Quaresma bends defences out of shape with trivela trickery

NOBODY DOES it quite like Ricardo Quaresma. The mercurial Portugal forward has had to wait until the age of 34 to play at his first World Cup and it was fitting that, when he scored his first goal on the sport’s biggest stage against Iran on Monday, it was with his signature skill, the “trivela”.

A Portuguese word which is slowly creeping into other languages, the “trivela” is the difficult art of bending the ball with the outside of the foot and Quaresma is arguably its greatest current exponent.

Just before half-time, Quaresma collected the ball near the touchline, played a one-two, and curled a shot passed goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand. The 1-1 draw helped Portugal into the last 16 where they will face Uruguay.

The right-footed Quaresma has scored at least one dozen similar goals during his career and also uses the trivela for passing and crossing.

Some may argue it helps him hide a weakness with his left foot but Quaresma says he uses it because it is much more difficult for defenders to deal with.

“The best thing about passing the ball this way is that the defender does not know which way the ball is going... it’s my favourite skill in the game,” he once said in a UEFA training video.

“The key thing to remember is to slice your foot through and under the outside of the ball... so connecting with the bottom left hand corner with your right foot... this will give it the right spin.”

Quaresma’s favourite trivela goal was in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Belgium when he received the ball on the edge of the area and scored with a shot that sailed into the back of the net and left the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

Quaresma has always been something of a maverick, however, and his career has been a stop-start affair. Raised at the Sporting youth academy at the same time as Cristiano Ronaldo, many felt at the time that Quaresma was the more likely of the pair to set the football world alight.

Instead, Ronaldo went on to become five-time World Player of the Year while Quaresma endured exasperation.

An early move from Sporting to Barcelona failed to work out, as Quaresma became frustrated at being left on the bench by Frank Rijkaard. A move to Inter was unsuccessful as he quickly found himself out of favour with coach Jose Mourinho and he was then enticed to Chelsea on loan by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, only for Scolari to be fired soon after.

He was not considered for the 2010 World Cup but made the provisional 30-man squad for 2014 only to be axed. He has finally made it this time and it has turned out to be well worth waiting for.

“I don’t know how many I have scored – you’ll have to look on Youtube – but I hope I can score more,” he said after Monday’s game. “I always believe I can do something different.” – Reuters WHEN Lady Luck turns on you, she sure as hell does a good job. Ask Morocco.

Really, this impressive, admirable north African side deserved far better at the 2018 World Cup.

In all three games in Russia, they were on the wrong side of a few key, match-defining decisions from the officials; at the same time, they had no luck with some inviting scoring opportunities, like the stinging shot from Nordin Amrabat that nearly broke the crossbar in the 2-2 draw with Spain at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Monday night.

Sometimes football can be such a cruel sport.

They always say that you change hard luck through hard work – well, Morocco will probably disagree because they certainly put in the effort, and much, much more, for absolutely no reward.

But, at least, the Moroccans are able to go home with their heads held high; they did the team, the coach and the country proud.

Portugal and Spain are two of the best teams in the world and Morocco gave both of them the fright of their lives.

On Monday, La Roja were very fortunate to come away with a point as the north Africans frustrated their attacking passing game – and, when the Atlas Lions gained possession, they were swift, enterprising and decisive in bombing forward with confidence and bravado.

Most noticeable about the Moroccans was their desire, urgency, commitment and refusal to be cowed by the illustrious names in the Spanish side.

They got in the faces of the opposition, they were aggressive throughout, and disciplined in defence – unfortunately, though, luck was just not on their side.

But, for me, Morocco have made a real statement of intent as to the future; they are a team to watch. Bring on the next Africa Cup of Nations.

As for Morocco coach, the dashing Herve Renard, he has become a bit of a hit with women audiences in Russia.

Notwithstanding the film-star looks, there is no doubting the 49-year-old Frenchman’s coaching ability.

He has won Afcon twice, with Zambia and the Ivory Coast, and now, despite the disappointment of having crashed out in the group stages of the World Cup, his work with Morocco will elevate his status even further.

It’s also no secret that Renard has previously been on Safa’s radar for the Bafana Bafana coaching job.

And, talking about that radar, the other perennial name linked with the position is Mozambican-born Carlos Queiroz – and, boy, how well has his Iran team performed at Russia 2018?

The excellent work of both Renard and Queiroz, with Morocco and Iran respectively, will have the namby-pamby, puffed-up suits pacing up and down the corridors of Safa.

While Stuart Baxter has the job right now, with a contract in place, it is likely that, when the time comes for a coaching change (and it will, with Bafana it always does), then I guess we should probably expect to see either Renard or Queiroz next in line.