Porto, yet again, have won the Portuguese league title. Their names were written on the sashes as early as January this year but they finally clinched the title with a nervy 1-0 home win over Nacional on Sunday. We’ll review the game and talk about what Porto had that the other teams didn’t.
One thing they definitely have is a great manager and this is something Benfica are currently desperate for. With Quique playing a waiting game to see if he can find a reasonable deal to leave the encarnados quietly, after Benfica’s 2-2 home draw with lowly Trofense, his position at the club is clearly untenable and it’s only a matter of time before he heads back to Spain. We discuss his failures and also look at Rui Costa’s poor first season as Director of Football.
Sporting however, will be relatively happy with their season, their place in the Champions League qualifying stages assured. Liedson was their saviour once again at the weekend, scoring both goals that helped them beat Vitória de Setúbal 2-1.
The scrap against relegation is intriguing: Belenenses look doomed after losing 0-5 at home to Braga tonight (played after the podcast was recorded). However, Rio Ave had an impressive 0-1 victory away to Guimarães, putting some space between themselves and the drop zone. Even safer are Paços de Ferriera, who won 2-1 at home to Maritimo, whose relatively new manager Carlos Carvalhal may be on borrowed time already.
In part 2 we focus on the Liga Vitalis. The big game at the weekend was between the top two teams, Olhanense and Santa Clara. Olhanense won 1-0 and look almost certain to be promoted. Both teams could’ve been leapfrogged by União de Leiria, who were playing relegation-threatened Oliveirense. However, they lost, meaning Oliveirense jumped out of the relegation zone, leaving Boavista bottom, staring into the abyss.
We’ll be back next week with more news from the relegation battles in the two leagues. Please let us know your thoughts about the podcast by leaving a message on the site.
Thanks for listening,
Steve and Phil.
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Congratulations to FCPorto and as much as it pains me to say it , They were the best team this season . ( Stability , Organization , Planning ) Enough Said !
Sporting = Liedson… If they ever lose him they are done ! They almost lost to V.Setubal a team fighting to stay up . They are almost as bad as Benfica and they have had stability in recent years ( Paulo Bento & core squad ) So much for that theory , Sporting are content year after year to just make it to the champions league…
And then there is the circus freak show called Benfica. I think that saying Quique’s gone is redundant at this point. But saying that he came into this job completely without a sense of the task at hand. And certainly without empathy for the consequences of failure. All season he had a polite indifference and stubborn demeanor about him that I frankly can’t take anymore and to think I defended him all season even up until recently just for the sake of giving him the benefit of the doubt and for the sake of stability…
I think the 7 reasons from the aBOLA that you stated pretty much sums up everything I have to say about Quique Flores. When I think of all the damage he’s done to the team ( Leo comes to mind ) I’m livid not only at him but at Rui Costa for not having spotted these things earlier and nipped them in the bud earlier.
Enough Said !
Great work guy’s
Thanks Rob. You’ve hit the nail on the head with regards to Quique’s lack of preparation and general ignorance of Portuguese football. This all hints at the arrogance of the man, which demonstrates something of a misguided superiority complex he had with regards to the Portuguese game.
Rui Costa defintely shouldn’t escape unscathed by this season.I think he’s going to be good in the role, seeing as one of the most important aspects of it is to have good contacts within the game. However, it looks as if some of those contacts have really burnt his fingers, he’s going to have to be a lot shrewder with his dealings in future but most importantly, he’s going to need to take risks on emerging Portuguese talent, something he didn’t do last summer (Quique, Aimar, Balboa, Suazo… yawn). Ruben Amorim and Miguel Vítor have been the only positives of this terrible season.
Another “sizzler” podcast!
Porto are champions and as you rightly said the merit goes entirely to Jesualdo Ferreira, who managed to rebuild a European contender team in record time, inserting 6 brand new players into the first 11, which, in retrospect, only counted with 7 absolute starters throughout the season: Helton, B. Alves, Rolando, Fernando, Lucho, Raul Meireles, C. Rodriguez and Lisandro. I’d be gobsmacked if Jesualdo Ferreira doesn’t continue at the Dragão next season.
The blue-gold thing is, besides pretty, rooted in a Portuguese saying – “Ouro sobre azul” (Gold over blue) – which loosely translates for English expression “The cherry on top of the cake”. Being blue Porto’s defining colour, it is an obvious thing to complement it with the gold of trophies.
Agree with Steve on the alternative Nacional shirts being too similar to the Porto shirts and was really surprised the referee allowed it. Nevertheless, I also agree with Phil that it was/is a nice looking kit.
Re Benfca (and Quique), its obvious the divorce. Either Scolari or Jesus will step up, but I reckon it might be Big Phil’s gig since Benfica could have had Jesus last season and they didn’t trust him then. Also, with the election coming, Benfica’s President Luis Filipe Vieira will want to bring in a heavyweight character to (1) galvanize the team and turn it into a “family” (who better than Scolari for this?) and (2) help him in the “war” against Porto.
Unfortunately for Vieira, bringing Scolari will mean another big gamble on big name players, which may be a gamble too far for the ambitious (megalomaniac) president of Benfica.
Me and most Porto supporters will be delighted if Scolari takes the helm at Benfica, as we don’t rate him as we do Jesus and also because most of us think Jesus is being groomed to take over from Jesualdo in 2010.
At Sporting everything will depend on the new board of directors. Paulo Bento is an obvious asset they should protect, but if he doesn’t think he’s gonna have the board’s support he may just go. Keeping Liedson is fundamental, but losing Moutinho may hurt a bit. Also the situation with Vuckcevic is still unclear.
I agree that it is a real shame that there seem to be no interest in football below Setubal. Thank god Olhanense are coming up so we can see the Algarve back on the football map.
Also Santa Clara is another welcome addition to the top league, but again they, alongside the Madeira clubs, will be competing with an advantage over other clubs which don’t get subsidised by the government.
Finally, I have immense “saudades” of “Pão com Chouriço”. Enjoy the upcoming Popular Saints Festivals, St António (best parade) in Lisbon, and S. João (best party) in Porto!
Another great podcast, congratulations to porto. They have been the best team this season, apart from the hiccup at the start of the season credit goes to jesualdo ferreira for sticking with fernando, his an up and coming star of the future.
Sporting were favorites to win the league because they didnt lose any key players, so they did well considering their financial status, also with Paulo Bento blaming the refs for any lost didnt help their team confidence. they have secured 2nd place and have a birth in the 3rd qualification phase of the champions league, which is the final stage, good luck to them.
Benfica have to get back to the drawing boards, the 1st thing is to get rid of Quique, they have been rumors about Jorge Jesus and also scolari have been on the cards. Its going to be hard for Benfica with not getting an money from the champions league.
I know this is a bit off topic but i heard hiddink speak after their lose to Barcelona that football should have a video referee, sports like Rugby union, rugby league, cricket, NFL and so on have used this technology to improve the sport, and critical matches wouldn’t have to rely on the man in the middle. I personally think it will enhance the game and make it a better and improved.
Take Care
Carlos
Having become a bit of a sportinguista since my visit to the Alvalade, it’s been bugging me – how exactly do you translate ‘So eu sei/ porque nao fico em casa’? ‘I am like this/because I’m not at home’?? … Seems to me that it would have to be something with a bit more oomph, or hidden meaning, than that …
It’s more like: “Only I know / why I don’t stay at home”. This came up when Sporting were Champions in 2000 and 2002. It’s the Juve Leo (ultras) way of saying that they will always be there with the team.
Apologies for not replying/contributing to the debate this week, been suffering from a nasty cold this past week whilst being busy at work, not the greatest of combinations.
In relation to Jorge Jesus, I’ve heard from a few people that he’s not going to take the Benfica job, but I’ll save this inside information until the podcast! Benfica lost their chance last season, which has to blamed on Rui Costa’ in my opinion. However, who knows what the future holds for JJ, it was only a year ago everyone was singing the praises of Carlos Carvalhal, now he’s fighting for survival at Marítimo. Also, when you look at Braga’s season, the fact that they struggled against the grandes does bring some element of doubt against Jorge Jesus’ ability. He’s a great manager, but worth a million euros? I would even go so far to say that his first 11 is far stronger than that of Benfica yet he still finished behind them in the league.
Hopefully off to meet Phil this afternoon for Estoril V Boavista, that is, if it takes place. Estoril’s players were threatening to cancel the game yesterday because like many players, they haven’t been paid for a series of months.
Finally, with regards to Portugal’s popular saints festivals, I can’t stand them Hugo. Well, I’ve never experienced São João but I just don’t enjoy San Antonio’s day, the way people walk around Alfama in big groups holding hands so they don’t lose each other, whilst crushing everyone around them, drives me nuts. On top of that, I find the misguided nationalism that seems to be creeping in more and more to the festivities a bit unsettling. I love dancing to Pimba, but as soon as you’ve got a thousand drunk kids singing the national anthem, well, I’m out of there. And lastly, there’ll always be some chancer trying to charge me €5 for a sardine because he thinks I’m a tourist, which is guaranteed to make me furious and spoil my evening. Saying all that, we spent the evening in Bica rather than Alfama last year and I had a much better time.
I still think Porto’s S. João is much better in terms of party enjoyment. You get to hit random people in the head with those plastic/inflatable hammers and the Ribeira area is usually brimming with people! And the fireworks displays are better!