Fernando Santos is a weather-beaten veteran whose mood appears to vary only between grumpy and grumpier.
The 68-year-old manager of Portugal has no time for the hoop-la that surrounds Cristiano Ronaldo or for the fading player’s hissy-fits. But those who suggested Santos dropped him from the Portuguese starting line-up because Ronaldo threw a strop when he was substituted from the South Korea game were talking pre-game nonsense.
Santos put the 37-year-old on the bench because he wanted a more vibrant, youthful, dynamic attack against the well-organised Swiss. And no manager at this World Cup - or that many before it, to be fair - has made a more inspired call.
