They took Europe with the iron fist of Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Owen Hargreaves sheathed beneath the velvet glove of Michael Carrick, Carlos Tevez - and Man of the Moment, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's Portugal version has Ricardo Carvalho, Armando Petit and Joao Moutinho doing the ugly to allow Deco, Simao Sabrosa and Ronaldo to freestyle.

And they have an extra edge in gamesmanship.

Ronaldo has dived for both club and country.

Hargreaves and Petit play the hatchet men for Ferguson and Big Phil respectively.

And, just as Edwin van der Sar pointed the wrong way to put off Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka in the Champions League shoot-out in Moscow, Ricardo wound England up by saving Darius Vassell's penalty without gloves in Euro 2004.

Former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira predicted, back in 2003, that the next tactical breakthrough lies in the 4-6-0 system.

Ferguson proved him right this season. Although Manchester United play with a 4-2-3-1, it is effectively a 4-6-0 as none among Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez is a true centre-forward.

Although Scolari has Nuno Gomes and Helder Postiga, neither forward has shown he is in the same class as Italy's Luca Toni, France's Thierry Henry or Germany's Miroslav Klose.

Should Big Phil lose patience with either Gomes or Postiga in his 4-5-1 formation, he can switch to 4-6-0, in which Ronaldo thrives, and go for the kill.

Portugal, with their quartet of magical wingers who can cut in from the flanks to have a crack at goal, have shown they can live without an out-and-out striker.

Another factor in their favour is the luck of the draw.

They are white-hot favourites to win Group A for a relatively easy passage into the quarter- and semi-finals, with Germany and Croatia the likely opponents.

Scolari's men will not face tough nuts Italy, France, Holland, Spain, Greece or Russia until the final.

And if that is not enough, it may be written in the stars.

In 1996, Juventus, led by ball-winner Didier Deschamps, won the Champions League with sheer hard work.

Germany, led by ball-winner Matthias Sammer, won the Euro, also with industry.

Four years later, individual brilliance prevailed.

The trend shifted back to defensive football during Euro 2004, thanks to a pair of Special Ones - Otto Rehhagel and Jose Mourinho.

A lone striker, a five-man midfield, well-rehearsed set-pieces and counter-attacks were the building blocks for Greece and Porto, as they upset the form books.

So there. No one else plays Manchester United football like Portugal. And they share the best player in Europe - and some say - the world. Which is why I pick Portugal.

meng@sph.com.sg