Amid the pressure cooker atmosphere of the World Cup, where players and coaching staff carry the burden of national expectations, cracks are appearing in a Portugal camp readying itself for a crucial Group G game against North Korea.
Portugal, ranked No. 3 in the world, came to South Africa with hopes of capturing its first trophy, but a 0-0 draw in its opener against Ivory Coast was roundly booed at home.
Before Tuesday's second group match in Cape Town, the on-pitch shortcomings are being worsened by off-field grievances and public spats.
Deco was the center of attention Thursday as the Portuguese scrambled to regroup. The midfielder had grumbled to reporters after the Ivory Coast game about coach Carlos Queiroz's tactics and substitutions, saying they were "strange" and "not as good as they might have been."
The criticism by Deco - a two-time Champions League winner, with Barcelona and FC Porto, Europe's 2004 player of the year and a linchpin for Portugal since his 2003 debut - carried weight, even while reportedly rankling Queiroz.
It also resonated with commentators and fans who watched a Portugal team, which for long periods looked disjointed and disoriented, lacked daring and was unable to develop forward momentum.
With team unity apparently fraying, Deco said in a statement posted on the Portuguese Football Federation's website the following day that he expressed his opinions "in the heat of the moment" and had not intended to question Queiroz's leadership.
He asked to appear at Thursday's news conference to repeat his denial of friction with Queiroz.
"It wasn't the right thing to say," he said, adding that he had apologized to his teammates. "I never expected it to cause such a furor."
In the first 15 minutes of the daily training session Queiroz, with more than a dozen TV cameras trained on him, gathered his players in a semicircle for a team chat which was out of earshot.
The Deco spat was the latest controversy to distract Portugal.
Last week, Nani was ruled out of the World Cup before it started because of a bruised left collarbone. Returning home, the Manchester United winger appeared to chafe at being cut, telling reporters in Lisbon that he would be fit within a week.
Central defender Ricardo Carvalho was the first to unintentionally rock the boat, before the squad even arrived at its base camp in the bushveldt north of Johannesburg. He told reporters that Portugal's 2006 World Cup squad was the strongest he'd played in - a comment taken to mean that his teammates in South Africa weren't as good.
Officials have also been disgruntled.
The Portuguese complained they were not consulted about an arm cast worn by Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba in Port Elizabeth. Queiroz said FIFA had shown double standards by disallowing jewelry on the pitch, but authorizing a rigid arm protection for "a star of African football."
And the Portuguese Football Federation was irked by a yellow card shown to Cristiano Ronaldo in that match. It asked FIFA to revoke the booking, saying there was a "disparity" in the referee's criteria between the players of the two teams.
