The curtain comes down on 2014/15 Portuguese season this weekend, with Benfica facing Marítimo in the Taça da Liga (League Cup) final in Coimbra on Friday night, and Sporting playing Braga in the Portuguese Cup final at the Jamor stadium on Sunday.
There are still trophies to play for, but that has not stopped transfer activity from starting in earnest.
FC Porto have completed the signing of Spanish striker Alberto Bueno, while Benfica have signed the Rio Ave trio of Ederson, Diego Lopes and Hassan.
Portuguese Cup final
The traditional end-of-season showpiece event at the Jamor stadium on the outskirts of Lisbon promises to be a keenly contested affair this season, with Sporting and Braga facing off having finished 3rd and 4th in the Primeira Liga respectively.
Braga coach Sérgio Conceição has guided the northerners to their first Portuguese Cup final in 17 years. Ironically, the last time the Arsenalistas were in the final Conceição was playing for the opposition team as Porto beat Braga 3-1 in 1998.
Sporting are favourites but veteran Alan says Braga will play without fear: "I am not afraid of anyone. It's 11 against 11 and anything can happen. It's going to be a great spectacle between two good teams and we'll be giving our all to bring joy to the city of Braga."
For Sporting it will be Nani's final match as he prepares to return to Manchester United, and with speculation rampant about possible transfers of Cédric, William Carvalho and André Carrillo, the Portugal winger may not be the only Sporting player playing his last match for the Lions.
"It's going to be a tightly contested and tough match, but I believe we will win," says William. "For all the effort put in by the players, the coaching staff, the fans, the board and the people who like Sporting, we deserve to win this Cup."
Both sides go into the game at full strength. The match kicks off at 5.15 pm on Sunday.
Taça da Liga final
The Portuguese League Cup has only been running since 2007, and the convoluted and constantly changing format has done nothing to help the competition take off. Benfica aren't complaining though, and if they overcome Marítimo tomorrow it will be the sixth time the Eagles have lifted the trophy in its eight years of existence.
And Benfica will start big favourites having beaten the islanders 4-0 in Madeira and 4-1 in Lisbon in the two Liga meetings, the latter just last weekend.
"We took our conclusions from last week's match and I believe this time it will be completely different. It's the same opponent but it's a neutral venue and we have a winning spirit," says Marítimo defender Briguel.
Benfica winger Salvio is out having damaged knee ligaments, but centre-back Jardel wants to finish an already successful season on a high. "Our main objective was to win the championship, and we did that. Unfortunately we're out of the Portuguese Cup but we want to write our names in the history of Benfica again by winning the Taça da Liga."
The match kicks off at 7.45 pm tomorrow.
Transfer news
Porto this week completed the signing of 27-year-old Spanish striker Alberto Bueno from Ray Vallecano on a free transfer. Bueno, who was a youth player at Real Madrid, scored an impressive 17 goals in La Liga this season. He has put pen to paper on a 5-year contract at the Estádio do Dragão, which has a €40m release clause.
The transfer was no surprise having been announced (albeit not officially) months ago and the same is the case with three new signings Benfica completed this week, all from Rio Ave. Goalkeeper Ederson, midfielder Diego Lopes and striker Hassan have joined the Eagles, Benfica paying a reported 3 million euros to purchase the players.
