The Portugeezer : Braga

Hits & Misses: Heroic Hulk, bobbins Benfica and middling Maniche

Sergio Santos — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:43:00 GMT

We’re already into the 11th round of the Portuguese League, and it seems a good time to stop for a moment and acknowledge the highs and lows of the league so far. Who has been a revelation? Who is still stuttering? Who has been an utter disappointment? Read on... (Please!)

HITS

Andre Villas-Boas
The 33-year-old manager arrived at Porto under a multitude of question marks. After all, his stint at Academica wasn’t enough to show he had the potential to take on the mantle from his former mentor – one Jose Mourinho.

Yet Villas-Boas is still undefeated this season and the free-flowing football practised by his team has earned him rave reviews. Where can he go? At the moment, everything seems possible. Europa League, Portuguese League and Portuguese Cup – what a breakthrough season would that be.

Hulk
Porto's explosive Brazilian forward was unable to further hone his skills last season due to the infamous suspension that left him out in the cold for a large chunk of the campaign. Perhaps fuelled by the chance to claim poetic justice, Hulk – just like his Marvel namesake – turned incredible and his performances have dazzled everyone (mostly opponents).

Last season, the Portugeezer predicted Hulk could become big if he toned down his showboating instincts and improved his work rate. Well, he’s doing just that, and Europe’s big guns are alert to his impressive 11-goal haul in the league. One thing is certain: if he leaves, he’s going to cost a lot of money.

Guimaraes
Portugal’s fourth club in terms of following and attendances, Vitoria de Guimaraes have seen neighbours Braga take the spotlight in recent years. This season under Manuel Machado, however, Guimaraes are performing well above expectations, currently sitting in second alongside Benfica.

They also managed to seal what was arguably one of the deals of the summer, selling Bebe to Manchester United for a princely sum just weeks after paying a pauper’s wage to sign him from Estrela da Amadora.
Joao Ribeiro and Tiago Targino are two players worth following.

Beira-Mar
One of the two promoted sides, the historical club from Aveiro have been playing well and currently lie in the top half of the table, seven points away from the dreaded relegation zone.

They already claimed a famous win at Braga and young manager Leonardo Jardim has been raising an eyebrow among his peers with the good results. Think of them as you’d think of Blackpool in the English Premier League: a happy-go-lucky team that overcomes a lack of talent and financial clout with a never-say-die attitude.

MISSES

Benfica
Reigning champions Benfica have failed to cope with increasing expectations and the departures of Ramires and Angel di Maria. Jorge Jesus, whose judgement was once unquestionable, is now starting to cut a fragile figure unable to steer his team forward.

The early warning signs at the Supercup would be later confirmed, as the team has struggled to get a result away from home and got a nasty reality check last week when they were handed an old-fashioned 5-0 spanking by Porto. Lagging 10 points behind the leaders, the Eagles had better focus now on the Champions League and the Portuguese cups if they want to look back at this season in a positive fashion.

Sporting
The Lions were looking to bounce back from a dismal season that saw them finish 28 points behind Benfica. Manager Costinha and chairman Jose Eduardo Bettencourt promoted a small revolution in the squad – which included the shocking sale of captain Joao Moutinho – in the hope it would lead to better results, but the truth is they look a second-rate side, years away from past glorious Sporting sides.

Next round Sporting will host Porto, and it will be interesting to see how they’ll cope with the Dragons. Their defence is anything but watertight and they lack firepower upfront. Will they ever learn from their mistakes?

Low attendances
This edition of the Portuguese League has seen the worst average attendance of the last four seasons, with a mere 10,545 people per match. Last year’s average attendance at this stage was 12,200. If the league wants to move forward, it needs to address this nagging problem that has been holding back Portuguese football. Seriously, you don’t need John Legend’s Wake Up Everybody to know it’s time. Am I right? [Yes? – Ed]

QUESTION MARKS

Not everyone can be labelled as a top or a flop at this point. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for some, the jury is still out...

Maniche
The former Benfica and Porto player arrived at Sporting to replace Joao Moutinho and, on paper, he seemed a shrewd piece of business. Cheap, much-travelled and with bags of Champions League experience, the prospect of watching him marshalling the midfield alongside Pedro Mendes was interesting.

The only flaw in that masterplan was that Maniche peaked five years ago. His all-round game has waned. Not only that, but he is still prone to silly mistakes, such as the dismissal against Guimaraes that ultimately caused his team’s collapse. He is still capable of exerting his influence on the team, but he needs to step up and show he can lead the team.

Nico Gaitan
For a guy who arrived at Benfica with a hefty €8.4m price tag, Nico Gaitan is a flop. People expected him to replace crowd favourite Di Maria overnight, apparently forgetting it took two years before the now Real Madrid player started showing what he was capable of.

The other problem for Gaitan is that he’s more of a trequartista than a winger; playing on the wing has undermined his development. Still, he scored two goals in the last match against Naval and showed glimpses of talent.

Will he be given time, and a proper role in the starting XI, to flourish? Only time will tell, but Benfica supporters will have to wait if they want to see something from him...

Braga
It may be a bit unfair to label Braga’s current campaign as a question mark. After all, they already boast the Herculean feat of reaching the group stages of the Champions League after knocking out Celtic and Sevilla. They managed to improve the squad with smart moves in the market, too: Lima, Luis Aguiar and Felipe to name but three.

But Braga already trail rivals Benfica and Guimaraes by seven points, something that last season would be unthinkable. Are we expecting too much for a team not used to dealing with continental and domestic duties? Maybe, but that’s only because they’ve shown us many times that they can upset the odds.

The Gods Must Be Crazy: A wacky week in Portugal

Sergio Santos — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:21:00 GMT

Round 10 Results: Fri Nov 5 Vitória Setúbal 3-3 Rio Ave Sat 6 Nov Portimonense 2-2 Académica, Paços Ferreira 0-1 Nacional Sun 7 Nov FC Porto 5-0 Benfica, Braga 2-3 Beira-Mar, Naval 1-1 Olhanense, Marítimo 1-1 Leiria Mon 8 Nov Sporting 2-3 Vitória Guimarães

There's so much to talk about this goal-ridden round that a single post is hardly enough to describe the earthquake that shook the foundations of Portuguese football.

Understandably, all eyes were on the Porto v Benfica match that could have serious repercussions in the title race – and the Clássico lived up to its billing. With a mesmerising performance that probably alerted half Europe, Porto hammered the Eagles 5-0 and cleared any lingering doubt about which team is currently the best in the country. Such is the gulf between the Dragons and the chasing pack, that it seems we have two leagues within Liga Zon Sagres.

In hindsight, nobody would have predicted this at the beginning of the season. After all, Benfica kept their manager and invested - 'wasted' may be a more accurate verb - buckets of money to improve the team while Porto hired an unknown guy named André Villas-Boas in an apparent knee-jerk reaction. How come things have changed so much in such a short span of time?

Bad choices, bad omen
Now, about the match. If there was a moment Jorge Jesus’s ability was questioned, it was this past Sunday as the Benfica manager made two tactical changes that are quite hard to accept.

Firstly, he opted to selected Salvio instead of Saviola in the starting XI. The Atletico Madrid loanee has barely lit up the League while ‘El Conejo’ has been an ever-present figure for the Eagles since he arrived from Real Madrid last year. Why change, and why now?

More stunning though was the decision to play David Luiz as makeshift left-back instead of the impressive and already proven Fábio Coentrão. By doing that, he brought back Sidnei – who only played 259 minutes in the league last season and is far from match fitness - to the heart of the defence and moved Coentrão to a more advanced role.

The result? Sidnei looked sluggish, Coentrão was ineffective and David Luiz was consistently tormented by Hulk. It was reckless to make such drastic changes in a vital match and the decision backfired badly as every single goal from the right side - Benfica’s left.

Even if Coentrão was back at his best position in the second half, the damage was already done and Hulk was on fire. The Brazilian forward scored two goals and made one assist, carrying on his rich vein of form that is bound to attract the big guns sooner rather than later.

As predicted in the previous post, Benfica struggled to feed front duo Alan Kardec and Salvio and only managed three shots on target – pathetic for a team that not long ago wanted to be a serious player in the Champions League.

“You know, just do your thing…”
There were other surprising results this round as Braga were shocked by Beira-Mar at home and Sporting showed once again why the Portugeezer continues to dismiss them as genuine contenders.

The Lions entertained Vitória Guimarães at home and they seemed set for a comfortable 2-0 win until the 70th minute when Maniche was sent off for kicking an opponent. Supersub Tiago Targino came from the bench to lift the away team and scored two goals in two minutes before Bruno Teles completed an incredible comeback in the 90th minute.

Talking points
Porto are at the top of the world. They are unbeatable, enjoying their football and it will be really interesting to see which team will be able to defeat them. They can afford to tinker: they hold a 10-point lead in the league and are already through to the Round of 32 in the Europa League.

André Villas-Boas and Hulk, in particular, are now the target of foreign media eager to know more about this unstoppable duo. The way his team outclassed Benfica, Villas-Boas looks more and more a very capable manager, even if drawing any comparison to Mourinho at this stage is premature. Hulk once again overwhelmed his opposition with his raw power and trickery. The Brazilian has toned down his lapses and selfishness this season and has become a more consistent player. Great for Porto!

Even a revered figure like Sir Alex Ferguson would be a target if he was destroyed by, say, Arsenal the way Benfica were by Porto. Jesus’s cockiness certainly came back to haunt him; suddenly, reports emerge that the atmosphere in the locker room was far from ideal and that people within the board are not exactly in awe with Jesus anymore. Considering the psychological toll of this heavy loss, can Jesus last till Christmas?

Is there a silver lining for Paulo Sérgio? Yes, it can be argued that the outcome would have been different if Maniche thought before he acted the way he did, but Sporting only have themselves to blame. They have a second-tier mentality and lack spark.

The Sporting speech remains the same: President Bettencourt says the manager is untouchable (though we all remember the catchy ‘Paulo Bento forever’ expression and what happened afterwards...) and that they will keep on fighting. Sometimes though, one has to wonder if they have any ambitions: do they want to win silverware right now or are they planning long-term? Do they still want to nurture young talent from the Academy or are they looking to get more experienced players? Regardless of that, 14 points in 10 match is just not good enough…

Can Guimarães become this season’s Braga? Manuel Machado has assembled a solid group of players and they have been playing good football. Interestingly, they beat both Benfica and Sporting and held Porto to a draw. They are now in second place with 18 points and will play against the Minho Warriors next round in what is expected to be a fierce derby.

Braga achieve first victory ever among the elite

Sergio Santos — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:27:00 GMT

It was the third day of the group stages and, apart from Benfica’s slump at Lyon, it was a positive one for Portuguese football. Braga kept their dream of alive by claiming their first victory in the Champions League, while Sporting and Porto continued their relentless march towards the second phase of the Europa League with empathic wins that give them plenty of reasons to smile.

Champions League

Braga played on Tuesday against FK Partizan knowing that anything less than a victory would leave them in a bad position to extend their European journey. Manager Domingos Paciência was serious about turning the tide after two heavy losses against Shakhtar and Arsenal and he named four attacking-minded players - Alan, Paulo César, Matheus and Lima - in the starting XI.

The first 30 minutes were played at the pace of a turtle without a single chance for either side; whether it was inexperience at this level, fear of getting dumped or a little bit of both, the fact was anybody watching the match could label the experience about as entertaining as watching paint dry. That is until the 34th minute, when Lima decided to curl an amazing free-kick around the 30-metre mark

Sp. Braga 1-0 Partizan

Simão | Myspace Video

A goal that will go down in history as Braga's first ever in the top European competition and a goal that managed to galvanise the then-lethargic crowd at Estádio AXA.

Partizan then tried to move forward and dictate play but were unable to do so and barely created actual goalscoring chances. The match remained uneventful in the second half but Braga would score another goal just before the final whistle, when a quick counter-attack saw Alan set up Luis Aguiar who, in a good position, assisted Matheus for the easy tap-in.

Despite a lacklustre performance, Braga secured a 2-0 victory to keep their dream of qualifying for the second round alive. Even if working that out requires some complex math operations!

Benfica manager Jorge Jesus learnt a lesson this past Wednesday: if you’re going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk. Before the match against Lyon, Jesus attempted to play some unorthodox mind games by declaring few teams in the world played like Benfica. Well, after the referee signalled the end of the match, he must have felt lucky to get out of Stade de Gerland with just a 2-0 loss. The Eagles showed no heart, no commitment and no creativity whatsoever as Lyon were in full control for the 90 minutes, and their victory was completely deserved.

It could be argued that Nico Gaitán’s pathetic sending-off was a key moment in the match, but Benfica were already finding it difficult to pose real problems for the French backline. Again, and the Portugeezer will repeat this time and time again, the Eagles possesses no width and their forwards are paying the price. The only positive note for them was Roberto’s performance; the Spanish custodian seems to be more confident and made a string of good saves to prevent a worse result.

Still, with only 3 points, the harsh reality is Benfica need to get a win against Schalke – likely to be their direct contenders – and at least a draw against Lyon. The way they’ve been playing this season, can you actually count on that?

Europa League

Porto travelled to Instanbul to play against Besiktas, arguably their toughest opposition in the group despite missing star duo Ricardo Quaresma and Guti. Bernd Schuster was candid before the match, admitting Porto were a very powerful team, and the Dragons showed why they are a much-respected team in Europe.

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao broke the deadlock in the 27th minute when he towered above a defender to score a header from a corner. The Dragons were in complete control of the match and even had a goal strangely disallowed 10 minutes later. But when Maicon was sent off before the break, it looked like the second half could be a long one for André Villas-Boas’ men. It was a situation akin to the one Benfica faced at Lyon, but the way Porto handled it showed why they are a different team. After sustaining 15 minutes of pressure, the Dragons hit the Turks on the break when Álvaro Pereira found Hulk with a long pass and the in-form forward - with just two touches - put the ball past the hapless goalkeeper.

In the 77th minute, Porto would get their third goal in another display of ruthlessness. After a pass from Belluschi, Hulk outrun his markers, dribbled the last man and put the ball in the top right corner. Beautiful and yet simple.

Besiktas 0-3 FC Porto - Hulk

Humberto | Myspace Video.

Besiktas would still grab a late goal, but in the end Porto showed they truly belong to the first division of continental football.

Sporting hosted Belgian side KAA Gent and, after having a tough time beating Estoril in the Portuguese Cup, the Lions turned to their European alter ego that so far has ensured eye-catching performances. Paulo Sérgio’s men were in complete control of the match and on another day, they could have added more gloss to an already impressive scoreline that will lift their spirit for domestic affairs. 5-1 was the final result with goals from Diogo Salomão, Liédson (2), Maniche and Postiga.

Both Sporting and Porto now possess nine points and getting through the next round is looking like a mere formality.

Lions struggle as Dragons march on

Sergio Santos — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:10:00 GMT

The weekend saw Round Six of the Portuguese Liga played, and if there was anything we learnt it was that Sporting really are currently an utter shambles.

After being defeated by eternal rivals Benfica in the previous round, the Lions were hoping to get their title bid back on track with a win against Nacional. Unfortunately, their plans were undermined by the Islanders, who managed to get away with a 1-1 draw with coach Paulo Sérgio being greeted at the end with jeers from the frustrated home supporters following the fulltime whistle.

Director of Football Costinha admitted his side hadn’t had the start to the season envisaged by the club, but if he and chairman Jose Eduardo Bettencourt couldn’t foresee this scenario, they may want to seek consultation from an optician, as the three key causes were clear to see from the beginning.

1) Sporting sold their two most prized assets (Veloso and Moutinho), only to replace them with a few suspect players. 2) The Lisbon outfit also appointed a manager with no discernable experience at the top level. 3) They also mismanaged the Izmailov saga, effectively losing the valuable contribution of the Russian. People may say the team is still gelling, but the Portugeezer believes it will be another long season for them with no silverware or pride to show off.

Not that neighbours Benfica have much to brag about either. The Eagles recorded an morale-boosting victory at Marítimo - their first away success of the season - and have now amassed a total of nine points, just one more than Sporting.

What sets the two sides apart at the moment is that the Eagles seem to be on the upward curve. Their performance levels, while still miles behind last season’s displays of free-flowing football, have steadily improved and they will look to continue building on that.

Braga struggled to get over their Champions League steamrollering by Arsenal, failing to pick themselves off the floor in time to get anything more than a draw against Paços Ferreira in round five. This past Friday however, the Minho Warriors returned to winning ways with a commanding 3-1 victory against Naval. Manager Domingos Paciência will also be pleased with the return of Márcio Mossoró, who scored a goal after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The Arsenalistas are now leading the Porto-chasing pack alongside Guimarães and Académica du Coimbra, the two surprise packages of the season so far.

The two over-achieving sides met at Coimbra where the home team proved stronger in the end. Jorge Costa’s pupils have been stellar so far, and while they will inevitably hit a sticky patch some time soon, they’ll be delighted with their performances so far this season and the fact the 11 points gained so far give them an excellent opportunity to seal safety sooner rather than later.

Now, each of the three teams in the aforementioned chasing pack has 11 points, which is already a fair whack less than leaders Porto, who still boast and 100% record with 18 points.

They hosted Olhanense and completely dominated the match. Hulk has been unplayable this season and both Varela and João Moutinho will have a place on the Selecção’s starting XI, but above all their confidence seems unshakeable at the moment.

Whether it has been the magic wand of André Villas-Boas, shrewd pieces of business made during the summer or the sluggish start from the rivals, the Dragons have once again risen to the top and will be the team to beat this season

Goal of the round

The wonder goal scored by Acádemica forward Sougou against Guimarães that put his side back in front has to be the best goal of matchday six, and a contender for goal of the season.

The Senegalese star was given room to operate and from around 30-35 yards unleashed a powerful drive into the top corner that left the goalkeeper stunned. A Premier Leeague-esque goal that left Jorge Costa with a broad grin on his face.

Honourable mention goes to Carlos Saleiro who, after being introduced at the break, scored Sporting’s goal; Simon Vukcevic delivered a cross into the box and the ball rebounded to Saleiro who dispatched an acrobatic volley into the back of the net

Talking points

There is a huge match next week as Benfica entertain Braga at Estádio da Luz. Benfica goalkeeper Roberto has been unbeaten for 277 minutes now and the Eagles are starting to fly higher, but Braga will prove a stern test for them.

Benfica cannot afford to slip up again and it will be interesting to see how the match will unfold. Last season, the Eagles grinded out a narrow 1-0 win, so expect a close encounter.

Simon Vukcevic was Sporting’s top dog against Nacional. The talented Montenegrin showed once more he can become one of the stars of the league and certainly someone who should be in Sporting’s XI week in week out. His temperament can be fiery at times, but if Paulo Sérgio wants to make an impact, he has to look to Vukcevic as the key man between midfield and attack.

Porto continue to relentlessly crush their opposition. Six matches, six wins and the next stop is Guimarães away. Never an easy match, but they look odds on to get another three points. Considering that at least one of Braga and Benfica will drop points next weekend, is it too early to say another Porto victory will put them on a very comfortable position to clinch the title?

Quote of the week

“In my opinion, there were two great teams in Europe last year: Barcelona and Benfica” – Jorge Jesus

That’s a pretty bold claim of a team that ended up being battered by Liverpool…

RESULTS Fri Sep 24 Braga 3-1 Naval Sat Sep 25 Académica 3-1 Vitória Guimarães, Marítimo 0-1 Benfica, Porto 2-0 Olhanense Sun Sep 26 Portimonense 1-0 Beira-Mar, Leiria 1-0 Rio Ave, Sporting 1-1 Nacional Mon Sep 27 Vitória Setúbal 1-0 Paços de Ferreira.

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Features * News * Interviews * Home
Interact: Twitter * Facebook * Forums

Porto set early pace as rivals struggle

Sergio Santos — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:19:00 GMT

In a second round of fixtures with very few goals – an embarrassing total of 10 – there were a few interesting results.

Benfica went to Nacional to redeem themselves after their shocking home collapse in the opening round, but left Madeira with another 2-1 defeat.

The Eagles now have the same number of losses they had last season. Roberto was once again one the culprits as stated in my previous post, but credit should not be taken from the resilient Islanders.

Nacional played very positively with a rather dynamic midfield trio. Luiz Alberto looked like Yaya Touré bossing the engine room, while Rene Mihelic and Diego Barcellos provided the creative spark behind their attacking threat.

Despite Benfica never really being in control of the match, the first half was a fairly evenly matched contest. After the break though, Nacional improved and scored through Luiz Alberto and Orlando Sá. Carlos Martins would score a late consolation goal for the visitors, but it was too late to salvage a draw.

Porto continue to quietly flex their muscles in the early stages of the championship. They entertained recently promoted Beira-Mar at home and strolled to an easy 3-0 victory.

Colombian predator Radamel Falcao netted a brace to move top of the League goalscoring charts, with Argentinean playmaker Fernando Belluschi scoring the other goal from a stunning free-kick.

Falcao moved top of the goalscoring charts

Without even pushing too hard, the Dragons ooze confidence and have already seen their three title rivals drop points. A dream start for young André Villas-Boas who could barely be in a better position to manage his players.

Sporting were made to sweat by Marítimo before clinching their first three points of the season. The Lions – who were exposed at home in the Europa League match against Danish side Brondby – wanted to change their fortunes in front of their own supporters and Paulo Sergio switch to a 4-3-3 formation with a midfield trio of Maniche, André Santos and Spaniard Zapater.

Upfront, Sérgio decided to field quicksilver Djaló and flamboyant Vukcevic alongside Liédson, but the first half the match was even with opportunities for both teams.
The Lions seemed more determined to win after the break, but they would only claim their victory in the 89th minute when Liédson was tripped in the box. Chilean playmaker Matias Fernández made no mistake and gave the team an invaluable morale-boosting result.

The match was marred though by an incident involving Joao Pereira. The Sporting right-back sustained a skull fracture after accidently clashing with teammate Rui Patricio. He was rushed to the hospital shortly after, but Sporting doctors already said he’s recovering well.

Goal of the round

Fernando Belluschi struck an amazing free-kick that gave Beira-Mar keeper no chance and virtually killed off the match. The former Olympiacos midfielder has grown since last year and looks a more comfortable player on the pitch. He had scored a good goal against Genk and will be please to be on the scoresheet once again.

Talking points

On the 1st of August, Benfica manager Jorge Jesus said that it would be very difficult to stop this Benfica side. Three weeks later and that bold prophecy was confirmed in a way; the only thing he didn’t expect was that it would actually be very difficult to stop them losing.

Benfica are currently struggling and Roberto is the laughing stock of Portuguese football, but it is Rui Costa and Jorge Jesus who have every reason to feel responsible.
They failed to do their homework in the summer and are now left with one week to do the one thing they were neglected to do over the past three months: sign the right players for a reasonable price.

With the dream of reaching the group stages of the Champions League so near, Braga decided to make a few changes in the starting XI – resting Alan, Paulo César, Rodríguez and Vandinho – and were unlucky not to get away with more than a goalless draw. Even though they went to Setúbal to win, their minds were a little further south - in Sevilla, to be accurate.

The match against the Spanish side will be one of, if not the most important match of their history and everyone will give the proverbial 110% to achieve what could very well be one of European football’s biggest giant killings in recent history.

Now that Sevilla have sold Frenchman Sebastien Squillaci to Arsenal, it may be a good time to use the pace of attacking trio Matheus, Alan and Paulo César to wreak havoc in their backline.

It will be a very entertaining match and one every football lover should tune in.

Good luck for the Arsenalistas and may their dream run continue!

ROUND 2 RESULTS Fri Aug 20 Académica 1-1 Olhanense Sat Aug 21 Nacional 2-1 Benfica, Vitória Setúbal 0-0 Braga Sun Aug 22: Porto 3-0 Beira-Mar, Leiria 0-0 Paços Ferreira, Sporting 1-0 Marítimo, Portimonense 0-1 Naval Mon Aug 23 Vitória Guimarães 0-0 Rio Ave.

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Features * News * Interviews * Home
Interact: Twitter * Facebook * Forums

Braga continue to do the impossible

Sergio Santos — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:56:00 GMT

Amigos, it is getting harder by the day to find superlatives that can do justice to Braga’s performances.

Two weeks ago the Arsenalistas finished their Scottish job with a 4-2 aggregate success over Celtic, but not many were ready to tip them to secure an unlikely passage to the Champions League as the play-off draw somewhat ruthlessly dictated they would meet Spanish giants Sevilla.

A question of scale

It is important to understand how wide the gap between the two sides is. One of the most consistent La Liga teams with world class players such as Luis Fabiano and Jesús Navas, Sevilla are used to playing against top clubs throughout the season and, while they aren‘t known as massive spenders, players like Didier Zokora and Alvaro Negredo both cost upwards of €10 million.

On the other hand, Márcio Mossoró – Braga’s most expensive player ever – was acquired for €700K. Hardly the same scale, you’ll probably agree.
Still, anyone who last night’s match would barely have noticed the difference in stature between the two teams. Braga clinched a 1-0 win and they have every reason to believe it is possible to overcome the Spaniards next Tuesday evening.

Some have already sought to make excuses on Sevilla’s behalf, claiming the La Liga side were not as match fit as Braga, having not yet started their domestic league campaign; the truth is simply that Braga outplayed Sevilla and earned a result that has substantially boosted what were initially very slim chances of Portuguese progression

Slow start

The first half of the match was a rather even contest with just two real goalscoring opportunities. Braga, perhaps a bit nervous, found it difficult to retain possession and almost conceded early in the match as Fabiano hit the post.

Matheus was rarely given any room to operate and could usually be found between Sevilla’s centre-backs Fazio and Escudé. On the one occasion he managed to evade his opposition, he went through one-on-one with Andrés Palop but was unable to beat the veteran custodian.

After the break though, things changed. Whether it was down to Domingos’s words of wisdom or Sevilla’s players’ wary legs, Braga upped the tempo and their free-flowing attacking football quickly caused some problems for the Spaniards.

Around the hour mark, full-back Silvio – who replaced Miguel Garcia in the second half – sent a pinpoint cross to Paulo Cesar who headed for a superb save from Palop. The talented Matheus, however, was quick to pounce on the rebound and give Braga the lead.

Antonio Álvarez’s men had trouble getting back in the game and Braga were able to pin the Andalusian side back inside their own half for large parts of the remainder of the game. There was still time for substitute Lima to rattle the crossbar with a spectacular drive in the last minute that would have given them an even better result, but the home supporters didn’t care. For them, this was yet another memorable night and their European dream continues well alive.

90 minutes from history

It is impossible to single out a player whose individual performance carried the team. From goalkeeper Felipe, who was almost exhaling serenity; to rock-solid centre-backs Moisés and Alberto Rodriguez, to midfield industrious duo Alan and Leandro Salino who were quick to initiate attacks, and of course talismanic forward Matheus, it is the whole team that should be praised.

Nevertheless, it’ll certainly be a different match at Sánchez Pizjuán. Manager Domingos Paciência must find a way to put a leash on the impressive Navas who caused a lot of problems to Elderson.

Sevilla know they need to win this time and probably score at least two goals, giving them no other option than to attack. They sure have the firepower to hit Braga, but if Braga’s backline performs as well as in yesterday’s match, a potential counterattack game plan may stun the Spaniards.

Regardless of what happens next Tuesday though, Braga should be considered a source of pride for Portugal and an example on how positive football coupled with good management can take a club quite far.

Kudos to them!

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Blogs * News * Interviews * Forums * Home
Follow us: Twitter * Facebook

Lisbon neighbours off to a bad start

Sergio Santos — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:18:00 GMT

The 2010/11 season may have just started but its opening weekend already offered a few surprises. There were four away successes, but the highlights of the round were defeats for both Benfica and Sporting.

Braga were the first team to play and they looked as solid as last season. Granted, it was against new boys Portimonense, but they have done well in the transfer market and they seem to have kept their dominant attitude to matches.

Thumbs up to Matheus for breaking the deadlock and being a threat throughout the match and to signing Leandro Salino for scoring a goal on his debut.

Porto had to fight harder than they had thought to seal a late 0-1 victory at Naval. The Dragons produced a relatively average first half, but improved after the break with the introduction of Columbian midfielder Freddy Guarín.

Unlike the match against Benfica where Varela was on fire, this time it was Hulk who upped his game a notch, creating some opportunities and scoring the 84th minute penalty that won the game.

Sporting and Benfica were dealt an early blow in their title quest as they were both deservingly beaten.

Playing at Mata Real is never easy and the home side, Paços de Ferreira, proved once again why. Relying on their never-say-die attitude and young talent David Simão and Caeteno, the team known as ‘the Beavers’ showed no fear of going forward and were eventually rewarded in the second half with a goal from Venezuelan striker Rondon.

Sporting had enough opportunities to at least claim a draw, but their forwards must have worn the wrong boots and the closest they came was hitting the bar through Helder Postiga.

The biggest upset of the weekend however was Académica 1-2 win at Estádio da Luz. The Eagles were determined to start their title defence in style, but were dismantled by an organized and resilient side who had studied their lesson at home.

If Benfica were a major threat from dead balls last year, this year they seem to fear them and it is probably due to lack of trust in goalkeeper Roberto.

It was therefore no surprise when Académica scored from a free-kick in the first half. New boy Franco Jara – who once again came off the bench – scored an equalizer, but despite playing against 10 men, Benfica would concede a second goal in the last minute and raise early question marks as to whether they’ll be able to reproduce last year’s levels of performance.

Goal of the round

It’s always better to start in style, right? Here’s the situation: Benfica, current title holders, are playing at home in front of 49,000 supporters and at 1-1 they’re pushing for a victory in the dying minutes. Substitute Laionel then decides to hit a wonder strike to silence an entire stadium and give the Students a famous victory. Cloud number nine for Academica and the 24-year old Brazilian striker!

Talking points

Sporting need to sort out their problems upfront; if the Lions possessed someone with half Liedson’s goalscoring prowess, they would have claimed another result. The Brazilian-turned-Portuguese striker is not getting any younger, and both Yannick Djalo and Postiga couldn’t hit the ground if they fell off a ladder.

That issue can be minimized with someone like Simon Vukcevic. There are not many players like the Montenegrin in the Portuguese League and while he may have a short temperament he also seems to be an ugly duckling type of figure at the club. His talent alone would justify his presence on the starting XI and the reason to include Jaime Valdes ahead of him is unknown to the Portugeezer

Benfica manager Jorge Jesus bemoaned bad luck for the home loss, but shouldn’t he just admit he made some mistakes? The Portugeezer admires his man crush on Cesar Peixoto, but including him on the starting XI won’t take him far. Peixoto is a utility man, a squad player to be mostly used as a sub.

The ‘new’ 4-3-3 formation is not the problem: the problem is not having the right players for such formation; Peixoto is not a winger, Saviola cannot open up defences if pushed to the wings and Amorim cannot link-up with the frontline like Ramires used to do!

There is a surplus of players in certain positions and a deficit in others, which certainly doesn’t bode well for the Eagles. With two weeks before the transfer window closes, can the Eagles find the missing piece(s) in their jigsaw?

RESULTS Fri Aug 13 Braga 3-1 Portimonense; Sat Aug 14 Marítimo 0-1 Vitória Setúbal, Naval 0-1 Porto, Paços Ferreira 1-0 Sporting; Sun Aug 15 Rio Ave 0-1 Nacional, Beira-Mar 0-0 Leiria, Benfica 1-2 Académica; Mon Aug 16 Olhanense 0-0 Vitória Guimarães.

Porto starting new season on a high

Sergio Santos — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:46:00 GMT

Enough of pre-season matches and never-ending debates on whether this or that team is stronger than last year. The start of the ‘exciting-at-times’ Liga Zon Sagres is upon us, so it’s finally time to get down to the real business - predictions!

Despite the imminent start of the new league season, the Portuguese media are currently more interested in Manchester United forking out €9 million for yet another youngster from Portugal.

Having previously signed much-heralded starlets such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson, the Red Devils this time went one further and picked up a virtual unknown.

Tiago Correia – commonly known as Bebé, which, perhaps predictably, means 'baby' in Portuguese – had only moved to Vitoria Guimaraes five weeks before on a free transfer. That’s ridiculously speedy rise through the game is quite a fitting for a boy who once lived on the streets and represented Portugal in the Homeless World Cup just two years ago.

Congratulations and good luck to him, but we’ll analyze this deal in more depth at a later stage, because right now we have a new season starting!

Braga v Portimonense

New boys Portimonense would have wished for an easier start than a visit to in-form Braga. The Algarvian side are arguably one of the weakest teams of the competition and will take some time to settle into top flight. Braga has too much experience and firepower to let this one slip away. Braga stroll to easy win.

Marítimo v Setúbal

Mitchell Van der Gaag has done remarkably well at Maritimo as a manager, and judging by how his side have played in pre-season and in the Europa League qualifying stages, they seem capable of emulating last season results. Setubal, on the other hand, have lost key men Helder Barbosa and Keita over the summer, and therefore might lack some quality upfront. Home win.

Naval v Porto

The Dragons start their domestic campaign on a high after a morale-boosting victory against arch-rivals Benfica and, quite frankly, they should have no problems beating Naval. Watch out for a good old battering and for new Porto coach André Villas-Boas‘ honeymoon period to continue. Definitely a Porto win.

Paços de Ferreira v Sporting

Mata Real (Paços de Ferreira stadium) is traditionally a tricky turf for any side, and Paulo Sérgio’s men will have to prove they are up for the task. Last year, the Lions were held to a goalless draw and there’s no reason to believe the change in direction promoted by Costinha and Bettencourt has yet to inject the necessary spark. A 1-1 draw in what will be the first of many tests for this enigmatic Sporting side.

Rio Ave v Nacional

Carlos Brito – the perennial Rio Ave manager – has conducted some quite shrewd business this summer. Bringing in the likes of Fábio Felicio, Tiago Pinto, Bruno China, Braga and Joao Tomas has increased both the depth and the quality of the squad. Considering how consistent they are at home, they’ll beat a Nacional side that will need to prove they can be as hard to beat without their former coach, Manuel Machado. Narrow home win.

Beira-Mar v Uniao de Leiria

Newcomers Beira-Mar host Leiria and the sheer excitement of playing the first match of the season at home will give them an extra edge. The Portugeezer sees some goals in this match, but it ultimately ending in an entertaining draw.

Benfica v Académica

The Eagles will have to show something different if they want to woo their supporters. An almost packed Estádio da Luz will give the players some extra motivation, although they shouldn’t really need it as they have more than enough quality to see off the Students. Comfortable win for Benfica.

Olhanense v Guimaraes

Guimaraes lost a few important players such as Desmarets and Andrezinho and will travel to the south of the country to face Olhanense, who have managed to make some interesting additions to their squad. The ‘home factor’ could play a key role here and the Algarvian side will manage to get their first three points of the season. Narrow home win.

What do you think? Do you expect any surprises in the opening day?

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Blogs * News * Interviews * Home
Join in: Twitter * Facebook * Forums

Avoiding second season syndrome

Sergio Santos — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:27:00 GMT

Second season syndrome is a common malaise in football.

Usually, after enjoying an above average season, teams or players are not able to handle the increased expectations and end up disappointing in the following campaign.

One-time England international Michael Ricketts is a prime example of someone who suffered from that disease, but there are other examples such as former Porto striker Pena or the 2007/08 União de Leiria side.

The past season saw Braga achieve their best-ever league position and naturally teams will be more wary of the havoc the 2009/10 runners-up can cause.

In a domestic league as asymmetrical as the Portuguese, the first step to avoid falling back to mid-tier obscurity is to keep both the manager and the core of last year’s squad and kudos to club supremo António Salvador for doing just that.

Still, the first real test for Braga was against Celtic for the third Qualifying Round of the Champions League and, to the surprise of many, they battered the Scots with a 3-0 success. Can this be an early sign of things to come? If it is, the 2010/11 edition of the Portuguese League is going to be anything but boring!

Strengths

They were able to keep Domingos Paciência and the majority of their squad, while making some shrewd pieces of business in the transfer market.

Selling World Cup-inflated Eduardo to Genoa for €4M and getting Quim for free would have been genius if it wasn’t for the fact the former Benfica goalkeeper would rupture his Achilles tendon in training (they later signed Artur Moraes from AS Roma).

Also, and while not set in stone, talismanic midfielder Luis Aguiar is due to return to the club while Leandro Salino was brought in from Nacional to increase competition for places in the starting XI.

It is up front though that Braga have gained more depth with the additions of Lima, Keita and Hélder Barbosa, which can only be good as the team looks to keep their momentum on all fronts.

Weaknesses

Looking what has happened so far, their defence is still a question mark. Besides Eduardo and Evaldo, centre-back André Leone and right-back Filipe Oliveira also left after being unable to reach terms with the board for new contracts.

Nigerian left-back Elderson had a dream start against Celtic scoring a goal but it is still too early to say if the first-choice backline – key to last year’s performances – will be as effective this season.

Who should they buy?

Bruno Patacas and Rafik Halliche. Considering their budget constraints – at least when compared to the ‘Big Three’ – and the risk of paying an handsome amount of money for an unknown player from a different league, the Portugeezer would look internally for options that would add steel to the back four.

Nacional captain Patacas is a more than capable performer who has a lot of experience in the league, while Algerian defender Halliche had a good season at the Islanders while proving his pedigree for the national team. Nacional would probably be reluctant to do business, but Benfica would listen to a suitable offer for a centre-back that will not feature on their plans.

Who can they afford to lose?

Meyong. The Cameroonian player may have signed a new contract last month, but he didn’t play against Celtic and it’s not guaranteed he’ll be the team’s first-choice striker. Over the years he has attracted the interest of several teams in Europe and if a good offer came in, Domingos and Salvador might just consider offloading him.

As for tonight’s crunch encounter, the Arsenalistas will be playing at Celtic Park, a tough environment for any team, but the Portugeezer can’t see past a Braga victory in all honesty. Without a Henrik Larsson, Shunsuke Nakamura or even Aiden McGeady type of player available, Celtic are little more than an experienced side with average, industrious players.

Want a prediction? Celtic 2-1 Braga and bring on the play-off round...

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...

Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Blogs * News * Interviews * Forums * Home
Follow us: Twitter * Facebook

'Little' Braga humble Celtic

Sergio Santos — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:56:00 GMT

Regardless of what they achieved last season, many have immediately written off Braga’s chances of fighting for the title this season or even reaching the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.

It may be a bit harsh for a team that ensured the title race went down to the last day, but the weight of expectations make things harder and many teams suffer from the so-called ‘second-season syndrome’.

Just like any other team that performs above their regular standards, Braga lost a few players: Eduardo was lured to the trattorias in Genoa, Evaldo left for Sporting and André Leone returned to Brazil.

They also lost sporting director Carlos Freitas to Panathinaikos this summer, which is why drawing Celtic instead of the arguably easier BSC Young Boys or KAA Gent so early in the season was perhaps a little bit unfair.

The Scots have a lot of experience in the competition, but if Neil Lennon’s men thought they were going to have an easy day at the office, they couldn’t have been any more wrong.

Little, unknown Braga not only outclassed them, but also gave them a football lesson at the beautiful AXA stadium and earned a result that, while not enough to secure passage to the playoff round of the competition, is quite a big step towards that goal.

With a commanding 3-0 lead – courtesy of goals from Alan, Elderson and Matheus – Braga are just a whisker away from knocking out the historical Glaswegian side.

Naysayers will say ‘You know, they scored from set-pieces and will find Celtic Park a very hostile environment‘. Celtic fans may even be thinking of the time they were hammered 5-0 away to Artmedia Bratislava, only to come very close to turn the tie around with a 4-0 victory in the home leg back in Glasgow.

Unlike the Slovakian side though, Braga are a more sophisticated team and the result was not merely a by-product of luck, form or high morale. The players have quality, the team knows how to play good football and more than that they seem up to the task.

They’re still some way off getting inside castle – the actual Champions League – but part one of their plan was executed flawlessly.

Goal of the match

Brazilian forward Matheus had already took the corner that allowed new boy Elderson to score on his official debut for the club, but he decided to take matters into his own hands in the 88th minute when he hammered a 35 yard screamer that gave the keeper no chance. A sublime goal that added some gloss to the score-line and sent the Braga faithful ecstatic.

Food for thought

People talk about whether Villas-Boas’s Porto and Paulo Sérgio’s Sporting can dethrone Benfica, but what about Braga? Manager Domingos Paciência remained at the helm of the club and they made astute moves in the market. But the question is; can they be considered contenders this season?

Benfica seal title as question marks already surround Sporting-bound Sergio

Sergio Santos — Wed, 12 May 2010 08:59:00 GMT

At last Liga Sagres has a winner, and (…drum roll…) it is Benfica!

Over 64,000 supporters packed Estádio da Luz to see their team being crowned 2009/10 Champions and when Paraguayan hitman Óscar Cardozo scored in the third minute, few believed the Eagles would somehow drop the ball.

Things would get even easier eight minutes later, when Wires was sent-off for a tough challenge on Brazilian midfielder Ramires.

With everything seemingly going for them, Benfica controlled the match without pushing too hard for a second goal. However that move suddenly looked to have backfired as Rio Ave somehow leveled through Ricardo Chaves in the 72nd minute to give Braga a glimmer of hope.

But that late drama would only last seven minutes as Cardozo grabbed his second goal to not only confirm the title but also surpass Porto forward Radamel Falcao as the league’s top goalscorer.

As for Braga, even though they were only able to claim the runners-up sport – which is a still an immense achievement considering their expectations at the beginning of the season – they can hold their heads high after a terrific campaign that drew many supporters and will see their team fighting for a place in the Champions League, ‘le crème de la crème’ of continental football. They have surely come a long way and it will be interesting to see how well they will fare next season.

Are Benfica deserving champions?

Though the Eagles have played the best football the Portugueezer has ever seen them play (hey, I am young!), their title isn’t without its shades of controversy: the tunnel controversies, some dubious penalty awards and the relatively high number of matches played against 10-men.

Managers usually whisper that the number of decisions for and against them pretty much evens out, but it is hard not to wonder how the Eagles would have coped with more decisions going against them.

Marítimo pip Guimarães to final Europa League berth

Guimarães enjoyed a somewhat slow start, but under Paulo Sérgio the team eventually blossomed into a rather plucky and organized side and for a while it seemed like they could dethrone Sporting from fourth spot.

However, they will be very disappointed to miss out on next season’s Europa League at the last hurdle as Mitchell Van der Gaag steered the Islanders to a surprising 1-2 away win to secure an unexpected fifth place.

Worth watching is Marítimo’s winner in the 81th minute, an example of simple yet beautiful team play!

Thumbs up to the young Dutch manager and thumbs down to Paulo Sérgio who will now be heading to Sporting with more question marks surrounding him…

Welcome Beira-Mar and Portimonense!

The duo were in pole position to clinch promotion ahead of the final round of matches in Portugal’s second tier, and both claimed wins in the final day (Beira-Mar 1-0 Carregado, Oliveirense 0-1 Portimonense) to join the big fish in the scenic pond of the Liga Sagres 2010/11 season.

How they will perform and whether they are capable of beating the drop next year remains to be seen, but we’d welcome any opinions on the matter below.

Just one point of interest to finish off, next season will be first since 1988/1989 that the Portuguese top-flight features two Algarvian teams (Portimonense and Olhanense). It is also interesting to note that in a region with few developed clubs , nobody will play at Estádio do Algarve, one of the stadiums specifically built for the Euro 2004.

And to think AC Milan and Internazionale share their stadium!

RESULTS Sun May 09: Paços Ferreira 2-2 Olhanense, Naval 0-1 Académica; Vitória Guimarães 1-2 Marítimo, Benfica 2-1 Rio Ave, Nacional 1-1 Braga; Sat May 08: União Leiria 1-4 Porto, Vitória Setúbal 1-2 Belenenses, Leixões 1-2 Sporting.

Only Benfica capitulation save Braga's title dream

Sergio Santos — Fri, 07 May 2010 10:30:00 GMT

RESULTS Sun May 02: Rio Ave 0-0 Vitória Guimarães, Marítimo 2-0 Vitória Setúbal, Porto 3-1 Benfica, Belenenses 5-2 Leiria, Olhanense 1-0 Leixões, Sporting 0-1 Naval, Académica 3-3 Nacional, Braga 1-0 Paços Ferreira.

You know the old saying ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’? Well, that pretty much sums up the title race in Portugal at this moment.

With decisive issues still to be settled at both ends of the table, all of last weekend’s round 29 matches started at 20.15 GMT adding an extra bit of intrigue and excitement to the Liga Sagres.

The matches at Porto and Braga could have decided the title – they didn’t by the way but you probably knew that already – while Leixões had their last chance to avoid relegation as they visited fellow strugglers Olhanense.

The ever-fierce ‘Clássico’ between Porto and Benfica hogged the media spotlight in the week running up to the penultimate round of matches, as newspapers tried to milk the clash in every conceivable way (other than literally).

However, even with such big hype-job, the Portugeezer found the match to be a fairly lukewarm affair, and that’s probably being generous.

From the start it seemed clear that Benfica were happy to play for the draw, while Porto wanted to avenge their Carlsberg Cup final defeat and make their fierce rivals pay for the infamous tunnel controversy that helped derail their season.

The Dragons broke the deadlock three minutes before the break when Bruno Alves scored with a powerful header from a corner, but when Jorge Fucille was sent-off at the beginning of the second half, it looked like the tables would be turned.

Brazilian centre-back Luisão would eventually level matters in the 56th minute, but the Eagles’ celebrations were short lived as forgotten striker Ernesto Farías would put Porto in front again just 3 minutes later.
The game remained delicately poised until Fernando Belluschi produced a piece of magic in the 82th minute.

The Argentinean playmaker nutmegged Pablo Aimar and unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the box that stunned Benfica goalkeeper Quim and sent the stadium into raptures.
After the match, both teams complained about the referee – can they ever stop whining?

Several questions were raised by the two sides: was Porto defender Jorge Fucile wrongly sent-off? Should Fábio Coentrão and Luisão have been sent-off? Should Benfica have been awarded a penalty when Hulk handled the ball in the box? Why was Porto boss Jesualdo Ferreira sent to the stands?

No matter what, after all the dust settles, the fact is Porto were the better team and they taught Benfica a valuable lesson: don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

Since Braga narrowly defeated Paços de Ferreira at home with a goal from Meyong, the 2009/10 champions will be decided in the very last day.

Yet Braga are still left praying for Benfica capitulation on the final day in order to clinch the title. They have to win their match at Nacional and hope Benfica lose at home to Rio Ave, which could be a big ask given the Eagles have dropped just two points at Estadio da Luz this season. If Braga can somehow pull it off, it would certainly make for one of the most amazing league endings ever, wouldn’t it?

Meanwhile, Leixões will accompany Belenenses in the Liga Vitalis next season, as they were edged out by Olhanense at Algarve.

The Matosinhos side has been far from the heights reached last season and rarely looked a top-flight team which is why their relegation doesn’t come out as a surprise.

Just like Belenenses, maybe now it is time to regroup and rethink the way the club has been run.

Talking points

Benfica or Braga: which side will claim the championship? They were definitely the most consistent teams and the ones that played better, so either one of them would be deserving champions.

The odds clearly favour Benfica, but stranger things have happened in life...Regardless of the outcome, kudos to Braga for their incredible campaign and for the Champions League spot. That is a huge, huge achievement in itself.

The Liga Vitalis will also witness a nail-biting finish as five teams can still clinch the much-coveted promotion.

Beira-Mar look to be in pole position as they have 51 points and will host basement boys Carregado in the last match but the other spot is far from settled.

Yet the key clash could be second placed Portimonense's (51 points) trip to fourth placed promotion rivals Oliveirense (49 points). Elsewhere third placed Feirense (49 points) and fifth placed Santa Clara (48 points) will play against Estoril and Aves respectively.

Anything can happen and it is almost guaranteed that throughout the 90 minutes the top two will change a couple of times.

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Blogs * News * Interviews * Forums * Home
Follow us: Twitter * Facebook

Braga keep up the pressure on Benfica as title race hots up

Sergio Santos — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:40:00 GMT

RESULTS Fri Apr 23: Rio Ave 0-0 Marítimo; Sat Apr 24: Vitória Setúbal 2-5 Porto, Benfica 5-0 Olhanense; Sun Apr 25: Nacional 1-1 Paços Ferreira, Leixões 1-3 Académica, Naval 0-4 Braga, Leiria 1-1 Sporting; Mon Apr 26: Vitória Guimarães 2-0 Belenenses

Wow, what a terrific weekend for the Portuguese League!

Not so much for a particular match – though there were plenty of goals – but mostly due to the myriad of people that flocked to the stadiums in support of their team. Why can’t it be like this week in week out?

With the European places pretty much decided, the main interest was to see whether this round would produce the 2009/10 champions.

Benfica hosted Olhanense on Saturday hoping a good result would heap the pressure on Braga and cause a wobble, and the Eagles executed the first part flawlessly.

If the 62,000 supporters were not enough to push the home side on to victory, Olhanense midfielder Delson was.

The Brazilian handled Weldon’s cross inside the box in the third minute and would be sent off just five minutes later when he made a reckless tackle on Angel di Maria.

After Oscar Cardozo scored from the spot, Benfica never looked in trouble of dropping any points and naturally created many opportunities throughout the match.

Di Maria scored the second goal and in the second half Cardozo would go on to complete a hat-trick before Pablo Aimar added some gloss to the scoreline as it finished 5-0 to the league leaders.

Many teams may have crumbled under that pressure to perform, but not so this incredible Braga side.

Seven thousand roaring supporters travelled to Figueira da Foz and must have left the stadium with a strong sense of pride as Braga dominated the match and thrashed Naval 4-0.

Uruguayan playmaker Luis Aguiar broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a stunning free-kick, and then when Brazilian forward Matheus doubled the title chasers’ advantage a few minutes before half time, everyone knew any title decision would be left to the final two matches.

Six points continue to separate both teams and Benfica will now visit their nemesis Porto next weekend.

Considering Benfica’s poor record at Porto, the bad blood between the two clubs this season and the Dragons’ hunger to inflict some damage to their rivals, one may think everything will be settled in the final day.

It would certainly make an intriguing end to this season, but let’s wait and we’ll see how the ‘Clássico’ plays out next week.

Elsewhere, in-form Porto striker Radamel Falcao received a controversial yellow card in the match against Setúbal that makes him unavailable for the titanic clash against Benfica.

After all the controversy with the harsh punishments of Hulk and Sapunaru, have Porto genuine reasons to feel aggrieved? We will discuss this in greater detail come the end of the season, but will the 2009/10 campaign ultimately be tainted by these off-field quarrels?

Vitória Guimarães are ending the season on a high as they close in on a respectable fifth place finish. As announced last week, manager Paulo Sérgio will be heading to Sporting next season in a somewhat surprising move by the Lions.

The Guimarães manager has a CV in many ways similar to Carvalhal’s which begs two questions:

1) Is Paulo Sérgio the right man to bring silverware to the club?
2) Are Bettencourt and Costinha showing lack of ambition by signing a manager who is unproven at top level?

Leixões wasted a good chance to close the gap on Olhanense and now have just one more chance to avoid the much-dreaded demotion to Liga Vitalis.

Fernando Castro Santos’ men are four points behind Olhanense and the two will be facing one another next weekend.

Anything less than a victory and Leixões will accompany Belenenses on the painful summer journey to the second tier of Portuguese football. Can they do the unthinkable and leapfrog the Algarvians in the league table?

Goal of the round

Braga star Luis Aguiar takes the cake because he scored two good goals. The first, as mentioned above, was a delightful curler from 30 yards out that paved the way to his team’s victory.

His second goal, though not as good, was a clever lob that settled the match in Braga’s favour. Are FC Porto regretting the decision to ditch him two years ago?

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Blogs * News * Interviews * Forums * Home
Follow us: Twitter * Facebook

Benfica edge closer to title after derby success

Sergio Santos — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:00:00 GMT

RESULTS Tue Apr 13: Benfica 2-0 Sporting; Mon Apr 12: Vitória Setúbal 1-1 Académica; Sun Apr 11: Marítimo 3-3 Belenenses, Leixões 2-0 Paços Ferreira, Vitória Guimarães 1-1 Olhanense; Sat Apr 10: Leiria 1-2 Braga, Rio Ave 0-1 Porto; Fri Apr 09: Naval 0-0 Nacional.

As the title race goes down to the wire, the much anticipated clash between Benfica and Sporting was the highlight of the round.

Even though the Eagles enjoyed a six-point gap to title chasers Braga, they knew an eventual loss against the pressure-free Lions would weaken their position as they still have to play Porto away.

Furthermore, tradition in the Lisbon derby says that the team playing worse is usually the team that ends up winning the match.

Maybe that’s why it wasn’t that surprising to see Benfica starting the match in a way reminiscent to how the Portugeezer plays FIFA on the Playstation: with no creativity and an uncanny ability to remain in his own midfield. Not that Sporting were doing much better though as striker Liédon barely had any support from their teammates.

At half-time the 0-0 result flattered the Eagles and for a while it seemed they would settle for a draw instead of going all-out for the win.

The second half was different though as Benfica pushed for a goal and started looking more dangerous. The goal came in the 68th minute as Carlos Martins ghosted past two defenders and his long cross met Fábio Coentrão who assisted Cardozo for the easy tap-in.

If some were expecting some sort of reaction from Sporting, they would be left disappointed as the Lions kept quiet and unable to pose a real challenge to the home side.

The match virtually ended 10 minutes later. Ramires found Pablo Aimar with clevery through pass and the Argentinean dribbled goalkeeper Rui Patricio before sending the ball into the empty net. After that goal, the Eagles cruised to register another invaluable victory and move closer to the title.

No matter how the season will end for Braga –and it seems they will be able to clinch at least the runners-up spot – the 2009/2010 campaign will be a historic one for the Arsenalistas.

Working on a much tighter budget, Braga has played attractive football, made the right moves in the market (and that includes selling right-back João Pereira in January by the way) and were simply a cut above the other ‘non-Big Three’ teams. The fact they’re still going strong under pressure confirms how well they have performed.

On Saturday’s match against Leiria, they did what they were asked to, earning a 1:2 success over one of the surprise packages of the season. Leiria scored first, but two goals in 3 minutes from Meyong and Rentería ensured Braga would keep their title bid alive.

At the other end of the table, Leixões were given a lifeline in their quest to avoid relegation as they beat Paços de Ferreira 2-0 at home. It will still be quite tough for them – Olhanense is 4 points away – but at least the 3 points won may give them something to build on.

Can Benfica still finish in second? The match against Sporting was on paper their second most difficult match and should they win at Académica – the other remaining away match apart from the one against Porto – it will be all but certain they’ll be the next Portuguese champions.

This time is for real. Belenenses were saved from relegation last season after Estrela da Amadora were deemed bankrupt. Unless something similar happens – and it doesn’t look like it will – they will be playing Liga Vitalis football next season. And deservingly one must add...

FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
Portugal: News * Stats * The Portugeezer
FFT.com: Blogs * News * Interviews * Forums * Home
Follow us: Twitter * Facebook

A cracking weekend that changed little

Sergio Santos — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:00:00 GMT

It is not every day Liga Sagres sees so many goals in just one round, but last weekend offered a tally of 26 goals, which is even more impressive when considering that two matches ended in a 0-0 draw.

The match between Braga and Guimarães was the textbook definition of a thriller: five goals, four penalties, four red cards and an awful lot of controversy.

Guimarães had been the first team to defeat the Arsenalistas this season and knowing the fierce rivalry between both sides, many accurately predicted a tough match for the title chasers.

Interestingly the visitors were the first score, but Braga were able to come from behind as both Alan and Meyong scored from the spot.

The best was yet to come though as 10-men Guimarães were awarded a penalty in the second minute of injury time; Andrezinho scored what could have been the goal that dashed Braga’s title hopes, but there was still time for another goal.

Wason Rentería fell inside the box and the referee incredibly pointed to the spot for a fourth time and sent-off three Guimarães players for protesting the decision. Meyong made no mistake again and one minute later the match would end as Braga continue their relentless pursuit for an unprecedented title!

Porto defeated Marítimo at home in a match that witnessed a frenetic start with three goals in just 8 minutes! With 15 seconds played, Japanese midfielder Taka took advantage of the initial apathy and scored from outside the box to give the away side a surprising lead.

The Dragons weren’t fazed though and 3 minutes later Radamel Falcao scored what will probably be the goal of the season. Hulk - who put in another good performance - crossed from the right flank and the Colombian striker connected with the most beautiful of bicycle kicks.

Late coming spectators were probably still trying to get into the stadium when Raul Meireles put the Dragons in front with a speculative header that goalkeeper Peçanha was not able to hold.

Buoyed by their encouraging start, Porto wouldn’t allow the Islanders to get back in the game again and pushed for more goals. Falcao would eventually score his 20th goal in the league and Hulk added a fourth to secure a more than comfortable victory for the Dragons.

Sporting entertained Rio Ave at home and gave Carlos Brito’s men a high five. The man of the match was the usually ineffective Yannick Djaló who scored a hattrick; Djaló actually scored the other wonder goal of the round as he acrobatically volleyed home a cross from Liédson.

Liédson and Moutinho scored the other goals in a game where Sporting were by far the better side.

It is also very curious how quickly Marat Izmailov fell out of favour with the club.

The Russian, who hadn’t featured since his apparent refusal to play against Atlético Madrid, came on in the 72th minute under loud jeers from the Sporting faithful but would be sent off 10 minutes later after a foolish tackle. Pretty sums up his current demise...

Benfica played against Naval on Monday knowing they could not afford to slip-up but the home side was in no mood to make things easy for the high-flying Eagles.

Naval reached a 2-0 lead with just 12 minutes played to test Benfica’s title credentials, but Jorge Jesus’ men were quick to react. Weldon – a surprising inclusion in the starting XI – scored two goals in 3 minutes to draw level and Di Maria would put his team in front before the break much to the relief of many Benfica supporters watching the game.

The current table-toppers controlled the match in the second half, especially after Cardozo killed off the match in the 55th minute, and will be happy for their inspired reaction; however, it is impossible to overlook the fact Benfica are a team running out of gas. The players looked tired and the team as a whole looked sluggish. Do they have enough in the tank to beat Sporting?

Round 25 Results: Mon Apr 05: Naval 2-4 Benfica; Sat Apr 03: Olhanense 2-2 Vitória Setúbal, Paços Ferreira 0-0 Belenenses, Académica 0-0 Leiria, Porto 4-1 Marítimo; Fri Apr 02: Braga 3-2 Vitória Guimarães, Nacional 1-0 Leixões, Sporting 5-0 Rio Ave.