Ronaldo, Fernandes, Mourinho: Why Portugal continues to produce so many stars of world football

Success is in the DNA of this nation of pioneers

Cristiano Ronaldo after being voted Player of the Century at the 2020 Dubai Globe Soccer Awards at Burj Khalifa. Globe Soccer

Player of the Century Cristiano Ronaldo

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, presents Robert Lewandowski with the Player of the Year award. Globe Soccer

Robert Lewandowski accepts the Player of the Year award at Burj Khalifa. Globe Soccer

Robert Lewandowski accepts the Player of the Year award at Burj Khalifa. Globe Soccer

The award winners at Burj Khalifa. Globe Soccer

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas with his Player Career Award alongside Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid and Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Globe Soccer

Robert Lewandowski accepts the Player of the Year award at Burj Khalifa. Globe Soccer

Gianni Infantino and Cristiano Ronaldo. Globe Soccer

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique with his Player Career Award alongside Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid and Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Globe Soccer

Bayern Munich attacker Robert Lewandowski with his Player of the Year award alongside Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid and Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Globe Soccer

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. Globe Soccer

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is presented with his Player Career Award by Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid. Globe Soccer

Cristiano Ronaldo at the Dubai International Sports Conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards held at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa. EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at the Dubai International Sports Conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards held at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at the Dubai International Sports Conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards held at the Armani Hotel atBurj Khalifa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at the Dubai International Sports Conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards held at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Barcelona player Gerard Pique at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. Antonie Robertson / The National

Fifa president Gianni Infantino arrives at the Armani Hotel in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Retired Egyptian footballer Mahmoud El-Khatib, President of Egypt's al-Ahly Sporting Club arrives at Dubai Globe Soccer Awards held at the Armani hotel at the Burj Khalifa. Antonie Robertson/The National

Fifa president Gianni Infantino arrives at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards at Burj Khalifa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Barcelona player Gerard Pique at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. Antonie Robertson / The National

Barcelona player Gerard Pique at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. Antonie Robertson / The National

British boxer Amir Khan. Getty

Former Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Getty

Cristiano Ronaldo embraces Player of the Year award winner Robert Lewandowski. Reuters

Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Reuters

Left to right: Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. EPA

Last November was, once again, an extraordinary month for Portuguese football.

Cristiano Ronaldo was recognised as the best player in Italian Serie A, Joao Felix in Spanish La Liga and Bruno Fernandes in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho was also the manager of the month in England.

It is not surprising to me, as I've had the opportunity to meet and interview several Portuguese and to understand the phenomenon behind it.

So why does Portugal produce some of the best football players and managers in the world?

One big pillar is the DNA of the Portuguese with their history of exploration by land and sea, of trying to find new worlds and their ability to adapt to new environments.

In football we have to add particular characteristics to their success; recruitment and training through the excellent academies at Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.

Heads of these academies scour the country hoping to see a spark before the competition. At Benfica this task is undertaken by almost 300 scouts, and there are around 600 people  involved from all three.

Another factor is the existence of second teams from these clubs. They compete in the Portuguese second division, offering younger players the opportunity to gain experience in a competitive league, rather than in an under-23 or under-21 competition as in other European countries.

Interestingly, the lack of competitiveness of the main Portuguese league can also help.

Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon are head and shoulders above others in the first division, with their domination broken just twice in the last 40 years.

This superiority encourages a high-level technical and tactical approach as they attempt to break down massed defences.

It is explains why, largely, only players from the three big appear on the big European stages.

Ronaldo and Rui Patricio were discovered at Sporting, Ruben Neves and Fabio Silva came from Porto and Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix, the 20-year-old star, were discovered at Benfica.

The Portuguese way of working is like a factory assembly line. They are always discovering emerging talents and soon we will hear more about the latest arrivals, like 18-year-old Nuno Mendes from Sporting Lisbon (already coveted by European giants) and Tiago Dantas, the 20-year-old from Benfica recently transferred to Bayern Munich.

As far as football managers are concerned, there is the same foundation, good and strong training in foreign languages, and the extreme ability to adapt to new environments. It marries with the intelligent training techniques developed by Portuguese universities.

The Portuguese managers are different. They are usually young, with a university education, with excellent tactical reading and are not limited to copying, but creating their own methods.

This is their recipe for the success, and why there are seven Portuguese in the next phase of UEFA competitions.