Portuguese Football in English
In Brazil, there appears to be a growing acceptance that a foreign manager could replace current incumbent Tite as coach of the national team after the upcoming Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Among the reported frontrunners is Portuguese boss Abel Ferreira, whose phenomenal success in the country with Palmeiras could see him in line for one of the most prestigious jobs in world football.
As the most recent international selections named by Fernando Santos would suggest, Portugal is currently blessed with a marvellous pool of talented players. Indeed, the national team boss even said that when preparing his list, he initially started out with a shortlist containing some 55 names, which must have given him quite the welcome headache when choosing.
Outfield talents are typically those grabbing the headlines most frequently, yet Portugal also boasts a superb array of exceptional goalkeepers. At the moment, the one man all others are competing to replace is Porto’s brilliant young number one Diogo Costa, who appears to be the primary choice for the 2022 World Cup, trusted above and beyond anyone else having displaced 104-capped Rui Patrício.
This weekend saw midfielders take much of the goalscoring burden in the Portuguese Abroad section, led by Fábio Vieira and André Almeida scoring their first goals for Arsenal in England and Valencia in Spain respectively.
Elsewhere, João Palhinha is already proving a hero with new club Fulham after a sensational strike in their victory over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, while in Turkey Sérgio Oliveira struck inside the first minute to open his account for Galatasaray and Miguel Crespo’s goal helped Jorge Jesus and Fenerbahce to victory.
Portuguese full-back Nuno Tavares has been named Marseille’s Player of the Month for August, after a goal-laden start to life in Ligue 1 this season.
Tavares, who arrived on a season-long loan deal from English side Arsenal, scored three goals in his first four matches at the Stade Veledrome as Marseille have enjoyed their best-ever start in the French top flight.
Palmeiras’ Portuguese manager Abel Ferreira is reportedly filing a lawsuit against one of Brazil’s most famous journalists, after he was accused of having a “coloniser’s viewpoint” when discussing the discipline of his players.
Reporter Mauro Cezar Pereira is being sued by the former Braga boss for comments made surrounding a disciplinary issue regarding Gabriel Veron in July. Now at FC Porto, Veron was fined for some after-hours drinking and Abel’s assessment of the situation led to some strong comments by Pereira in the Brazilian media.
