The French connection

Ligue 1 has been fertile ground for Portuguese talent over the last few years. Five French-based players will represent the Seleção at the UEFA European Championships in June.

In general 2015/16 was a good season for Portuguese footballers and coaches in France. Seleção fans certainly hope there will be more good news from there in June and July…

PortuGoal takes a look at the top Portuguese performances in France this season.

Anthony Lopes nominated top goalkeeper – again

At the top of the list should be Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper Anthony Lopes who backstopped his club to another second-place finish and qualified for the Champions League. The 25-year-old put in another excellent season recording 61 saves and 79 blocks which put him among the league leaders in both categories. He was also nominated for Best Goalkeeper in Ligue 1 for the second consecutive season.

Leonardo Jardim’s AS Monaco

The Portuguese experiment at AS Monaco was a success once again. Leonardo Jardim’s club finished in third for the second consecutive season. He again relied heavily on ageless defender Ricardo Carvalho, Bernardo Silva and João Moutinho.  Bernardo led the club in goals with seven.

Hélder Costa quietly put together a good season, scoring three goals and adding two assists in 25 appearances. The winger arrived on a one-year loan deal from Benfica. Fábio Coentrão was again limited by injuries and only managed 15 league appearances. And winger Ivan Cavaleiro missed most of the campaign because of a back injury, although he did find the net on the final weekend.

Ricardo Pereira reignites his career

At Nice, Ricardo Pereira proved to be a pleasant surprise. The youngster endured two tumultuous years at FC Porto before moving to the Provençal club at the end of the summer transfer window. Manager Claude Puel decided that his attributes were better suited for the full-back position.

Pereira has looked reborn this season helping his club finish in fourth. He was a key part of the club’s attack, completing 84.4 per cent of his passes and pitching in four assists according to statistical website Whoscored.  He was also capped for the first time at senior level for Portugal in November.

France Football praised the youngster as one of the best signings this season in Ligue 1. “At the age of 22, he has demonstrated excellent qualities, both in attack and defense.”

Éder and Rony Lopes thrive together at Lille

Lille were languishing near the bottom of the table in January. After Éder and Rony Lopes arrived on loan, the club’s fortunes dramatically improved. The much-maligned Éder scored six goals and notched 4 assists in 13 matches after arriving from Swansea City.

“I am playing the best football of my career,” he recently said. “I got a good opportunity to come here and earn the confidence of the manager. I have worked hard every day to repay his faith in me.”

Portuguese supporters will hope he can finally find his best form for the national team in June and take some of the scoring burden off Cristiano Ronaldo.

And after not seeing much action with Monaco to begin the season, Rony Lopes returned to the club he spent last season on loan with. He scored a brilliant goal in the Coupe de France match against FC Trélissac. He also formed a good partnership with Éder.

It seemed unthinkable in January, but Lille was able to finish in fifth place and qualify for the Europa League. They also advanced to the Coupe de la Ligue final where they lost to Paris Saint-Germain.

Further down the table

Under the radar, Pedro Mendes looks to have found a home at Stade Rennais making 22 appearances for his club. He moved to France this summer after a less than positive time in Serie A.

At Marseille, former Porto defender Rolando made 19 appearances and scored one goal. His club slumped to 13th in the table.

Lorient left-back Raphael Guerreiro has continued to add to his solid reputation. The highlight came in a Ligue 1 match against Guingamp in February. With the match tied in the final seconds, Guerreiro curled a free-kick over the wall and in, to give his club a 4-3 victory.

FC Metz gains promotion

Last summer, Carlos Freitas was hired by FC Metz after the club had been relegated to Ligue 2. The former Sporting director signed Nuno Reis and André Santos to permanent deals, adding Daniel Candeias and Tiago Gomes on-loan from Benfica and Sporting Braga respectively. They played key roles in the club finishing in third-place and gaining promotion back to the top flight.

Former Portugal U20 striker Amido Baldé also arrived last summer but left for Angola in the January transfer window after managing zero goals in eight matches.

Finally, Rui Almeida was nominated for Best Manager in Ligue 2 after leading Red Star FC to a better than expected fifth-place finish.

By Rui Martins

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