Veteran Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira has been dismissed as coach of Brazilian side Santos after just eight months at the helm, and before taking charge of a single Brazilian top-flight league match.
Jesualdo arrived in Brazil at the turn of the year, signing a 12-month contract to replace the vastly successful Jorge Sampaoli as Santos boss. However, there has been much speculation over the 74-year-old’s future during his reign at Vila Belmiro.
Tondela pulled off a final day relegation escape act to maintain their top flight status for another season. It’s becoming something of a custom for the Viseu-based side, saving their salvation right to the very end for the fourth time in the last five seasons in Portugal.
What follows is the story of how the Primeira Liga’s very own Houdini act repeated the trick time and time again.
With international football still on hold, in episode 32 of the Seleção Podcast, host Danny Pinto is joined by Alex Gonçalves of TugaScout.com as they review the 2019/20 season in Portugal. 
SL Benfica 1-2 FC Porto
FC Porto have completed the league and cup double after defeating Benfica 2-1 in the Taça de Portugal final in Coimbra, this Saturday, despite a first-half Luís Diaz red card.
The Dragons were forced to face the Eagles with just ten men after Diaz’s dismissal, in addition to Sérgio Conceição’s sending off, leaving Porto with a tall order going into the break, still locked at 0-0.
An early second-half double from Chancel Mbemba turned the tide for the Blue & Whites, however, standing strong in the face of a late Carlos Vinícius penalty to secure the club's first Taça de Portugal trophy since 2011 with a 2-1 win.
Orlando City pulled off somewhat of an upset in the MLS is back Tournament on Friday evening, beating Los Angeles FC on penalties after a 1-1 draw and booking their place in the final four.
The triumph owed much to Orlando’s Portuguese influence, with youngster João Moutinho and Seleção legend Nani both taking starring roles on the night. Orlando will meet either Minnesota United or San Jose Earthquakes in the semi-final next Friday.
Portugal international Rony Lopes was unveiled by Ligue 1 club Nice on Thursday, after signing a one-year loan deal from Sevilla to move back to French football.
Lopes, 25, has endured a disastrous season in Spain with Sevilla after arriving on a long-term contract from Monaco last summer. The midfielder made just five appearances in La Liga last term, starting just twice as former Porto boss Julen Lopetegui showed little faith in his high-profile recruit.
Another Liga NOS season in the bag also means the closure of the PortuGOAL Figure of the Week feature for another campaign.
For the duration of the 2019/20 the vast majority of clubs were represented across the season, as is the intention, only Boavista failing to get a piece on their player/manager.
Some interesting patterns emerged on reflection of the year as a whole, such as Famalicão and Benfica being heavily featured in the first weeks of the season before drying up later on, as the teams’ respective form followed suit.
Perhaps aptly league champions Porto were represented the most with four articles, although conversely despite struggling throughout the season on and off the pitch Belenenses found themselves represented on three occasions due to fine individual displays.
Links to all the pieces are available below, as is the option to read about represented figures from both 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Enjoy, and see you in September.
Portuguese striker Rafael Leão came off the bench to score for AC Milan as the Rossoneri beat Sampdoria 4-1 on Wednesday evening to continue their fine form in Serie A.
The victory for Milan ensured they will finish in 6th place and qualify for the Europa League, having embarked on an 11-match unbeaten run in the league, while for youngster Leão it was yet another promising cameo.
Sporting de Braga and Vitória de Guimarães have readied plans for the 2020/21 season following the prompt appointments of new managers, with the Arsenalistas calling on Carlos Carvalhal for the top job prior to ex-Portugal international Tiago Mendes taking over at their local rivals.
After success with Rio Ave, qualifying for the Europa League with a fifth-placed finish, Carvalhal makes the short journey north to pen a two-year-deal with his former club Braga, meanwhile Tiago, also tied to Vitória until 2022, takes his first steps in the managerial world.
Vitória de Setúbal and Desportivo das Aves have been forcefully relegated down to the Campeonato de Portugal, the third tier of Portuguese football, after failing to present the necessary requirements for professional registration ahead of the 2020/21 season.
The decision, imposed by Liga Portugal’s Supervisory Board, forbids both sides from competing at a professional level, hence the drop to the third division, although Vitória and Aves can still appeal the decision.
“The key was the togetherness of the squad. The way we believed in ourselves at a difficult time – after the game against Braga we were a considerable distance behind – but it was essential we kept the belief in what we were doing.”
