Monte Horizonte

Portugal is competing at the 5^th World Cup, and is pegged as the 3^rd best team in the world in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. That means that Portugal’s national soccer team might be garnering some headlines –

so here is a quick look at the European nation that might surprise the world this summer.

World Cup Record to Date:

1966 – Third place

1986 – First round

2002 – First round

2006 – Fourth place

Overall Record in World Cup:

Played 19 games: Won 11, Tied 1, Lost 7.

World Cup Highlight:

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira scored four goals in one game as Portugal overcame North Korea 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the 1966 World Cup. Portugal and North Korea are in eh same group in 2010.  Eusébio scored nine goals at the 1966 Cup, the tournament’s top scorer.

The story so far: Portugal ‘s national team has emerged as a force in world soccer over the past decade, an amazing feat for a nation of 10 million. The squad is led by 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Country:
About the size of Maine, Portugal is a country of contrasts that boasts some of the most unspoiled natural vistas, the richest traditions, the most intoxicating culture, the most adrenaline-pumping adventures, and the most serene retreats in all of Europe.

Geographically, Portugal is closer to the United States than anything else in Europe – both on the mainland (Lisbon is continental Europe’s westernmost city) and in the Atlantic Ocean (the Azores Islands are just four hours from Boston).

The nation’s heart and its largest city is Lisbon – a charming, stately capital   reputedly founded 2,500 years ago by Ulysses.  It is a city dotted with churches, museums, monuments and markets, with a way of life that is distinctive and elegantly esoteric.  Lisbon is also Portugal’s home of the 21st century, exuding coolness and home to high-tech industries, dynamic architecture, trendy boutiques, stylish hotels, hip restaurants, and hot nightspots full of next year’s styles.  A few hours up the coast is Porto (sometimes called Oporto): monumental, historic, and known worldwide for the sweet Port wine that is produced in the rich Douro River Valley.  Between Lisbon and Porto are the ancient cities and hilltop villages home to Portugal’s famous Pousadas – hotels built into monasteries, castles, and fortresses.  Traveling inland, visitors explore the Roman remains, palaces, cork forests, olive groves, wide-open fields, and finally the sweeping peaks that mark the border with Spain.  Traditionally ‘In’ resorts like Estoril and Cascais hug up to the Atlantic, and on the country’s southernmost coast the weather is warm and the golf courses and beaches are plentiful.

Finally, the nation’s two archipelagos add an exotic element to Portugal: Soaring Madeira, warm and flower-filled to the south, and the mid-Atlantic Azores, wild, windswept and unspoiled.

The Facts:
Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain.  Six hours flight from U.S. East Coast to the mainland, or four hours flight to the Azores islands.

Capital: Lisbon (also called Lisboa).  Population of greater Lisbon: two million.  Lisbon is at the same latitude as San Francisco.

Climate: Portugal has a mild climate without extremes of temperature. Winters are pleasant, and summers are moderately hot. The Norte (Porto) has an Atlantic climate influenced by the Gulf Stream. The middle of the country (the Lisbon and the Centro de Portugal Region) has gentle dry summers and short mild winters.  Southern Portugal (the Alentejo and Algarve Regions) has a warm, dry Mediterranean climate without extremes of heat. The Madeira islands offer an inviting climate all year-round with temperatures around 70 degrees. The Azores islands also offer very mild weather moderated by the Atlantic’s maritime influence.

Population: 10,566,212 (July 2005 est. -about the same as the state of Maine).

Area: 35,672 square miles (about the same as the state of Maine – includes Azores and Madeira archipelagos).

Land: 35,502 sq mi;

Water: 170 sq mi. More than 400 miles of coastline.

Islands: The nine Azores islands in the mid-Atlantic are a four hours flight from Boston, at the same latitude as New England.  Madeira’s two islands, 90 minutes south of Lisbon by air, are at the same latitude as Charleston, S.C.

Language: Portuguese (English is spoken throughout the country).

Time Zone: GMT – Five hours ahead of U.S. East Coast time in mainland Portugal and Madeira; the Azores are just four hours ahead of EST.

Chief Cities: Lisbon and Porto are the two largest. Regional cities include Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Funchal, Ponta Delgada, Portalegre, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.

Tourism: Approximately 12 million visitors annually, including 250.000 (approx.) from the USA.

Learn more: www.visitportugal.com

Cristiano Ronaldo:

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Funchal, Madeira on February 5, 1985. He is a Portuguese soccer star who plays on the national team as #7. He takes his name from U.S. President Ronald Regan. The winger and forward is one of the highest paid soccer players in the world. He began playing the sport at the age of five and by the summer of 2003 joined Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo played for the team for approximately five years, after which he signed to Real Madrid on July 1, 2009.

Ronaldo’s autobiography, titled Moments, was published in December 2007. Ronaldo is also the face of various advertising campaigns including the Portuguese bank Banco Espírito Santo, Pepe Jeans, Nike, Coca-Cola, Emporio Armani, Castrol, and Clear Shampoo. He is also featured in his underwear on the July 2010 cover of Vanity Fair.  Media sources have recently linked Cristiano Ronaldo to Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, among other famous women.