With 15 games played, we reach the end of the primeira volta of the Portuguese Liga season and, surprise surprise, FC Porto are in first place after beating Braga 0-2. Braga file a complaint for the second week running after three clear penalties were overlooked by the referee, Paulo Costa (… although we only remember two of them …).
Poor refereeing is one of the hot topics in the Portuguese media right now and the poor reputation of referees is not helped by the President of the Referees Association, Vítor Pereira, who suggests the Portuguese public should stay away if they are unhappy with the standard of refereeing.
Both Sporting and Benfica would draw away from home at the weekend, Benfica putting in an uninspired display against Belenenses, leaving Quique Flores foaming at the mouth whilst he finds yet another of his players to criticise; this week it’s José Antonio Reyes that Quique can’t trust. Beyond the Big Three, Phil gets all excited about Sougou’s magnificent performance for Academica in their 2-1 victory over Vitória de Guimarães.
In part 2 we’ll tell you about Luís Figo’s movie debut, Barbas‘ new restaurant, A Bola’s vote on the best foreign player currently playing in Portugal, and why 5,000 people went to Boavista’s Bessa stadium, but not to watch Boavista. Also, on the 5th anniversary of his death, we remember the tragic passing of Miklós Fehér.
Do keep the comments coming; it’s great for us to be able to share our opinions after recording the podcast.
Thanks for listening!
Steve & Phil
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