The newly-named Liga Sagres has kicked off and our podcast is back to its usual Monday night schedule. This week we review the weekend’s results in full. The two Vítórias, Guimarães and Setúbal, battle out a 1-1 draw. Guimarães are struggling without the very effective Brazillian winger Alan, who moved in the summer to Jorge Jesus’ promising Sporting Braga. They beat Paços de Ferreira 0-2 at Mata Real. Trofense learn the pitfalls of zonal defending, conceding 3 goals in the first 30 minutes of their Liga début away to Sporting. They would eventually get a goal back thanks to a non-existent penalty given by referee Paulo Baptista, a decision that saw Paulo Bento screaming for justice after a series of poor refereeing decisions that have afflicted his Sporting side. It’s business as usual at the Dragão as Porto beat Belenenses comfortably 2-0 thanks to goals by Mariano and Hulk, and Benfica drop 2 points in their first game of the season, drawing 1-1 away to Rio Ave in foggy Vila do Conde. One of the biggest worries for Benfica is the poor form of their new Argentinian playmaker Pablo Aimar who failed to impress during the pre-season and looked lost for long periods on Sunday.
In part 2 we review Carlos Queiroz’s first game in charge of the Selecção, who won 5-0 against that mighty power of international football, the Faroe Islands. Less successful were the U-21 side, who were comfortably defeated 3-2 by the Czech Republic in a game where Inter Milan midfileder Pelé completely lost his head with a dangerous tackle that saw him taking an early bath.
Finally, in part 3 we talk about recent transfer speculation involving FC Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma, Benfica’s Nélson and the loan of Sporting’s Fabio Paim to Chelsea. We also look forward to next weekend’s fixtures, especially the Benfica v FC Porto clássico, and the European games involving Braga and Guimarães.
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Fantastic show guys.
Firstly, I’ve been listening for the last couple of months and would like to thank you for putting on a quality podcast on Portuguese futebol on a consistent basis. I love the upfront views on everything (Sporting’s penaltys, Olympic glory being overlooked for Reyes, etc) as well as the attention you give to the smaller teams and history of the league and country.
Secondly, As a Benfica fan I was very disappointed last week but the performance still had some quality, the team just needs confidence because they have quality players (completely agree about Martins, what a change) and a world-class manager. I’m also a huge Aimar fan and he just needs time to adjust, he is fantastic. His original position at River Plate and at times in Spain was second striker (like Maradona, thus the comparisons). He can do it, have hope in El Mago.
Keep up the great work.
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Many thanks for the positive comments Mark … we aim to please!
As for Benfica … you may have noticed that I’m not their greatest fan (among other things the arrogance and the paranoia, but that’s another story …) but I do feel a little more positive about them this year, mainly because of Quique Flores, who I think is an excellent person. Whether he can cut it at such a difficult club as Benfica is another question … benfiquistas’ patience is notoriously short. I agree that maybe Aimar should be given a bit of time, but I’d like to see him settle into a playmaking role myself.
Hope you keep listening … and enjoy the season!
Phil
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Yes, thanks for your input Mark.
I feel a bit sorry for Aimar because officially he’s only played one game yet most Benfiquistas (in Portugal at least) have seen him now play about 5 or 6 times in various friendlies, in all of which he’s underperformed. The problem is that he seems to be a passenger during games, struggling hard to find a way in and Benfica really can’t afford that, especially with the big games they have so early in the season.
Steve
Hello, a couple of questions.
I know it’s aaaaages ago now, but what was the reaction in Portugal to Spain’s Euro win? Do they have a fierce rivalry and were cheering on Germany, were they indifferent, or happy for their neighbours?
And are the Portuguese still following Chelsea as much as when Mourinho was there? Or is Inter now the foreign team most followed, with all their games on TV etc.
Hi Kt, with regards to your first question, I guess the mood was one of general indifference. I got the impression that nobody wanted Spain to lose and were happy that they won but the Portuguese were in no way basking in Spain’s glory. I can only comment about the Portuguese people I know, but none of them are anti-Spain in any way and actually enjoy the different outlook on life the Spanish have.
Chelsea are still very much the favourite foreign team of most Portuguese people. This season Sport TV, the cable premium sports channel, will be showing every Chelsea league game live, which gives you an indication of their appeal here. There’ll definitely be a lot of interest in Inter but generally the Premiership is more popular than Serie A.
Steve