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#2 Otto Rehhagel
Alright, so back in 2004 Ronaldo wasn’t quite the all-conquering force of nature that he’s become today, but there’s no denying that by the time Euro 2004 rolled around, he was swiftly becoming Portugal’s key attacking talent – thoroughly outshining the fading duo of Luis Figo and Manuel Rui Costa in that tournament.
Despite helping Portugal to the final though, one manager found a way to keep him quiet – German veteran Otto Rehhagel, who was managing the eventual champions – underdogs Greece. The craziest part of it all? Somehow he managed to do it twice in the same tournament.
The first meeting between Portugal – the hosts of the tournament – and Greece came in the opening match. Most observers were expecting Portugal to simply whitewash the unheralded Greeks, but that wasn’t the case at all – Rehhegal’s well-drilled unit simply defended deeply and in numbers and despite giving up 63% possession and allowing 19 shots on goal, they ran out 2-1 winners.
In that game, Ronaldo was a substitute, and was brought on at half-time with Portugal 1-0 down in an attempt to change the game around. Instead – like most of Portugal’s other attacking talents – he was kept relatively quiet and even conceded a penalty to allow Greece a 2-0 lead. While he did score a consolation goal in the 93rd minute, it was too little, too late.
Following the upset, Ronaldo would go on to have an excellent tournament, scoring in the semi-final and being named amongst the best 23 players of the competition. But in the final – a rematch with the Greeks – he was again shut out by the dogged, deep defending of Rehhegal’s side. Not that he didn’t have any chances – in the 75th minute he skied a shot from just 8 yards, and Portugal went on to lose the game 1-0 in one of football’s great upsets.
Over the course of two games, Rehhegal proved that ultra-defensive tactics could be enough to stop one of Europe’s most promising young talents.
