Fernando Santos, a thread. Yrs ago, I & many others often complained no Portugal manager could ever admit wrongdoing or make obvious changes. Santos broke that mold.

He may not be a good manager for some, but he's PERFECT for Portugal. We needed to be tougher & he accomplished that & so much more. Euro 2016 could not have been won w/out him. No matter how many people clamored for him to "open up" his defensive tactics, he stuck to his guns...

Then people complained that "this Selecao was too individually talented" for a defensive guy like Santos to operate the team. Nope. He's even now proving them wrong.

Hell, he proved me wrong by using a freakin' double-pivot! Who does that?! Santos. And it works. Our players ARE talented, but they are mentally so much tougher. They believe, they have Cristiano's winning spirit and play with Santos' tactical cohesion.

In case people haven't figured this out yet, this is the best Portugal have ever been. This is peak Selecao. No disrespect to the Golden Generation, who were supremely gifted as individuals, but this is a better team IMO.

All the right stars aligned: best manager Portugal have ever had, best player in Portugal's history, greatest depth of talent ever. None of this guarantees more trophies, but it is such a good time to be a supporter of Portuguese football. Fernando Santos deserves his due credit.