with the goal, but I think the most important thing was the team
and the attitude we showed on a very difficult field, the state of
the pitch was terrible and our team was able to overcome that,"
said Queiroz.
"It's not always possible to play well, but we managed to win, we
are in the World Cup and we are very happy about that.
"The celebrations on the pitch were great, but I think we have time
to celebrate even more."
Bosnia coach Miroslav Blazevic, who guided Croatia to the 1998
World Cup semi-finals, declined to answer whether a painful
elimination was his swansong.
"It could be, but swans sing their final song for a very long
time," he told reporters.
"I am a demoralised old man at this point in time and I have failed
to accomplish what I set out to do, but I don't want to make a
hasty decision.
"On the other hand, I am also very proud of the team spirit we have
built here and the great ride to the playoffs, where we missed four
key players after the first leg in Lisbon.
"It is never easy to chase the game against the likes of Portugal,
but overturning a 1-0 deficit would not have been an impossible
mission if we had been at full strength.
