Portugal national roller hockey (quad) team
Encyclopedia
Portugal national roller hockey team is the most successful roller hockey
team of the world, even facing the competition of the strong sides of Spain, Italy and Argentina.
Portugal has been the dominant power in the sport, holding the most titles of the Rink Hockey World Championship
, with 15, and of the Rink Hockey European Championship
, with 20. However the team failed to impress in the only presence of roller hockey at the Olympic Games, at 1992 Olympic Games
, in Barcelona
, as a demonstration sport, finishing in fourth place.
The Portuguese national rink hockey side is the one that attracts more passionate interest in Portugal, after the football national team, due to its tradition of being the most successful sport for his country and of having some of the best ever rink hockey players, like António Livramento
and Vítor Hugo.
. The first match of rink hockey that took place was recorded in 1912, between Recreios Desportivos da Amadora and Clube de Desportos de Benfica, in Amadora
, finishing with a 2–0 win by the later team.
Cosme Damião
, the "Father" of Benfica, interested a lot by the new sport, ordered the coming of the official rules from France, in 1916, translated to Portuguese by Raúl de Oliveira, then director of the newspaper O Mundo Desportivo. The same year, two Benfica sides played the first match according to the new rules in a rink in Lisbon
.
The first official tournament in Portugal took place in 1917, being disputed by 6 teams, one of them precisely Benfica.
Internationally speaking, in April 1924, was founded in Montreux
, Switzerland, the International Federation of Roller Skating in Wheels
.
In 1926, the first ever Rink Hockey European Championship took place in Herne Bay
, England, being played by 6 countries. The host country won the event.
Portugal first presence came in 1930, being an all Benfica national team. In 1932, Portugal finished in 4th place. Their first podium place came in 1936, in Stuttgart
, Germany, the event also considered the first ever Rink Hockey World Championship
, when Portugal reached the 3rd place, behind the first world
champions, England, and Italy. In the 1937 Rink Hockey European Championship, Portugal repeated the 3rd place, like in 1939, but the main international competitions where interrupted until the end of the World War II.
, over Belgium, followed by wins in 1948, 1949 and 1950. Simultaneously, Portugal saw the rising of some of the best and most legendary Portuguese rink hockey players ever: Correia dos Santos, António Jesus Correia
, Emídio Pinto, António Raio, Sidónio Serpa, Olivério Serpa and goalkeeper Cipriano Santos.
In 1951, Spain finally interrupted Portugal's win series, with their first title. Portugal won again the title in 1952 and 1956, finishing in second place in 1951, 1953 and 1954, and in third place in 1955.
, Carlos Realista and Franklim Pais.
. Adopting the nickname of "Os Ursos" ("The Bears"), Portugal was seen as a major contender for the 2009 World Championship title, but lost the semi-final to Argentina (3-1), reaching only the 3rd place, after a 8-3 win over Brazil.
Luís Sénica was later replaced by Rui Neto, who led the National Team to the 2010 European Rink Hockey European Championship. Portugal started in a very good form, easily defeating their adversaries, even Italy and Germany, who they won 6-1 in the semi-final, but collapsed in the final, once again to Spain, in a game they even were able to balance to 3-2, but went down afterwards, suffering a heavy defeat by 8-2. Portugal was also unfortunate at the 2011 Rink Hockey World Championship, finishing in 3rd place, being eliminated by Argentina in the semi-final by 4-3 and winning over Mozambique by 9-2 for the Bronze medal place. Spain with their 15th title equalized finally Portugal as the country with most World Championship titles.
Roller hockey (Quad)
Roller Hockey is a team sport that enjoys significant popularity in a number of Latin countries. Depending on territories, it is also known as Hóquei em Patins, International Style Ball hockey, Rink Hockey or Hardball Hockey. Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Summer...
team of the world, even facing the competition of the strong sides of Spain, Italy and Argentina.
Portugal has been the dominant power in the sport, holding the most titles of the Rink Hockey World Championship
Rink Hockey World Championship
The FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup is a roller hockey competition also referred as the World Championship – A between the best male national teams in the World. It happens every two years and it is organized by FIRS....
, with 15, and of the Rink Hockey European Championship
Rink Hockey European Championship
The CERH European Roller Hockey Championship is a roller hockey competition with the national teams of European countries that happens every two years...
, with 20. However the team failed to impress in the only presence of roller hockey at the Olympic Games, at 1992 Olympic Games
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, as a demonstration sport, finishing in fourth place.
The Portuguese national rink hockey side is the one that attracts more passionate interest in Portugal, after the football national team, due to its tradition of being the most successful sport for his country and of having some of the best ever rink hockey players, like António Livramento
António Livramento
António José Parreira do Livramento was a Portuguese roller hockey player and coach. An amazing forward, he's revered in the roller hockey world as the greatest player ever on his sport, in the same way as Wayne Gretzky in ice hockey.-Player career:He first started to play football, when he was...
and Vítor Hugo.
From the origins to the 1930s
Rink hockey was introduced in Portugal in 1912. The first rink was built by Recreios Desportivos da Amadora, in AmadoraAmadora
Amadora is a city and a municipality in Portugal, in the northwest of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The city and municipality population is 175,872 in eleven freguesias . With an area of 23.77 km², it is the most densely populated municipality of Portugal...
. The first match of rink hockey that took place was recorded in 1912, between Recreios Desportivos da Amadora and Clube de Desportos de Benfica, in Amadora
Amadora
Amadora is a city and a municipality in Portugal, in the northwest of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The city and municipality population is 175,872 in eleven freguesias . With an area of 23.77 km², it is the most densely populated municipality of Portugal...
, finishing with a 2–0 win by the later team.
Cosme Damião
Cosme Damião
Cosme Damião was a Portuguese football player, as a midfielder, and a coach for SL Benfica. He will always be remembered as the main force behind the birth of Benfica and one of the first great Portuguese football players.He was educated at the Casa Pia, in Lisbon. Starting at a young age, Damião...
, the "Father" of Benfica, interested a lot by the new sport, ordered the coming of the official rules from France, in 1916, translated to Portuguese by Raúl de Oliveira, then director of the newspaper O Mundo Desportivo. The same year, two Benfica sides played the first match according to the new rules in a rink in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
The first official tournament in Portugal took place in 1917, being disputed by 6 teams, one of them precisely Benfica.
Internationally speaking, in April 1924, was founded in Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
, Switzerland, the International Federation of Roller Skating in Wheels
International Roller Sports Federation
The International Roller Sports Federation or Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports is the world governing body for roller sports, including rink hockey, inline hockey, Inline speed skating and artistic roller skating...
.
In 1926, the first ever Rink Hockey European Championship took place in Herne Bay
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
, England, being played by 6 countries. The host country won the event.
Portugal first presence came in 1930, being an all Benfica national team. In 1932, Portugal finished in 4th place. Their first podium place came in 1936, in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany, the event also considered the first ever Rink Hockey World Championship
Rink Hockey World Championship
The FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup is a roller hockey competition also referred as the World Championship – A between the best male national teams in the World. It happens every two years and it is organized by FIRS....
, when Portugal reached the 3rd place, behind the first world
champions, England, and Italy. In the 1937 Rink Hockey European Championship, Portugal repeated the 3rd place, like in 1939, but the main international competitions where interrupted until the end of the World War II.
First golden era (1947–1956)
After the return of the Rink Hockey European Championship, still serving as the Rink Hockey World Championship, in 1947, Portugal saw the start of a new era in the history of rink hockey, where they would be the dominant power. Portugal won 6 of the 10 editions of the most important world rink hockey competition in the annual first phase of the event, until 1956. The first win came in 1947, in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, over Belgium, followed by wins in 1948, 1949 and 1950. Simultaneously, Portugal saw the rising of some of the best and most legendary Portuguese rink hockey players ever: Correia dos Santos, António Jesus Correia
António Jesus Correia
António Jesus Correia, better known as Jesus Correia , was a Portuguese footballer and roller hockey player, one of the greatest and most eclectic sportsmen from his generation....
, Emídio Pinto, António Raio, Sidónio Serpa, Olivério Serpa and goalkeeper Cipriano Santos.
In 1951, Spain finally interrupted Portugal's win series, with their first title. Portugal won again the title in 1952 and 1956, finishing in second place in 1951, 1953 and 1954, and in third place in 1955.
Second golden era (1957–1978)
In 1957, both the Rink Hockey European Championship and the Rink Hockey World Championship become different competitions, taking place from two in two years, alternating with each other. This wouldn't make a lot of difference for Portugal that remained the dominant European power of the sport, with 9 titles in 11 European competitions, from 1957 to 1977. Portugal won the European title in 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1977. In the World Championship, Portugal would win 5 titles in 11 editions, in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1968 and 1974. This new generation was dominated by the world-class genius of António Livramento, among other great players, such as Fernando Adrião, José Vaz Guedes, Amadeu Bouçós, Júlio Rendeiro and António Ramalhate.The 1980s
The growing rivality of Spain, Italy and Argentina resulted in a more competitive decade for the international scene of rink hockey. This explains the fact why Portugal was able to win only one World Cup title this decade, precisely in 1982, when they hosted the event and won Spain in the final by 5-2, in one of the most memorable editions of the tournament. The great team Portugal had was the last chance for the talents of ongoing veterans, goalkeeper António Ramalhete, Cristiano Pereira and Chana, who repeated the title of 1974. A new generation would develop in the upcoming years but was unable to win again the title of World Champions, reaching only the 3rd place in the editions of 1984, 1986 and 1988. In 1990, in a hard game, they lost 1-0 to Argentina, reaching the 2nd place. Portugal also only won the 1987 Rink Hockey European Championship, finishing in 2nd place in 1981 and 1983. Meanwhile the great forward and goalscorer Vítor Hugo was taking the place of successor to António Livramento, playing with other greats like Vítor BrunoVítor Bruno
Vítor Bruno Ramos Gonçalves is a Portuguese footballer who plays for F.C. Penafiel, as a defender.- External links :* *...
, Carlos Realista and Franklim Pais.
The 1990s
The new decade saw Portugal winning his 11th title of the Rink Hockey World Championship, after a nine years hiatus, when they defeated surprise finalists Holland by 7-0 in Porto, in 1991. The new title confirmed the tradition of winning the World Championship every time Portugal hosts the event. Portugal win in the European Rink Championship in 1992 also confirmed their best expectations to win the first title in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where rink hockey was going to be played as a demonstration sport. Portugal had a great start that disappointed in the final games, finishing only in the 4th place, losing the Bronze Medal to Italy, while Argentina defeated Spain in a hard-fought final by 8-6. Portugal redeemed themselves the following year, when they won their second title of Rink Hockey World Champions in a row, since 1962, when they won third titles, defeating favourites Italy in a penalty shot-out by 1-0. In 1995, Portugal was unable to reach their third title in a row, losing to Argentina in Recife, Brazil. Meanwhile Portugal was able to win four titles of the Rink Hockey European Championship in a row, in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1998. The last title marked the most recent win for Portugal in the event, who since then has been dominating by Spain. After 1995, Portugal wasn't even able to reach the final of the World Championship, finishing in 4th place in 1997, winning the 3rd place in 1999 and finishing once again in 4th place in 2001.The new millennium
The first decade of the 21st century has been watching the supremacy of Spain as the World and European power in international rink hockey. Portugal, after the 4th place in the 2001 edition of the World Championship, was able to win fairly the 2003 tournament, when they hosted the event, defeating Italy in the final, while Spain finished only in 3rd place. In 2005, Portugal disappointed, when Argentina won the event for the fourth time, winning Spain in the final, and leaving Portugal with the 3rd place. The 2007 edition will always be remembered as the worst performance ever for Portugal and the first time they didn't even finished in the four best teams. In fact, Portugal, coached by Paulo Batista, was eliminated by Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and even lost the 5th place to France, finishing only in 6th place. This result caused great controversy in Portugal and resulted in the immediate sacking of Paulo Batista. With the new coach, Luís Sénica, Portugal, who had lost the 2000 and 2002 European Championship finals to Spain, was able to loose narrowly the 2008 final to Spain only by 1-0, with a controversially disallowed goal to Reinaldo VenturaReinaldo Ventura
Reinaldo Miguel Silva Ventura is a Portuguese roller hockey player. He plays as a defender, a midfielder and as a forward, being a prolific goalscorer, both for FC Porto and Portugal....
. Adopting the nickname of "Os Ursos" ("The Bears"), Portugal was seen as a major contender for the 2009 World Championship title, but lost the semi-final to Argentina (3-1), reaching only the 3rd place, after a 8-3 win over Brazil.
Luís Sénica was later replaced by Rui Neto, who led the National Team to the 2010 European Rink Hockey European Championship. Portugal started in a very good form, easily defeating their adversaries, even Italy and Germany, who they won 6-1 in the semi-final, but collapsed in the final, once again to Spain, in a game they even were able to balance to 3-2, but went down afterwards, suffering a heavy defeat by 8-2. Portugal was also unfortunate at the 2011 Rink Hockey World Championship, finishing in 3rd place, being eliminated by Argentina in the semi-final by 4-3 and winning over Mozambique by 9-2 for the Bronze medal place. Spain with their 15th title equalized finally Portugal as the country with most World Championship titles.
Titles
- Rink Hockey World Championship - 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1968, 1974, 1982, 1991, 1993, 2003 (15)
- Rink Hockey European Championship - 1947*, 1948*, 1949*, 1950*, 1952*, 1956*, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 (20) *also counted as World Championship
- Nations CupNations Cup (roller hockey)The Nations Cup is one of the oldest and most important Roller Hockey tournaments in the World. Is disputed all two years in the city of Montreux, in Switzerland.The next edition will be between 20-24th of April 2011 and will be the 64th edition....
- 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1987, 1997, 2009, 2010, 2011 (16)