Figo's not old at all, says Simao

Portuguese striker Sabrosa Simao turned down assertions that captain Luis Figo is too old to make a starting line-up in the upcoming World Cup in Germany.

"We can't say that Figo is old," Simao, 26, told a press conference Tuesday at Portugal's camp in the Westphalia town of Marienfeld.

"If you watched the last match of our national side, you can see that he is fit and in wonderful shape," added the Benfica forward, who's one of the keys to Portuguese attacks and formerly played for Spanish powerhouse Barcelona.

In Portugal's 3-0 victory over Luxemburg in a tuning-up friendly on Saturday, the 34-year-old Figo of Inter Milan pushed himself as hard as the new generation Cristiano Ronaldo and played full stretch to the final whistle.

"We can see it on the pitch that Figo is not old at all. He still has a lot of drive and is a very important member of our team. And he's my icon," said Simao.

Five days ahead of their opening match against Angola in Group D, the Portuguese team held a second training session after their arrival in Germany Tuesday afternoon, and Figo, Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo all shown up with the fitness workout though drizzle damped the Kloserpforte hotel grounds.

Simao deemed the team spirit as the treasure of the Portuguese team, who stay favorites to make the last 16 as top finishers from their group, which also features Mexico and Iran.

"The major strength of our team is that we don't think about individuals, we don't think about ourselves, but we only think about the team as a whole," he said.

Simao believes the current squad of Portugal is far beyond comparable from that of the last tournament, where the Antonio Oliveira's team suffered an earlier exit in the group phrase after losing their opening match to the underdog United States.

"I'm not the right person to answer this question because I didn't go to the last World Cup due to injury," said the forward. "But I think it's unadvisable to compare the two squads. Now we have the new players as well as the new coach. I believe that under the leadership of 2002 world champion manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, Portugal could be a completely different team."

Simao has no idea about whether he could make the starting line-up for Angola's match, but he said he's fit and ready: "I'm fit enough to be on the World Cup pitch, but it's up to the coach who decide the starters."

Source: Xinhua