When Boavista were re-admitted to the top-flight this season, there were many (including their own supporters such as yours truly) who wondered how the club would survive the gap in quality.
To take a group of players to the likes of Benfica, Sporting and near neighbours Porto, when the previous season they were playing in the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores (Portugal’s third tier), seemed like an impossible task. Let us remember the club only managed a 4th place finish in the North Division. Step forward Armando Gonçalves Teixeira…
The Signings
Petit, João Loureiro and the rest of the Boavista hierarchy had a tougher job than many coaches / boards will have to anticipate. It’s one thing to have to strengthen your squad for moving up a level, but to move up two levels to the top-flight was always going to require a sound recruitment policy. Funding (or lack thereof) would also have dictated who was on the club’s shopping list for a squad that was in need of quality to survive among the big boys.
It has to be said that the club recruited well. Finances will undoubtedly have been increased significantly at the Bessa, especially with larger crowds and sponsorship. That said, the additions of players such as Swiss-born Portuguese goalkeeper Mika (from Atlético Clube de Portugal), Tengarrinha (Freamunde), Brito (Gil Vicente) and the Senegalese midfielder Idris (Moreirense) added solidity and quality to help the side’s less experienced players. Add to that Honduran full-back Brayan Beckeles, and the biggest name signing in Ghanaian Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, and it looked as though the club had given itself a fighting chance.
Sadly, the signing of Owusu-Abeyie (who missed the opening two league games of the campaign) did not quite have the desired effect on the side. The Dutch-born Ghanaian international winger was released by mutual consent in February having netted just a solitary goal in 11 appearances. The goal in question came in a Man of the Match performance against Vitória Guimarães in the Taça da Liga in January, but there were to be no other real performances of note.
In October, a further African arrived at the Bessa in the shape of Nigerian striker Michael Uchebo, who had finished the previous season with Cercle Brugge in Belgium. The January window then proved to be a chance for Petit to take stock of his squad and make some further useful additions. In came the Slovakian international and former West Bromwich Albion and Porto midfielder, Marek Čech, from Bologna. Joining Čech was Gabonese centre-half, Aaron Appindangoyé, from CF Mounana in the West African country.
Respectable Results
Whilst relegation is still far from avoided, it’s not as if Os Axadrezados haven’t been a surprise package this season at times. There have certainly been some respectable score lines, thanks in part to dogged defending and a will to succeed in the top flight.
A 0-0 draw at the Estádio do Dragão against neighbours, FC Porto, was a result that many hadn’t predicted. The home side didn’t exactly struggle to create chances but resolute defending, coupled with a bit of Lady Luck, saw the Panteras Negras take a useful point. Also, there was the impressive 1-0 victory against Braga at the Bessa in January, courtesy of a Michael Uchebo goal. Sérgio Conceição’s team have been in good form this season and look set for a top-four finish, but were unable to breach the Boavista back four as the hosts earned another unexpected win.
What is even more impressive is the fact that the side has earned these results after a very poor opening three games which led many to nod knowingly at their predictions of struggle. A 3-0 loss at Braga on the opening day was followed by a creditable 1-0 loss at home to champions-elect Benfica. However, Week 3 saw the Liga NOS newcomers thrashed 4-0 at the Estádio do Rio Ave.
The Business End
The fixture computer has turned out to be relatively kind to Boavista with 6 games left to play. Certainly, the forthcoming trip to the Alvalade to take on 3rd placed Sporting won’t be easy. However, the calendar is then full of the proverbial six-pointers.
Next up after Sporting is the visit to the Bessa of Vitória Setúbal, currently struggling in 15th position and only 6 points clear of the relegation spots at the time of writing. Eleventh place Moreirense then visit the Bessa, with the Porto side at present only six points behind them in the table. Next comes 16th place Arouca who are only 4 points off the drop zone, and then the final home game where Boavista host Nacional who are currently in 9th place on 36 points. The final league game of the season is at Estoril who are the side presently directly above Boavista, two points better off.
So it is all to play for and both staff, players and supporters of Boavista will be full of confidence that the drop can be beaten. Even if it does turn out to be a close run thing, only the harshest critic could deny that Petit would deserve huge credit should he keep this side up. From building a reasonable CN Seniores side to one that can hold its own in the top-flight is no mean feat and I don’t think it would be too over the top to say the coach’s stock will rise significantly in the eyes of potential suitors…
Credit must also go some of the guys who have come into the club and performed so solidly. Beckeles and Idris have taken to life in the Liga NOS as though they have been playing there all their careers. Mika has been a more than solid custodian between the sticks and earned a lot of rave reviews. True, the side could use a regular goalscorer. Uchebo, Zé Manuel and the hard-working Brito currently share the top-scoring honour with 4 goals each. But with some fine-tuning, there is no reason why Boavista can’t stay up this season then prosper once more in the top flight.
By Paul Gellard (Follow Paul on twitter)
