Portuguese Football in English
Italian giants AC Milan have confirmed the signing of Lille forward Rafael Leão in a deal worth €35m plus bonuses and Tiago Djalò, with the Portuguese agreeing a 5-year contract at San Siro.
Leão completed his medical in Milan on Wednesday and has put pen to paper on a contract worth an estimated annual salary of €3.5m for the former Sporting youngster, who leaves Lille after just one season in France.
Jorge Jesus and Flamengo overturned a two-goal deficit to progress to the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday evening against Emelec. The Brazilian side raced into an early 2-0 lead to level the tie on aggregate before progressing thanks to a penalty shootout victory on a memorable night in front of nearly 68,000 fans at the Maracanã Stadium.
In an eventful midweek for Portuguese there was disappointment for Bruma, with the Portuguese winger again scoring for new club PSV but missing out on Champions League football this season after his team were knockout out of the qualifiers. Olympiakos did progress to the next round, however, thanks to a 4-0 rout of Viktoria Plzen with new signing Rúben Semedo among the goals.
José Mourinho says he is missing being involved in football, but insists he will not rush into taking a job which does not satisfy his ambitions to return to the highest level of club football.
The former Porto boss has been out of work since leaving Manchester United last December, but having turned down numerous offers – including from China – Mourinho says he is entitled to be selective and wait for the right challenge.
This weekend sees Portuguese coaches again making the headlines as two of the country’s managerial exports look to make their marks during the early stages of their new ventures. For Jorge Jesus in Brazil, a turbulent experience with Flamengo continued as his team beat local rivals Botafogo 3-2 in a thrilling match, while Luís Castro got off to a frustrating start in Ukraine as Shakhtar Donetsk were beaten in the Super Cup.
Portuguese midfielder Pedro Santos was the star of the show for his side Columbus Crew this weekend in MLS, scoring twice in an impressive victory away at New York Red Bulls. Elsewhere on the goalscoring front, Ivo Rodrigues found the net in Belgium while Yazalde was on the scoresheet in Romania.
Jorge Jesus suffered his first major defeat as coach of Flamengo after the Brazilian giants fell to a disappointing 2-0 loss against 10-man Emelec in the Copa Libertadores knockout rounds. Jesus’ side had a man advantage for a brief period in the second half in Ecuador but bad luck and a poor showing saw his team go down to a potentially costly reverse in South America.
Elsewhere, André Silva’s move to Monaco collapsing has led to links with Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Portuguese winger Bruma is revelling in the aftermath of an impressive debut for Dutch side PSV in the Champions League qualifiers.
