Portuguese Football in English
Portuguese António Oliveira is the new manager of Brazilian powerhouses Corinthians, joining the club on a contract until the end of the upcoming season from Cuiabá.
Oliveira replaces former Brazil national team manager Mano Menezes at the São Paulo outfit, in what is the most high-profile job of the 41-year-old’s managerial career thus far.
Portuguese boss Carlos Carvalhal has left his role as coach of Greek Super League side Olympiacos, just two months after taking charge in Piraeus.
Carvalhal was hired in early December and saw an influx of six Portuguese players during the winter transfer window last month, but departs alongside sporting director Pedro Alves following a poor run of results with the team 4th in the table.
A stat circulated online last month showing that Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto was having the best assists-per-minute season in Premier League history. Better than Manchester City man Kevin De Bruyne’s peak; better than Arsenal legend Thierry Henry – often considered the greatest player in modern English football.
Since then, Neto has scored against local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup, as well as finding the back of the Manchester United net in midweek during an enthralling seven-goal thriller at Molineux. As he attempts to put injury issues behind him, the Portuguese could be set for a career-defining year in 2024 for club and country.
The transfer window closed across most of Europe on Thursday evening without many high-profile deals, but there was still plenty of activity involving Portuguese players taking on new challenges.
Perhaps the biggest story on deadline day is Rodrigo Ribeiro’s shock loan move from Sporting to Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, ex-Braga striker Vitinha has left Marseille for Italian side Genoa, while Carlos Carvalhal’s remarkable raid on Portuguese talent ended with Ruben Vezo joining the ranks at Greek giants Olympiacos.
Sunday was a tough day for Portuguese bosses at international level, with both Rui Vitória and Paulo Bento suffering penalty shootout heartbreak in the African Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup respectively.
Both sides were eliminated at the last-16 knockout phase following 1-1 draws, as first Bento’s United Arab Emirates lost to Tajikistan 5-3 on spot kicks in Qatar, before Vitória and Egypt were upset by DR Congo 8-7 in an enthralling shootout in Cote d’Ivoire.
