A two part podcast this week focussing on the Portuguese league and last week’s international game between Portugal and China.
In part one we pay homage to Liedson’s excellent póquer against Belenenses in Sporting’s 0-4 win away at the Restelo. We also talk about Porto’s collapse and the very real possibility that they won’t be playing Champions League football next season. Braga draw away to Setúbal, much like many of the top teams against lower-table opposition, and we ask why this trend has appeared this season. Finally, we concentrate on Benfica’s 3-1 win against Paços and Di Maria’s continuing great form.
In part two we talk about Portugal’s disappointing performance against China and the media’s response to the boos and whistles the team faced due to their lacklustre performance. We’ll also preview this week’s European fixtures.
Do please keep those comments coming. We hope to be back some time next week, but not on Monday, unfortunately.
Steve and Phil
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another great podcast! by the way.. i think 5th is a european place still, no?
Thanks, cristovao!
Nope, I think you’ll find fourth is the last Liga place for qualification.
Top team: CL. Second: CL qualifying. Third and fourth Europa League, plus another EL place for the Taça de Portugal winners (or losing finalists if, for example, FC Porto win the Cup).
I think Portugal will have one more place in 2011-2012 (because of the Portuguese teams’ European record this year).
Phil
The European places are dictated by the total ranking points in Europe of the previous 5 years. True this year they have done well but previous years points have been just as important. Just like Nacional put out Zenit this year… These points although they dont seem important have given Portugal a sixth place along with all the decent performances this season.
Loved your comment about Belenenses..”They should really pick up poins against teams like Sporting” lol
I dont think the trip to Nacional for Benfica wont be as easy as you think. In between 2 european games and a lot of bad blood between Machado and Jesus still. Clearly they are a far worse team post Maciel but the fatigue factor may play its course yet.. From Thursday onwards they have 5 games in 17/18 days. Marseille twice Nacional, Porto in the Taca Lucilio Final and Braga at home. If they go through in Europe they will play a few days after the Braga game… Contrary to your prediction this league is far from over. Braga have a two week rest after the Rio Ave game and Braga have been very impressive at home this season. Benfica still have Braga Sporting and Porto to play so there is a lot of points to be disputed in big games. I also think its far to early to count Porto out of it.. Stranger things have happened..
@ Karl
I don’t buy the fatigue factor when talking about Benfica because Benfica have literally 2 or 3 players of the same quality for every position. And right now It seems to me that Braga and Porto’s wheels have fallen off…
I feel that depending on what happens in the CL with Porto might be more of a factor because If they get knocked out they might feel like they might have nothing left to play for and lack of motivation might be a bigger problem for them seeing as the title and 2 spot are but a mirage for them and the 3rd place is the only safe bet.
Then again Braga could crap out in the remaining games of the season and Porto could swap 2 & 3 places , wouldn’t that make for a suspicious finish !
Jorge Jesus has many options and player motivation should carry him through…
That’s right, Karl – and Portugal’s UEFA ranking was helped this year by Dutch and Turkish sides disappearing from the European competitions early, meaning that Portugal, in 9th, can’t be caught. As I said, though, the 6th Europan place only comes into effect in the 2011/12 season.
About Braga … what I saw at the weekend wasn’t physical fatigue, it was mental. They’ve been up there all season, and I think they look like they can’t go that last stretch. Meanwhile, Benfica are looking as fresh as daisies both physically and mentally.
Karl, what’s your opinion on the return of Luís Aguiar? Obviously he’s well respected in Braga and he’s playing well but I think his arrival has disrupted the team’s progress. Hugo Viana’s ego is quite fragile and I get the impression he liked to think of himself as the “patrão” of the midfield and with the arrival of Aguiar, Viana obviously feels less special. Since Aguiar’s arrival, Viana’s form has dipped dramatically.
Vandinho was/is always the real “patrão”, but he had no aspirations to get the plaudits and I remember him giving Viana an earful in one game when he stepped out of line.
This podcast brings some fresh air to my football needs. Thank you guys, you are great, though judging from your ascent, you’re probably british, and I wonder what made you come up with this idea. Nevertheless, keep up the great work. Thank you.
I think what we saw at the weekend was a combination of things. Filipe Oliveira had to move back to right back after Miguel Garcia had been injured against Olhanense. Oliveira had played a great game in the trinco position and Madrid who is both overweight and slow left Pacienca with no other option. I along with most fans woud agree that the trio of Mossoro Aguiar and Viana don’t work together. Steve, as you said, since Aguiars return Viana has been off form. I also think Viana needs a bit of a rest. the 14 days between the next two games should be great for the whole squad.
You’ve also got to take into consideration the weather and pitch conditions. Doesn’t help for playing decent football. I remember a few weeks ago Benfica could have lost in Setubal had a clean goal not been disallowed. Luck is also a factor. Matheus seemed to have been brought down for a penalty near the end which I’m not sure about as Matheus seems to “fall over” just as much as CAimar and Di Maria. I hope Leone is not dropped for Rodriguez who is back training. Rodriguez is also on 4 yellows so if Pacienca is thinking of using him its better to wait. Oliveira and Matheus along with Di Maria, Luisao and are also all on 4 yellows.
Best game of the weekend
Jorge “The Special Two” Jesus versus Manuel “Machedez” Machado Expext some classic one liners after the game.
another great podcast, providing excellent distraction on a lazy afternoon at work…
phil, i’m inclined to agree about braga having thrown in the towel, and it’s making me think that porto have got a chance of catching them. they’ll (probably) be out of europe come tomorrow, and they’re driven by financial neccessity…it could happen.
SAviola also on a 4th yellow…
Can I just say …
C’MON PORTO!
You just did…..
I’ve nothing to comment except my sheer disappointment that Gol Television over here in Spain have basically dropped the Liga Sagres throughout the last several weeks, instead of which screening ‘Liga Adelante’ on a Friday night and ‘Ligue 1′ on Saturdays. And just when the season’s coming to a climax, too. Grr.
Anyway, I’m excited too, as, having enjoyed it so much last year, I’m off to Lisbon for Easter once more. Hoping to make Sporting-Rio Ave that weekend. Must make sure not to wear my Everton shirt in the streets – probably a laughing stock over there after this season’s exploits…
Bloody hell, I wish I hadn’t bothered rushing home from work. Nuno André Coelho in place of Fernando???? What’s up with Tomás Costa or Freddy Guarin?
The boy’s havin’ a bloody nightmare!
btw, welcome Mark!
Ah sh*t Lodz, I’ll probably be away again this Easter, it would be/would’ve been great to meet up.
And the Everton shirt will more than likely earn you a beer or two in any Sporting friendly restaurant or bar!
Yes, Coelho is looking out of depth at this level and Fucile and Hulk had a horrible first half. 3-0 is looking more likely than 2-1
Porto are looking better… Maybe this tie has more to give…
Sorry fo opening my mouth…
Sorry for opening my mouth…
The horrible pundit from SIC Noticas, Rui Santos, was saying last night that this game would probably signal the end of Jesualdo’s era at Porto. He’s probably right. In my opinion he’s a great manager and I hope he lands the Portugal job after Queiroz.
Ruben Micael substituted about half an hour too late in my opinion. Without a doubt the worst game I’ve seen him play. I can’t see him making the WC squad after such a poor performance as that.
Good point Steve. I personally think he’s by far the best manager in Portugal. PDC always sold Jesualdo’s best players and he always seemed to get the best out of his players. I once had the pleasure of talking to Jesualdo for about 4 hours. The guy is really interesting and every answer he gives is spot on. No hesitation and I asked him really tough questions. He was very honest about what had happened at the end in Braga and he didnt avoid any questions. He speaks very good English too. Unfortunately his age is against him to move abroad but I’ve been saying since last September that he would be ideal for Portugal. He’s got to better than Quieroz. PDC has stuck by him even though there has always been calls from Porto fans because of his defensive style. He seems to get the best out of his players no matter what the situation… Would be a pity to see him go from Porto as he has done a good job there.
He should’ve switched to 4-4-2 this season, considering his best two players were Farías and Falcao. His insistence on playing 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 was frustrating this season, given the fact he obviously didn’t have the quality of player required to play his preferred system. However, Portugal will suit his system perfectly and his teams play entertaining, watchable footbal, which will make everybody happy.
I’d heard he speaks good English because I read an interview will Alex Ferguson a while back where he mentioned that he always liked to chat with Jesualdo at UEFA meetings. I actually hope Porto win the Taça this year because he doesn’t deserve to finish his career under a cloud.
So much for my prediction (that Porto would scrape it). In the post-match interview to SportTv, I thought Jesualdo was way off – saying that Porto had gone toe to toe wih Arsenal. They gave the ball up much too cheaply, and they looked – dare I say it – unfit compared to Arsenal.
Fucile was a disaster, as was Rúben Micael (I have a feeling he’s not quite recovered from his shoulder injury). Varela was very disappointing, too. I agree with you, Steve – the substitutions, 15 minutes from time, were at least 20 mins late.
Ah well – bang goes the tenner I had on them. Now …
C’MON BENFICA!
(in the Europa League – I have money on them, too).
Phil
Phil you might as well send your money to a carity…
Why dont you both ask people to make predictions on all the weekend games to add a little spice to the comments section…
Although its already very good…
Anybody who would like to read my blog. It’s mainly about Braga but I talk about the other teams as well… not to everybodys taste
PLANET BRAGA
http://www.snowballjoyrider.wordpress.com
a veritable nightmare…:(
If this guy’s enthusiasm is anything to go by, Boavista can only be on the way up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YOSbfhJr38&NR=1
(Notice also the artificial pitch. And the beautiful stadium, sadly so empty …).
Phil
Just got over the shell shock of the 5-0 drubbing. I have witnessed many a humiliation in Blighty –
4-0 Man utd 4-0 liverpool 4-0 arsenal, but after a couple of good performances in England I thought Porto were capable of a spirited diplayed worthy of the club colours? What a bloody awful performance – I bet Belenenses couldn’t have played worse. There really is no excuse – sure Premiership teams have more cash to spend – but Porto’s budget should at least ensure they have a competitive team that can grind out a result when necessary. Oh well – Europa league 2010/11 here we come!!
@Jorge – welcome back to the fold, I liked the analysis on your blog (blogspot.porta19.com if anyone’s wondering), “goodbye Champions League, see you again in 2011″, my condolences.
@Jeremy – what I can’t understand is how can Benfica and Sporting beat Premiership opposition with such ease, yet Porto are made to look fools agains Arsenal? The gap in class between Arsenal and Everton is not enormous, is this an indication of how much Sporting have improved in recent weeks and how far Porto have fallen?
not bad from sporting…just got back from work in time for the 2nd half! didn’t see the red card, but i guess they’ll be happy with a draw now. id’ve taken one before personally.
figo just popped up on the tv coverage…
Greetings from Dublin,Steve and Phil.I’ve been a listener for the past year and a half and look forward to my Wednesday morning dose of all things Liga Sagres…Have just watched Sporting tonight hold on against Atletico.And have been watching them a bit more than usual recently.I think they should hold on to Carlos Cavalhal,they’re starting to gel and look like a whole different team with real potential.Porto were a disappointment the other night,but then again I never expected anything from them this year after the loss of Lisandro and Lucho,regardless of whether Falcao bangs in the goals or not.And Benfica?They’ll win the league.They look the part.Jorge Jesus has worked wonders compared to the rubbish Quique Flores served up.I think Braga will fade but its been fantastic having them up challenging.
Keep up the great work lads and for keeping us informed from afar.
Cheers.
Especially as they were down to nine by the end, ben … but it does mean that they’ll be without Grimi and Tonel (big prob) for the second leg.
Benfica let a precious 1-0 lead slip at the Luz – Steve was there and will fill us in, I’m sure. But the fact is that Marseilles were very good, and Steve’s prediction of a rout proved v. optimistic (easy to say in hindsight, I know).
Still, Benfica can win that in France … but they’ll have to be a bit more focussed and dynamic than tonight.
I’m gutted but it was a fair result in the end. Just before the goal, I was thinking 0-0 would be a good result, 1-0 great and 2-0 incredible. The worst thing in the world would be to concede a goal and that’s exactly what they did.
Marseille’s No. 7 Cheyrou was very good imo. He broke up Benfica’s play excellently but he was assisted by some awful performances from Benfica. Worst of all was David Luiz, the amount of times he gave the ball away was shocking. Maxi had a torrid time trying to keep up with Brandão – who is a cheating b*stard. Thanks god for Luisão.
Lucho was one of the only Marseille players who wasn’t outstanding, I think Benfica focussed to much on him. He didn’t even get a touch until the 10th minute, by which time only a handful of supporters had remembered to boo him.
Marseille fans were excellent, so many flags! There were two Ireland flags, a Cuban one, two Palestinian flags, loads of Catalan-ish flags and one Ché Guevara. Their fans went absolutely nuts when they scored and you could’ve heard a pin drop in the following minutes.
Welcome Paul, glad to hear from you!
Excellent pod as usual fellas.
Just a couple of opinions about Benfica-Marseille. Spot on about Cheyrou Steve – he was brilliant, had him as the man of the match. Can’t agree about Gonzalez though. The man just oozes class, always knows when to play it simple and when to play the killer pass, which he did on a couple of occasions. Having said that, missed two very scorable chances.
Great game all in all. Fair result.
I must admit I find your constnat criticism of David Luiz both astounding and interesting. Your comments in general show you have a great reading of the game, and I respect your opinion, but I really do think Luiz is destined to get to the very top. That’s what makes this game (and this podcast) so fascinating. It’s all about opinions which are diametrically opposed at times.
Also agree with the general view expressed here on Jesualdo. A truly great coach who nobody in Portugal – supporters, press – have ever seemed to warm to, apart from Braga fans.
Cheers,
Tom (portugoal.net)
Even in Braga it tokk a long time for some people to warm to him. I think it could be to do with the Benfica link. Some old wounds never seem to heal. If Marseille tr ad defend their away goal I expect Benfica might take them apart but should be a great game to watch. I’d like to see Benfica go through though…
Hi Tom, I think (or hope) I’ve said a few times on the podcast that David Luiz is the most improved player at Benfica this season. In one game this season, I think the home game against Nacional when Fabio Coentrãoplayed left-back, his maturity and level of responsibilty in keeping the defence together was brilliant and it showed me a side of his game I never thought he would be capable of.
My problem with him is that he seems unwilling to perfect the basics of his game and keep his feet on the ground admist all the rumour and speculation. In the last couple of weeks he’s been making stupid feints, tricking defenders whilst he’s the last man on the ball. It’s worked against some teams, but he was made to look a fool against Sporting last season when attemting this and he was dispossessed twice on Thursday night doing a similar trick. He should have the good sense to know this is reckless.
His passing was terrible, he doesn’t know when to provide the long ball or make the short pass to Javi Garcia, something Luisão does effortlessly (in the Marseille match, Luisão made two incredible long passes, both straight to the feet of Di Maria). The people who sit near me at the Luz were going absolutely crazy with his passing, cries of “stupido!” would ring around the ground with every increasingly common pass straight to the opposition.
My last point isn’t so much a criticism, just something he needs to watch, and that’s his runs with the ball into midfield. These runs can sometimes be devastating but on Thursday he was wreckless again, making too many runs, being dispossessed deep into the opposition half and leaving Luisão and Garcia really exposed. I don’t want him to lose this part of his game, but he needs the intelligence to know when to do it and when not to, during the Marseille game I’d have advised hime to stay in his own half unless there was a set piece, the midfield was just too strong.
I think he’ll get his move to a big club for a lot of money but he really could do with another season away from the limelight. Saying that, I’m happy for him to leave in the summer, we have Sidnei, Miguel Vitor and Fabio Farias will be coming too. The player Benfica can’t lose is Luisão, he’s not perfect but he constantly plays at an incredibly high level and I can’t recall a bag game he’s played for Benfica. Luiz has developed so quickly in the last season because he has Luisão beside him, Javi Garcia in front of him and a very good manager who permits the young defeneder to take chances he probably wouldn’t be able to make at other clubs.
This goal by Barge reminds me of the end sequence in “The Benny Hill Show”:
http://futebol.videos.sapo.pt/aaOeLrHBkFZaw1jZ90tw
Don’t know whether it’s Steve or Phil but good luck for the operation.
Some light entertainment..
http://snowballjoyrider.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/braga55-lucky-numbers/
Another thought provoking pod cast guys. I didn’t agree with Steve’s assertion about the supporters reaction to the Seleccao performances against china. I don’t think it matters where the players ply their trade as long as they contribute to the success of the Portuguese national team and produce good quality football. If that happened – people wound’nt give a fig what clubs the players came from. The most important thing is having a team we can be proud of.
However, I totally agreed with the other point you made about blooding more young Portuguese players in league – instead of wasting money on mediocre South Americans. I especially don’t understand Pinto Da Costa’s obsesssion with South Americans – when you consider that the 2003 – 2004 vintage had eight Portuguese internationals, five of whom helped Portugal to the Euro 2004 final. Investing in Portuguese players is a viable alternative to stuffing the team full of foriegn players of average ability. Of course if a team has the chance to sign a Lucho, Lisandro or Diego – then obviously they have too, but they could undoubtedly find better home grown players than Gaurin, Tomas Costa, Belluschi, Helton, Benitez, Fucile etc. So lets get back to basics – missing the champions league spot will mean a big drop in revenue, and maybe PDC will have to look to Porto’s talented youth ranks.
Hi Jeremy, I went on a bit of an uncontrolled rant at that stage in the podcast and didn’t express myself so clearly, but…
Right now, it appears to me that if you’re a mediocre player failing to make the selecção, the best thing you can do is to move to a club abroad and you’re almost guaranteed to get a start. Tiago, Hugo Almeda, Duda, Edhinno, Eliseu, Ze Cástro and that guy who played a couple of games for AS Roma are proof of this. To not play players who are regularly demonstrating their ability in the Portuguese league is an insult to them and also Portuguese domestic football.
With regards to PdC buying lots of players from S. America, I can only guess this is because S.American agents are more willing to make PdC a happy man than European agents are.
On a side note, trouble between Lousada and Boavista supporters this weekend:
And I doubt there will be a podcast this week, there were some complications with my surgery, meaning it’s almost impossible to talk for the next 48 hours. Hope fully we’ll be back next Monday.