There was no place for Maniche in Luiz Felipe Scolari's final 23-man squad for EURO 2008, although the FC Internazionale Milano midfielder's brother Jorge Ribeiro is included after an excellent season in the Boavista FC defence.

Maniche was one of the stars of the previous EURO on home soil four years ago, and also travelled to the 2006 FIFA World Cup before appearing eight times in qualifying for Austria and Switzerland. The former FC Porto schemer has seemingly paid the price for failing to nail down a regular place at Inter, the club he joined on loan from Club Atlético de Madrid in the winter window. Maniche's 26-year-old sibling, in contrast, has been a regular for Boavista, scoring eight goals in 26 Liga outings. He has eight caps.


Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Ricardo (Real Betis Balompié), Quim (SL Benfica), Rui Patrício (Sporting Clube de Portugal).

Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea FC), Bosingwa (FC Porto), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista FC), Miguel (Valencia CF), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Pepe (Real Madrid CF).

Midfielders: Petit (SL Benfica), Deco (FC Barcelona), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Clube de Portugal), João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal).

Forwards: Nuno Gomes (SL Benfica), Simão Sabrosa (Club Atlético de Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC), Nani (Manchester United FC), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto), Hélder Postiga (Panathinaikos FC).