Portuguese Football 2017/2018

Sly said:
Yeah i wish we could avoid these "novelas" but like i said let's wait for the reactions. If Leicester do keep him, even without playing, it's like an assumption of guilt and that we bear no responsability in this affair. I'm going to be honest, i don't want him back. I really disliked his "O Jogo" interview last year and i want him gone. Time to move on with Bruno Fernandes.
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Yup for me the same, just didn't wanted noise around.
 
I really like Adrien as a footballer and I think usually Benfica and Porto fans underrate him a lot. He showed his capacities in boh Sporting and NT.
Although I believe he is important for the team cohesion outside the pitch, i think it's the right time for him to move. Still has a good market value and has some good years to try new challenges in his career.
Your beloved president have been doing a great work cleaning the sh** out of your club, but his inflexibility and unrealistic prices demand sometimes create an hostile environment around the club and media.
 
SLBenfica1904 said:
I really like Adrien as a footballer and I think usually Benfica and Porto fans underrate him a lot. He showed his capacities in boh Sporting and NT.
Although I believe he is important for the team cohesion outside the pitch, i think it's the right time for him to move. Still has a good market value and has some good years to try new challenges in his career.
Your beloved president have been doing a great work cleaning the sh** out of your club, but his inflexibility and unrealistic prices demand sometimes create an hostile environment around the club and media.
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Agreed, it's pretty obvious he's started declining and both Battaglia and Bruno Fernandes seem like pretty good options so I'm not that bothered about Adrien leaving. He'll be missed but we did well to sell him, it's a shame he'll apparently have to miss half of the season though.
 
Sly said:
Yeah i wish we could avoid these "novelas" but like i said let's wait for the reactions. If Leicester do keep him, even without playing, it's like an assumption of guilt and that we bear no responsability in this affair. I'm going to be honest, i don't want him back. I really disliked his "O Jogo" interview last year and i want him gone. Time to move on with Bruno Fernandes.
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How has Bruno Fernandes been? Always liked him and seemed to get under the radar quite a bit in Serie A.
 
Santos J said:
How has Bruno Fernandes been? Always liked him and seemed to get under the radar quite a bit in Serie A.
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Still early stages in his Sporting career but he has been very good and scoring some great goals. He has been the player that has impressed me the most at the start of the season. Just been called up to the Portugal NT. Let's see how he does in the Champions League.
 
Sly said:
Still early stages in his Sporting career but he has been very good and scoring some great goals. He has been the player that has impressed me the most at the start of the season. Just been called up to the Portugal NT. Let's see how he does in the Champions League.
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Good to hear. Yeah happy he's been called up for the NT, can't see him playing much for us though or if he does I don't have much faith in Santos to make it work.
 
Sly said:
Oh a Benfica fan. I hope you are active @André Dominguez and stick around to make it more plural in what concerns club representation. Let's keep the portuguese football thread going during all the season. Good work everyone.
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I will try to be as active as I can, but for the moment I can only do 3 posts per day outside the newbie section. Didn't help that I went on vacations one week after I registered here, which makes my "upgrade" slower to reach.

SCP said:
Actually they were very unlucky at Braga and with Maritimo, they played better imo.
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As I said, this is very typcal of Oliveira teams at Primeira Divisão every time he managed there. Nice and positive football, but the final result is always unfair. I think he should be more pragmatic in the top flight.

SCP said:
In terms of defensive organization yes, but the offensive organization of Maritimo looks more based in transitions and counters, not totally convinced if at a higher level he would change or not.
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Not much different from the majority of portuguese league coaches, but doing this strategy to work so well is not as easy as it looks.

SCP said:
Must say for me the best coaches Portugal has atm is Jardim, Paulo Fonseca, Mou, Conceição, Jorge Jesus, then in a second line we have Rui Vitória, AVB, NES, Miguel Cardoso and Nuno Manta.
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Rui Vitória is mainly a pragmatic coach. The football is not sexy to watch, but he gets results. AVB benefited from having the best squad ever from Porto. That squad was even better than the one who won the UCL, apart from the right back (Sapunaru) who was average at best.
Look how many world class players they had: Otamendi, Rolando (who was at top form at the time), James Rodriguez, Meireles, Alvaro Pereira, Guarin, Moutinho, Fernando, Falcao, Hulk...
And they still had a very good bunch of competent players like Maicon, Ernesto Farias, Ruben Micael, Mariano Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Bellushi, Fucile...

Come on, this squad was surreal for the portuguese league level.

And I would not place Conceição at the first line. He still as a lot to prove, imho. Paulo Fonseca was unlucky, the squad he had at his disposal at Porto was probably one of the worst squads they had for the last 10 years. He is a very good manager who in my opinion deserves to be in a top european club.

SCP said:
No, not at all, we are always a injury of reaching chaos, out third option for center back is André Pinto and the fourth is Tobias, I cannot imagine them playing against Juve or Barça, it will be a nightmare, and then we have Coentrão, who is always a problem in terms of injuries, and his replacement Jonathan Silva or Bruno César, OMG.

He always has a meltdown, exclent in terms of methodology and knowledge about the game, awfull in terms of Human Relations and Egomania, but he is a carachter in our league.
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Jonathan Silva will deliver, dont worry. Not a complete fullback, but he's balanced.

Even though we won the title last season, it was mainly to NES meltdown. It was kinda funny that right immediatly after that press conference where NES says "If we win all matches until the end of the season, we will win the title.", and they just kept drawing :D
The stupid thing is that Benfica also droped almost as many points as they did, which is even more bizarre. They had all the conditions to "steal" us the title, and they felt under pressure.
 
Matchweek 5
Games (All matches televised):

08 SET - 19:00 | CD Feirense - Sporting CP
08 SET - 21:00 | SL Benfica - Portimonense
09 SET - 16:00 | CD Tondela - FC P. Ferreira
09 SET - 18:15 | Maritimo M. - Rio Ave
09 SET - 20:30 | FC Porto - GD Chaves
10 SET - 16:00 | Vitoria Set - SC Braga
10 SET - 18:00 | Vitoria Gui - Boavista FC
10 SET - 20:15 | Estoril Praia - Moreirense
11 SET - 20:00 | CD Aves - Os Belenense

League Table

1º Sporting CP | 12 points

2º FC Porto | 12 points

3º SL Benfica | 10 points

4º Rio Ave FC | 10 points

5º Marítimo M. | 9 points

6º CD Feirense | 8 points

7º SC Braga | 6 points

8º Estoril Praia | 6 points

9º CD Tondela | 4 points

10º Os Belenenses | 4 points

11º Vitória SC | 4 points

12º Vitória FC | 3 points

13º Boavista FC | 3 points

14º Portimonense | 3 points

15º FC P.Ferreira | 2 points

16º Moreirense FC | 2 points

17º GD Chaves |1 point

18º CD Aves | 1 point
 
Tough game for us today, some players missing too, Benfica as usual will smash Portimonense.
 
Going to the game tonight, first of the season for me. Last time I went to an away game we drew 3-3 in Guimarães after being 3-0 up with 20 minutes to go so if we don't win you already know who to blame.
 
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Portuguese league Clubs Rough Guide 2017/18
​
Just realized none of you guys compiled this kind of information. I know everything is available online, but it would be more appealing for non-portuguese viewers of this thread to have this kind of info available :)
Bare in mind that this is a personal analysis which you may or may not agree. Also, the promising players section are not the players with young age with potential, but rather a mix between youth players and new hirings.

Full Name: Clube Desportivo das Aves

Manager resumé:
Ricardo Soares, former player, who made a decent career at portuguese lower divisions as a striker was a strange appointment. In the previous year he was appointed by Chaves, after an interesting work as Vizela's manager, but the results were quite bad, being sacked by Chaves. It will not surprise me if this guys is not here after November.

Team ability:
This is one the the relegation battlers, so not much will be expected from them.

Main player:
  • Carlos Ponck (on loan from benfica): the 22 y.o. center back made a very decent season last year at Chaves, being appointed for a few times in the team of the week.
  • Paulo Machado: this 31 y.o. miefielder has a very solid career, being a regular choice on a few competitive clubs through his career like Toulouse, St Ettienne, Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb. He just signed a few days ago and I'm sure he will upgrade this team, since he's a upper-midtable kind of player.
  • Alexandre Guedes: 23 y.o. striker who was their MVP last season, scoring 13 goals. Will he be the key once again?

Promising Players:
  • Ryan Gauld (on loan from Sporting): this 21 y.o. scottish player already shown that he has a very decent skill with the ball on his feet. Can he go to the next level?
Full Name: Clube de Futebol «Os Belenenses»

Manager resumé:
Domingos Paciência is a former portuguese striker, who had a very solid career, being one of the best forwards in the history of FC Porto. As a manager, he had a very good career start, with overachieving seasons at Académica and Braga, leading Braga to an Europa League final, where they lost to FC Porto. He flopped at Sporting and after that he didn't seem to settle at any club. Can he return his career to the right path?

Team ability:
One of the few teams to win a portuguese league titles besides the "Big 3", they are not at that level anymore. They are usually a midtable club who usually makes balanced seasons, lately. They are a team with some resources who might surprise better teams, especially at home.

Main player:
  • André Sousa: one of the most influential players of Belenenses from last season, this 27 y.o. midfielder is determined and has a good engine, two traits that any manager enjoys on a player of his position.
  • Vincent Sasso: solid and powerful center back, he's a very reliable option for this kind of teams.
  • Florent Hanin: the french left-back hired last season has show he can be a very reliable option for the defence and still provide some options when in possesion.

Promising Players:
  • Filipe Chaby: 23 y.o. player from Sporting academies, he has shown some moments of talent. Can he develop further?
  • Nuno Tomás: a homegrown player who just jumped into the starting team, being one of the best in this season start. This 21 y.o. center back is showing good potential. I think there is space for him to improve and probably become a much better player.
  • Maurides: hired at mid-season, he made a very positive impact at the club. Can he step up and keep improving?
Full Name: Sport Lisboa and Benfica​

Manager resumé:
Rui Vitória made an irrelevant career as a player. As a manager he kept going up by his own achievments, step-by-step. After doing a very interesting job at Fátima, at 2010/11 Paços de Ferreira made a risky appointment, which worked out well. Paços made a very solid season, ending up at 7th position. On the next season, he was appointed as Guimarães manager, a job that could had gone the wrong way, since at the time Guimarães was under a major crisis after several disappointing seasons.
He stayed there for about four seasons, something unusualy long for the portuguese league. Didn't overachieve, but returned the club to UEFA competitions positions, gaving them stability.
His appointment at Benfica was surprising, and even though he already won two titles, the lack of sexy football is a major complain from the fans.

Team ability:
This team will battle for the title, but loosing so many starting players in a single season is never a good thing to handle. Will the new players keep the team level?

Main players:
  • Jonas; the veteran brazilian player is a skilled forward, and has an amazing shooting technique. will the age factor pend on him this season or will he continue to be Benfica's MVP?
  • Pizzi: when he arrived Benfica, he was a winger. And now, he's used as a dynamic center midfielder, creating and scoring goals. A prove that if a player is open to adaptations, his career can improve dramatically.
  • Franco Cervi: was not a starter through the season, but his impact on the games is amazing. His short dribles and objectivity makes him a very dangerous players on 1-on-1 situations, disjointing opponent's defences.
Promising Players:
  • Mille Svillar: belgian wonderkid, considered one of the most promising keepers u19 was brought to take Ederson's place. Is he ready?
  • Grimaldo: a talented 21 y.o. left back, but always injured. Can he surpass his physical problems?
  • Filip Krovinovic: one of the best players of portuguese league last season, can he make an impact?
  • Andrija Zivkovic: a hugely skilled player, but unfortunatelly not very objective with the ball. Let's see if he learns how to play as a team player.
  • Gabriel Barbosa (on loan from Internazionale): considered one of the most promising players from Brasil, he totally flopped at Inter. Will this move relaunch his career?
  • Haris Seferovic: this player flopped at Frankfurt, but was once considered one of the most promising players. He's making a great start and he's being Benfica MVP in this season start. Let's see if he can keep this level.
Full Name: Boavista Futebol Clube

Manager resumé:
Miguel Leal: This was a quite logical appointment. Miguel Leal made a good job at Moreirense and almost everyone were surprised when Moreirense anounced that they would not renew his contract. Boavista hired him with the season already on the reun, and achieving terrible results. After his appointment, they managed to make a quite safe season, without being involved in the relegation battle. I must admit that this team was very solid defensively last season, and was quite organized with the ball. If this guy can keep this level, I think he will be a good shout for a club like Braga or Guimarães.​
Team ability:
Boavista is the other team who had would a portuguese league title. Boavista achievment was even more impressive than the Belenenses title, since they won it in "modern times", agains teams who had much bigger budgets. They used to have a quite decent souting system, finding a good lot of great players by peanuts.
Nowadays they are more than happy just to avoid relegation. But they are hard to break at home, and if you take too much time to make the 1-0, they can complicate your life.
As a note, their season start is quite poor and might indicate that they might step down.​
Main players:
  • Vágner Silva: hired from Mouscron at mid-season, he was a lifesaver for Boavista, since they were having problems at the goalie department. He has wide experience at Portuguese league, being part of the Estoril team who made great seasons.
  • Fábio Espinho: experienced 32 y.o. midfielder, he was Boavista engine last season.
  • Idris Mandiang: the senegalese defensive miedfielder was a fantastic wall last season: strong, determined and agressive, can bully his opponents quite efectively.
Promising Players:
  • Stéphane Sparagna: this 22 y.o. player is a product of Marseille academy and is considered a decent prospect. Made a very solid season at Auxerre and shows that Boavista scouting is returning to good old times. Let's see how much of an impact can he bring to their defence.
  • Raphael Rossi; 27 y.o. center-back who Boavista snatched from Swindon Town has already estabilished his place on the startin 11.
  • Vítor Bruno: a good snatch from Boavista. He was the starter left back from Feirense last season, with solid experience.
  • Rui Pedro (on loan from Porto): one of the most talented U19 portuguese players, can this forward make the cut?
Full Name: Sporting Clube de Braga

Manager resumé:
Abel Ferreira: former right back, he made a very solid career at portuguese premier league, playing many games for top tier clubs like Guimarães, Braga and was even a primary option during his years at Sporting.
As a manager he made an interesting career. Made some good results ahead of Sporting B, and he quite overachieved ahead of Braga B team. But it was a risk bet from Braga board to appoint a manager with no Primeira Liga experience, but it's proving to be worth itm for now, with a nice league start.​
Team ability:
Braga is a very difficult team to face. They are organized, they usually have very good players in their squad and their budget is getting bigger year after year.
They are actually a reference for good hirings for the top 3 clubs in Portugal and they don't sell cheap (for the portuguese finantial level). Usually their players have quality enough to meet the criteria of a big club, so they kinda deserve their reputation.
Even though they never won a single title, they were several times close enough of doing it in recent seasons.
They will be an headache to any team who faces them. They have a very solid squad and made some good moves at the transfer market.​
Main players:
  • Nikola Vukcevic: he is an engine. Attacks, defends, runs all over the pitch and makes Braga team more connected.
  • Ricardo Horta: this 22 y.o. winger made a great season last year. Scoring, creating and goo work ethic makes him a fundamental piece at this team.
  • Lazar Rosic: the serbian center back is solid as a rock, and is the leader of Braga defence.
Promising Players:
  • Bruno Viana (on loan from Olympiakos): this 22 y.o. center back is showing potential and already cemented his place at the starting eleven.
  • André Horta (on loan from Benfica): quite a surprising move, since he had a lot of games with positive reviews at Benfica last season and he's still just 20 y.o. This U21 miedfielder will certanly add quality to the squad.
  • Fransérgio: one of the most solid defensive midfielders of the portuguese league, Braga made an inteligent move to snatch this great player.
  • Danilo Silva: once considered one of the most promising U19 players from Brazil, he is now 21 and his career seems to be stalling. Can he meet the expectations?
  • Bruno Xadas: this 19 y.o. player seems to be the hotest youngster in the portuguese league at the moment. Can he keep the pace?
  • Paulinho: a good hired from Braga. He showed a lot of talent at segunda liga (equivalent to Championship) and Braga took the risk, and so far it's working OK. Needs more goals, though.
Full Name: Grupo Desportivo de Chaves

Manager resumé:
Luís Castro: has little experience in Primeira Liga, but has developed a fantastic work at Porto B. His work at Rio Ave last season was quite good, so it was a surprise to see him leave the club. His past as a player is almost irrelevant, but his academical knowledge can be a plus to surpass that.​
Team ability:
Chaves is a team with low budget, since they come from a very interior area in Portugal. Their objective is to avoid relegation once again. They can be a pain in the butt at home.​
Main players:
  • Nuno André Coelho: experienced center back who joined Chaves at midseason, can also play as deep miedfielder. He was a great upgrade to Chaves team helping them to avoid demotion.
  • Pedro Tiba (on loan from Braga): this midfielder came on loan also at midseason from Braga and made a good job. Was one of their MVP's to be honest.
  • Willian Oliveira: not a goal scoring threat striker, but provides a very decent link-up for the team.
Promising Players:
  • Domingos Duarte (on loan form Sporting): this 22 y.o. center back has already became a first choice. Can he keep improving?
  • Jefferson Santos: defensive midfielder who was hired to Hajduk Split is showing to be a good adition to the squad.
  • Matheus Pereira (on loan from Sporting): this skilled winger can make a difference here. He had problems handling pressure, but let's see how it works.
Full Name: Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia

Manager resumé:
Pedro Emanuel: as a player, he was a very solid center back with a very good career, winning lots of titles.
Already an experienced manager, but his career has been inconsistent, but bare in mind he only managed clubs who try to avoid relegation. The curious thing is that his teams usually play some good looking football but eventually drop too many points. He's having a solid start for now.​
Team ability:
Estoril is an estabilished team from many seasons ago, since Marco Silva left the club. Obviously they didn't make it to Europa League as often, but they are usually safe from demotion.
They are a tricky team who I must admit has a nice scouting system, who usually finds some solid players for their level.​
Main players:
  • Kléber: he was once considered a top potential striker. He even has 2 caps for brasilian NT. Time goes by and his talent didn't explode, but he's still a very valuable player for teams like Estoril.
  • Eduardo Teixeira: this brasilian industrial midfielder made a very good season last year and was running the show in several games.
  • Matheus Indio: reliable winger who can attack and defend, can give what this kind of teams need.
Promising Players:
  • Duarte Valente: a product form Estoril academy, this 17 y.o. midfielder is getting a lot of minutes in this season start.
  • Charis Kyriakou: most recent hiring from Estoril, this 22 y.o. defensive midfielder who can also play at the back, is considered one of the greatest talents from Cyprus.
  • Allano: this brasilian winger is a livewire. I think he has potential
  • Jorman Aguilar: this winger from Panama showed great talent last year at segunda liga, making an impressive season at Olhanense.
  • Victor Andrade (on loan from Benfica): it's surprising he is only 21 y.o. since we ear from him for ages at the press- When he joined Benfica a few years ago he was considered the biggest talent in Brasil at his age. He certainly has the skill, but his mental side of the game is so poor that let him down all the time, and frustrates fans. Can he relaunch his career?
Full Name: Clube Desportivo Feirense

Manager resumé:
Nuno Mantal: all his managerial history is connected to Feirense. He was scout, coach, U21 manager, etc, until he finally got the job on his lap. He started as an internal solution, but it went so well that the board decided to keep him. A very good decision, since they made a great season with such a poor man's squad.​
Team ability:
The squad is quite poor in terms of individual quality, but the team cohesion is quite impressive. And when I say poor individual quality, I really mean it. There are teams in the Segunda Liga (Championship) with better squad. Their market approach is quite conservative and they usually prefer to hire experienced Primeira Liga players or try to snatch some lower division players who did well. They will make you run for the money.​
Main players:

  • Luís Aurélio: hard-working winger, will run his socks off doing the flanks, either attacking or protecting the wings.
  • Sérgio Barge: the veteran player is a symbol at the club. not a fantastic footballer, but he knows his limits and will always give 100%
  • Babanco: the cape-verdian defensive midfielder arrived at mid-season 16/17, but he was an immense upgrade for this team. Babanco is a player with a lot of Primeira Liga experience. Not an excelente player, but he's hardworking and determined.
Promising Players:
  • Kódjo Alphonse: the Ivory Coast defensive midfielder made a great season at Gil Vicente (Segunda Liga). He has zero games yet. Can he grab the spot?
  • Caio Secco: this brazilian goalkeeper was hired from the lower divisions at Italy this season and he's already doing some nice performances.
  • João Graça: this player from Porto academy made a decent career so far at Porto B. Can he upgrade?
Full Name: Vitória Sport Clube

Manager resumé:
Pedro Martins: considered one of the promising portuguese managers, this manager keeps doing good jobs season after season. As a former player, he was an above average player. Played in top clubs like Sporting and Guimarães, until ijnuries started to bother him.
As a manager, he makes really good jobs. He started as an intern solution at Maritimo, and from there he went to a good career. His win percentage is very good through his career.​
Team ability:
This year Guimarães upgraded their budget in an atempt to improved their squad and also because they got good money on the transfer market. They have good players and hired talented youngsters. Curiously, their season start is very disapointing and I fear if things remain like this, might cost the job to Pedro Martins.​
Main players:
  • Paolo Hurtado: this peruvian winger was one of Guimarães most influential players last season. His skill is quite good for a club like Guimarães and I thought he would be transfered to a top club this season.
  • Pedro Henrique: solid as a rock, this brazilian defender was their boss last season.
  • Raphinha: this 21 y.o. brazilian winger made a very solid season. Let's see if he can progress.
Promising Players:
  • Hélder Ferreira: this 20 y.o. winger, product of Gumarães academy, is having a good impact this season. Let's see if this continues
  • Miguel Silva: this young keeper snatched his place in the team to Douglas, who is quite a good keeper for the portuguese league level.
  • Francisco Ramos: fromer Porto B player, he was considered one of the most promising midfielders a couple of years ago.
  • Ghislain Konan: Ivory Coast left back, he left some good indications last year. Still a bit raw and some kind of error prone, but has some potential.
  • Wakaso: had worked before with Pedro Martins, and made quite an impact at Rio Ave, before leaving to France.
  • Guillermo Celis: former Benfica player was a highly rated midfielder at South America when was hired by them. Later he has shown to be an agressive defensive miedfielder, but lacked the skill to play in a major team. He will be a useful player for teams at this level, though.
Full Name: Club Sport Marítimo

Manager resumé:
Daniel Ramos: a very interesting manager who made a interesting career, doing some good work at low level clubs, like Santa Clara, Famalicão, União da Madeira, etc. He's a pragmatic manager and his teams are usually well organized. Even though his budget gets smaller year after year, he seems to keep delivering.​
Team ability:
Marítimo is a club who's budget is very dependent from local authorities money injection, which is getting smaller year after year, mainly due to the crisis. They are the representant of Madeira Island and they get some money for "tourism service", which nowadays Madeira Island barely needs, being overcrowded by tourists from April to November.
A good thing from this club is their scouting system. Even in bad seasons, they seem to find a lot of good players relatively easy.
This team defends well and is surprinsingly clinical at the counter. It is very tricky to face because of that.​
Main players:
  • Luís Martins: left back position is an headache to almost every club in this league, dunno why. Maritimo hired Luis Martins at mid-season and they got a good upgrade to their team. He's still a starter and doing quite well.
  • Erdem Sen: energic midfielder, balances his team quite well. A good catch by Maritimo's scouting system.
  • Éber Bessa: Maritimo's engine, he know how to give the ball a good treat.
Promising Players:
  • Bebeto: this brasilian center back cut it straight to the starting 11. Let's see his progress.
  • João Gamboa: former braga player, this 21 y.o. midfielder is becoming an interesting prospect.
  • Gildo Lourenço: Nice season start, showing a good pace.
Full Name: Moreirense Futebol Clube

Manager resumé:
Manuel Machado: a pragmatic coach who usually makes his teams to avoid demotion (except last season, but bare in mind that Nacional had some months failing to pay wages).
The football is kinda ugly, but usually effective enough to get enough points to stay at Primeira Liga. A very reactive manager, who will adapt his team to the opponent's one.​
Team ability:
Even thou they won the League Cup last season, they will battle to avoid relegation, like last season, The squad is porr and the budget is also poor, so they will probably be a team that will trail in most of the games.
Adding the fact that basically they have a all new starting eleven this season, I don't foresee a bright future and maybe not even Machado pragmatism might save them.​
Main players:
  • Giorgi Makaridze: the georgian keeper was one of the relevations from last season. Made a very good bunch of performance and is one of the main reasons why Moreirense remained at Primeira Liga.
  • Pierre Sagna: the french defender brings some stability to his flank. Made a very decent season.
  • Ousmane Dramé: another french player who was important. He was probably their best ball carrier on progress.
Promising Players:
  • Rúben Lima: hired from União da Madeira, but already seems to be the most focused player from their defence.
  • Mohamed Aberhoun: international Morocco defender, he adds quality to the sector.
  • Alfa Semedo: 20 y.o. Guinea anchor, he seems to be an interesting player to watch his development.
  • Ronaldo Peña: this guys seems to have some skill on him. Still raw, but...
Full Name: Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira

Manager resumé:
Vasco Seabra: a very surprising appointment, since he is a very young manager with no experience. He has taken the club last season as an intern, and managed to save the club from a sure relegation. Like Marco Silva, but suceeding :D​
Team ability:
Another low budget team, they will have lots of troubles through the season. They can be hard to beat at home, though.​
Main players:
  • Marco Baixinho: despite his name, he's quite a huge center back that provides power and agressiveness to the back line.
  • Pedrinho: this midfielder keeps delivering good end product. He will be one of the keys once again.
  • Welthon: made a very good season, scored very important goals and in a good quantity last season.
Promising Players:
  • André Leão: the experienced midfielder is proving to be a good adition to the squad.
  • Awer Mabil: came on loan from the danish league, and seems to have some potential.
Full Name: Portimonense Sporting Clube

Manager resumé:
Vítor Oliveira: the king of promotions from Segunda Liga, he has a high reputation for getting a lot of teams promoted to Primeira Liga, but usually fails in the Primeira. Why does he fail? Not really a fair reason. His teams play positive footbal, but seem to lack concentration in key moments.​
Team ability:
Continuing on the low budget teams, this is a new entry on the Primeira Liga and the only team from South Portugal, which is a very poor and underpopulated area, despite being very touristic. This team made a realistic approach last season, making some investment but not overspending that much, and it went OK.
Let's see how they go on. For now, it was not a bright start. They will be a relatively easy team to beat for upper tabel teams, imho.
​
Main players:
  • Ricardo Pessoa: this veteran defender is still an important player for the team. not only for what he represents in the club, but also the quality he delivers. Back in his youth days eh was quite a goalscoring defender himself.
  • Paulinho: he has talent, scores goals, assists... I don't think he will be here for much longer.
  • Ewerton: thei midfield engine.
Promising Players:
  • Rúben Fernandes: hired from the belgian league, this player has tons of exprience in the Primeira Liga. it can be a good business.
  • Lucas Possignolo: he is a promising center back, even though their defence is quite fragile in this start.
  • Lumor Agbenyenu: this u21 Ghana left back has some potential in him.
  • Bruno Tabata: this 20 y.o. a good catch that made a good season. Time to check his progress.
  • Pedro Sá: 23 y.o. center midf, has been going up the ranks on his career, step by step.
Full Name: Futebol Clube do Porto

Manager resumé:
Sérgio Conceição: former winger, he was a world class player, who didn't get as many caps due to share the same position with Figo at the NT. But he played in some of the best clubs in the world in a regular basis. He was a key player at Porto, Lazio, Parma, Inter, etc. As a manager, he shares the same personality traits he had when he was a player: determined, agressive and stubborn. Made a fantastic recovery work at Nantes, bringing them from relegation position to almost reaching Europa League. His work at Braga was par level, but he got in several discussions with the Chairman during the season and eventually got sacked. At Guimarães, he kinda flopped, tbh.​
Team ability:
This Porto team is not as strong as before, but still has some nice solutions. The problem of this team is the lack of creative players upfront, which cost them a lot of draws last season. Their defence is quite solid, probably the most solid defence in the whole league.
For now, things are going on track and they share the 1st place with Sporting.
​
Main players:
  • Felipe: this brazilian center-back started slowly, with some average performances. But as the season went on, he became a fantastic center-back: reliable, inteligent and focused.
  • Danilo Pereira: probably their MVP (for me) last season and the reason Ruben Neves lost space. This guy is a full packaged: fast, strong, accurate passing, and his aerial game is very strong. As a bonus, he has a very powerfull shot. He saved Porto team several times last season, either defending, either by scoring screamers.
  • Soares: his hiring last year brought Porto back to the title chase. Porto was becoming a depressed team, but this guy ressurected them. Curiously, this season he lost his place to Aboubakar.
Promising Players:
  • Aboubakar; this player was once the "next big thing", but years passed by and he disapointed. Seems to have found a new life this season, though.
  • Otávio: 22 y.o. brasilian winger, you can see he has potential, but still misses something.
  • Óliver Torres: let's see how this season goes. Two seasons ago he was their most important player, but last season he really underachieved.
  • Ricardo Pereira: Loaned last season to Nice, he found a new life there as a side defender, and he seems to continue his good run this season. We have probably found another good solution for our NT.
Full Name: Rio Ave Futebol Clube

Manager resumé:
Miguel Cardoso: first job as manager. used to be Paulo Fonseca assistant. So far so good.​
Team ability:
This team is very well organized. They have experienced players, they have a decent academy who forms some very decent players and they have a good regional scouting system.
​
Main players:
  • Cássio: this veteran goalkeeper is very experienced and offers security to the defence.
  • Tarantini: some players get better with age, and this is the case of this Rio Ave symbol. A key player.
  • Marcelo: one of the most consistent center backs from portuguese league, still baffles me how did they kept him one more season. I know he is 28 yo, but that's not old for a center back.
Promising Players:
  • Francisco Geraldes (on loan from Sporting): this young player is already showing why he is considered quite promising. Let's see if he keeps developing.
  • Yuri Ribeiro (on loan from benfica): this 20 yo left back is also getting an interesting start.
  • Marcão: 21 yo brasilian center-back, hired this season. Already a first choice and doing very well.
Full Name: Vitória Futebol Clube

Manager resumé:
José Couceiro: manager with a solid career, but failed at top level. Still, he is always a good option for any team in the portuguese leagues. his teams are organized and usually have some criteria when attacking.​
Team ability:
How this club keeps staying alive, is a mistery. Every year they have wage problems, players leaving in January due lack of payments, you name it. Doesn't help that Setúbal is a poor region. It used to be an industrial center, but those times are gone.
They are usually easy preys, but can have extra motivation at home games.
​
Main players:
  • Vasco Fernandes: their most consistent defender. They will build their defence arround this guy.
  • Edinho: this veteran striker is still a valuable player. Doesnt score as many as he used to, but he's good at bullying the defenders to open up the space.
  • Nuno Pinto: experient left back that gets the job done. A very decent crosser.
Promising Players:
  • Patrick Vieira: not an exceptional player, but made a very decent season at Maritimo. Should upgrade their squad.
  • Tomás Podstawski: has potential, he's young and already stepping up. Let's see how far can he go.
  • André Pedrosa: aproduct of their academies, he's starting to gain a lot of minutes at this season start.
Full Name: Sporting Clube de Portugal

Manager resumé:
Jorge Jesus: one of the best portuguese managers in activity, he is known by implementing a fast paced and high press football. His tactical knowledge is well recognized by his opponents. His big problem it's his personality. His press conferences are worthy of becoming Monty Python sketchs and his man management can be shocking at times.​
Team ability:
Winning the title is the main goal of Sporting. They have made some decent market, but unfortunatelly didn't do a better one bnecause they couldn't get rid of some dead wood.
They will be in the title run until the end, imho, and will be a difficult opponent to face.
​
Main players:
  • Rui Patricio: he's a solid keeper, that lets the defence goes up since he's quite decent at covering their back. He's good at cross handling and have excelent reflexes. Sometimes he punches the ball needlesly, but that's a problem shared by many keepers.
  • BAs Dost: he's the beast here. Scores loads of goals and if it wasn't for him, Sporting would be out of the title run earlier last season.
  • William Carvalho: although he still not played this season, he's a solid midfielder, that covers a lot of ground ahead of the defence and it's quite good starting up the attacks. Sometimes his decision making is not the best, but he's a very good player nonetheless.
Promising Players:
  • Gelson Martins: dear Sporting fans, don't get me wrong here. He is an excelent player, but... He really needs to improve his concentration and finishing. if he manages to become a better finisher he will be one of the better players at his position. Until then :P
  • Daniel Podence: an explosive winger with good drible. Can he add more thing to his pocket?
  • Bruno Fernandes: one of the best hirings of the portuguese market, imho. A great deal by Sporting. This guy is an exciting attacking midfielder with high quality passing. But he needs to feel "love" from the fans to have a better performance.
  • Jeremy Mathieu: is he coming to improve or will he shows that it's time for retirement?
  • Iuri Medeiros: this player is quite enigmatic: he has a good drible, fast and he is quite a goal threat himself. You can see he has all the basis to become a top player. But there's always something missing...
Full Name: Clube Desportivo de Tondela

Manager resumé:
Pepa: he saved Tondela from a sure demotion, in the last minute. And was offered to continue his work. Likes to play a more direct football. Did a nice job at Feirense and Sanjoanense, but still a very young manager.​
Team ability:
IMHO, this team is even weaker than Feirense. it's a miracle they are holding so much time at Primeira Liga. They will be easy preys, just trying to get every point they can.
​
Main players:
  • Wagner: their player with more flair and objectivity, can unbalance the opponent's defences.
  • Pedro Nuno (on loan from Benfica): this 22 yo attacking mf was a great upgrade for them last season, joining the club at midseason, offering them much more passing options.
  • Miguel Cardoso: this winger is a workhorse. Runs, crosses, battles for possession. Quite useful player for teams like this.
Promising Players:
  • Tyler Boyd: australian striker signed to guimarães B, can offer them some reliable target for their direct style.
  • Ricardo Costa: veteran defender with a great CV. He can give them some stabilty to the back line
  • Júnior Pius: powerful nigerian center back who impressed at Sanjoanense.
  • Yordan Osorio: a venezuelan defender who got to Tondela at midseason and was also a great upgrade for their defence. Let's see how his form goes on.
  • Tomané: was once one of the most promising portuguese players, this striker returns to Primeira Liga, having scored 2 goals already. Can he relaunch his career?
 
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Last post i can do today and i will have to waste it on this :(

The club name is Vitoria Futebol Clube or at max Vitoria de Setúbal and not Setubal.

The text is also wrong (full name and coach)

Vasco Fernandes never was and never will be the most consistent defender. at the moment he is the one with most time at the club (on the defense) but that's different from consistency.

You forgot to refer 2 of the best player of last season, Costinha and Amaral. These are the core of the Vitoria strategy

Now my personal opinion

Edinho probably will play 10 to 15 minutes per game. I don't believe he will have space in the team. Paciencia will be the main forward.

Podstawsky it's a question i have. I liked him in Porto and on the under 21. Since his injury he was never the same. One of the things that i think this will not be is year it's because he is playing alone at DMF and he plays really permissive and that is really bad for a club like Vitória.

I think Adenbajo will get the spot sooner or later.

I'm guessing that Couceiro will look for something on the future on the likes of

----------------------- Paciencia -------------------
--Djálo? --------------------------------- Amaral--
------------------Costinha--------------------------
--------------------------------Teixeira--------------
-----------------------Adenbanjo?------------------
--Nuno Pinto --- Semedo --- P. Pinto --- Vieira?--
------------------------Trigueira---------------------

if it doesnt work

Djaló will be replaced by Willian :'( (not that Djálo is good but Willian is bad)

Adenbajo will be occupied by Podstawsky and Vieira for Arnold
 
Bruno Marques said:
Last post i can do today and i will have to waste it on this :(

The club name is Vitoria Futebol Clube or at max Vitoria de Setúbal and not Setubal.

The text is also wrong (full name and coach)

Vasco Fernandes never was and never will be the most consistent defender. at the moment he is the one with most time at the club (on the defense) but that's different from consistency.

You forgot to refer 2 of the best player of last season, Costinha and Amaral. These are the core of the Vitoria strategy

Now my personal opinion

Edinho probably will play 10 to 15 minutes per game. I don't believe he will have space in the team. Paciencia will be the main forward.

Podstawsky it's a question i have. I liked him in Porto and on the under 21. Since his injury he was never the same. One of the things that i think this will not be is year it's because he is playing alone at DMF and he plays really permissive and that is really bad for a club like Vitória.

I think Adenbajo will get the spot sooner or later.

I'm guessing that Couceiro will look for something on the future on the likes of

----------------------- Paciencia -------------------
--Djálo? --------------------------------- Amaral--
------------------Costinha--------------------------
--------------------------------Teixeira--------------
-----------------------Adenbanjo?------------------
--Nuno Pinto --- Semedo --- P. Pinto --- Vieira?--
------------------------Trigueira---------------------

if it doesnt work

Djaló will be replaced by Willian :'( (not that Djálo is good but Willian is bad)

Adenbajo will be occupied by Podstawsky and Vieira for Arnold
Click to expand...

I had corrected some things as you will notice, since I made a lot of copy-paste I left a lot of things unchanged. Sorry about that :D

I ask everyone who notices some mistakes, please warn me about that.

I dont think Semedo will earn the place. He's having some physical problems to handle, and I'm not sure how good will he be.

As I said, it is mainly a personal opinion. I never got over-impressed by either Costinha or Amaral, even though Amaral made quite a decent season.

The big problem form Gonçalo is really his consistency. He's good at bullying the defenders also, and he has a very nice first touch, but his goal scorring tally is quite unimpressive.
 
André Dominguez said:
Just realized none of you guys compiled this kind of information. I know everything is available online, but it would be more appealing for non-portuguese viewers of this thread to have this kind of info available :)
Click to expand...
Thanks André, everytime you get some information you are welcome, even with Vitória Setúbal mistakes. :lol:
 
Peyroteo said:
Going to the game tonight, first of the season for me. Last time I went to an away game we drew 3-3 in Guimarães after being 3-0 up with 20 minutes to go so if we don't win you already know who to blame.
Click to expand...

Jesus Christ I almost did it again, this club is going to kill me one of these days. That minute of waiting to see if it was a penalty or not at the stadium was terrible, second game in a row where VAR nearly gave me an heart attack in added time. Thank God it went our way both times.

Bad performance from us but Piccini's injury really screwed us up as Battaglia had to play right back and the cone Alan Ruiz came on. Why did he come on? Apparently not even Jorge Jesus knows since he got subbed off and went back to the bench after giving the ball away time and time again.

Mathieu was shit today and Adrien's absence was felt in that midfield. Also, I can't believe I'm saying this but at this point I'm not sure if I'd rather have Jonathan Silva or Zeegelaar in the team... We really need Coentrão to be back fast.
 
SCP said:
Didn't watched the match, only followed the result, was it needed VAR?
Click to expand...

I didn't see if VAR was used but it was a clear penalty. Jorge Jesus once again with the wrong choices almost cost us a win. Alan Ruiz should be nowhere near the pitch, he's trully awful and lacks the atitude to be a Sporting player. Only a complete imbecile like JJ would have Iuri on the bench to play the complete embarassement of a player that Ruiz is. For another polemic opinion, with Johnathan Silva playing like this, i prefer to have Bruno César a LB. A complete liabilty in the left side of our defense.
On a positive note William back and with a good performance, Battaglia did the best he could as RB and can't be faulted. I love his atitude and the effort he puts on every match. Bruno Fernandes didn't play an amazing game but he did his part with a great finish for his goal. Also like Gelson's genius assist.
Anyways 5 wins in 5 matches for the perfect start. I'll certainly take that.
 
Peyroteo said:
Jesus Christ I almost did it again, this club is going to kill me one of these days. That minute of waiting to see if it was a penalty or not at the stadium was terrible, second game in a row where VAR nearly gave me an heart attack in added time. Thank God it went our way both times.

Bad performance from us but Piccini's injury really screwed us up as Battaglia had to play right back and the cone Alan Ruiz came on. Why did he come on? Apparently not even Jorge Jesus knows since he got subbed off and went back to the bench after giving the ball away time and time again.

Mathieu was shit today and Adrien's absence was felt in that midfield. Also, I can't believe I'm saying this but at this point I'm not sure if I'd rather have Jonathan Silva or Zeegelaar in the team... We really need Coentrão to be back fast.
Click to expand...

Agree with all that. About the bolded part, i saw JJ flash interview and apparently Mathieu wasn't supposed to play tonight, he was sick during the week. He also talked about Coates suffering the effects of jet lag. It wasn't the best performance in defensive terms (Coates did score and won the pen though) by our center backs but they have an excuse tonight. They have been amongst our best players, so i forgive this "faux pas".
 
SCP said:
Didn't watched the match, only followed the result, was it needed VAR?
Click to expand...
Nope. Clear penalty. I said in the spirit that Sporting weren't playing well. They didn't create many clear cut chances. But scored the goals needed for the victory.

Personally, I thought Gelson Martins was the one to create things for Sporting. He was buzzing around the box, offering himself for the ball and getting 1v1 constantly
 
Sly said:
Agree with all that. About the bolded part, i saw JJ flash interview and apparently Mathieu wasn't supposed to play tonight, he was sick during the week. He also talked about Coates suffering the effects of jet lag. It wasn't the best performance in defensive terms (Coates did score and won the pen though) by our center backs but they have an excuse tonight. They have been amongst our best players, so i forgive this "faux pas".
Click to expand...

That would explain it, hopefully it was just a one off for Mathieu as he's been great in all the other games.
 
Peyroteo said:
That would explain it, hopefully it was just a one off for Mathieu as he's been great in all the other games.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Regarding Nuno Manta, don't get me wrong, he looks like a very good coach but that last sub, putting a CB in, for him to commit the pen was hilarious.
 
For those in the UK, this game is on Freesports, which is available on Freeview.
 
Peyroteo said:
Jesus Christ I almost did it again, this club is going to kill me one of these days.
Click to expand...
Don't know why remembered that post where you said you were in Guimaraes last year, was following the result and was shitting myself that they would turnaround the result.
Peyroteo said:
Also, I can't believe I'm saying this but at this point I'm not sure if I'd rather have Jonathan Silva or Zeegelaar in the team
Click to expand...
I don't know how I can tell you this but... Zeegelaar is better than Jonathan, he is even more brainless than Zeegellaar, even worse in positional terms, his last spell at Boca, you just need to listen to Boca fans opinions.

We need to get rid of him, problem is left fullbacks from the academy only Empis on loan at Académica, doesn't look to me he is better than Jonathan or Suahelehe from the B team, another player who looks short to me.

4 fullbacks, only 1 is good and made of glass, the other one is normal a little better than Schelotto, other unknown and the other is awfull.
Sly said:
Alan Ruiz should be nowhere near the pitch, he's trully awful and lacks the atitude to be a Sporting player.
Click to expand...
Yes, hopefully next time Podence instead him, even if he is short for that position, at least he moves, works and has a brain, he and Jonathan need to be sold or loaned at the end of the season.

Will try to watch the match today, I warned Feirense would be tough, Bruno Carvalho has to keep an eye on Nuno Manta for the day JJ leaves our club.
Emdad Ahmed said:
He was buzzing around the box, offering himself for the ball and getting 1v1 constantly
Click to expand...
Problem is that he is asked to do that a lot of times and we need alternatives for that, this and the fact he needs to play more inside imo.
 
Sly said:
Yep.

Regarding Nuno Manta, don't get me wrong, he looks like a very good coach but that last sub, putting a CB in, for him to commit the pen was hilarious.
Click to expand...

I didn't know it was that player making the foul :lol:

Nuno Manta must be livid
 
Vitor Oliveira has a team with personality here ...
 
2-1 Benfica. Almeida with a phenomenal strike, although I'm 99% sure he was trying to cross it.
 
Rolandofgilead said:
What the hell happened to the triple punishment law where that is only a yellow inside the box?
Click to expand...

That's only if the ref deems it to be a genuine attempt to play the ball, he must have felt it was a deliberate trip. Hard to call, to be fair.
 
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