Vítor Baía hails Ronaldo and Mourinho
Thursday 27 August 2009
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Vítor Baía has a new international role at his old club, Porto (©Getty Images)
Former FC Porto and Portugal goalkeeper Vítor Baía saluted countrymen Cristiano Ronaldo and José Mourinho as two greats of the modern game when he visited the uefa.com chatroom as part of the UEFA Super Cup events in Monaco.
New role
In town to present a trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards, the 39-year-old – who is now working at Porto as director of international relations – answered questions about his club, his career, the state of the Portugal national team and who he considers to be the best goalkeeper of the current generation.
Bsousa: What do you miss most from being a player?
Vítor Baía: I miss the big games, both in the UEFA Champions League and in Portugal. Great atmosphere and intense pressure; that's what I miss the most.
Quochung: What do you think about the new Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo?
Vítor Baía: He is one of the best players of the world. For me, THE best. We Portuguese are very proud of him. Real Madrid will be different for him in terms of pressure, but he is strong and I think he will be a big success there.
lusoafrica: What was the main highlight of your career?
Vítor Baía: In 2003, at FC Porto, winning the UEFA Cup final against Celtic – this was my first European title with the club. We then went on to win the UEFA Champions League, an amazing achievement for our club. For Portugal, playing at EUROs and World Cups provide great memories, especially EURO 2000™ in the Netherlands and Belgium where we got to the semi-final.
FCP1973: What was José Mourinho like as a coach?
Vítor Baía: He is very organised, very intelligent. He always protects the players in his command and he knows a lot about football, which is very important. He was a perfectionist. I am not surprised by his progress as a coach. He is really fantastic; certainly one of the best.
fred 1: Of all Porto's newcomers this summer, who should we look out for this season, and do you think that Porto will reach the semi-finals or the final of the UEFA Champions League?
Vítor Baía: We have now Radamel Falcao, the striker, and also a new left-back, Alvar Pereira; also a good player. In midfield, we have Fernando Belluschi, formerly of Olympiacos. They have the same qualities as Lisandro and Lucho; both fantastic players. First, we have to get past the group stage. Then, once you get to the knockout stage, anything can happen, and we can be very strong in those types of game. We fear the group stage probably more than the knockout phase, to be honest.
Filipe_Moreira: You played at the Estádio das Antas and Estádio do Dragão. Which do you prefer?
Vítor Baía: Das Antas was an old stadium and the facilities there were not great. The new stadium is beautiful and with brilliant facilities for the fans and players, and anyone who visits will realise that it is one of the most beautiful stadiums in Europe.
mad66mix: Who is the best goalkeeper in the world today?
Vítor Baía: The goalkeeper's role has changed a lot in the past years given all the rule changes and we need to adapt to all of this. It's hard to say who is the best – there are three or four at the top. Petr Čech, Iker Casillas, Edwin van der Sar and Gianluigi Buffon are in that top echelon. In Portugal, we have a problem in that area because we don't train goalkeepers well from a very young age. We have good goalkeepers but nobody at the top level. I hope that someone will come through the ranks in the not too distant future. Hugo Ventura, an FC Porto player, who is on loan at SC Olhanense, has all the talent to get to that level, but it depends on him.
grubby: Portugal are struggling to qualify for the World Cup and are now ranked below teams like Australia; is it time for a serious rethink of national-team operations?
Vítor Baía: I actually think we are going in the right direction. Carlos Queiroz has been closely involved in reorganising the national team at all levels. The results are not evident yet, but I think in the future all our national teams will show a better balance – and better results.
sudip: You were part of the 'Golden Generation' in Portuguese football, but despite showing promise you never reached the highest heights at international level. Is that something you, Luís Figo, Rui Costa and Fernando Couto regret?
Vítor Baía: We expected to win a big competition with the national team, but we ended up having problems here or there and we never achieved our aim. In 2003, Luiz Felipe Scolari arrived and he never gave me a chance to play for the national team. I was fresh from great achievements at club level and I never understood why I had to miss out on EURO 2004™ in my home country.
fedonoly: What are your plans for the future? Do you want to be a coach?
Vítor Baía: Now I am director of international relations at FC Porto and I want to make a career in this area. We will see what the future brings.
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