Portuguese Football in English
Rui Vitória is the latest Portuguese to celebrate a trophy after Al-Nassr were crowed Saudi Arabian Pro League champions on Thursday, ending a recent spell of domination by three-time champions Al-Hilal.
The former Benfica boss, who left the Estadio da Luz at the start of January following 3.5 years at the helm, took control of Al-Nassr shortly after leaving Lisbon and has successfully overthrown leaders Al-Nassr to regain the title for his new club.
André Silva’s turbulent loan spell with Sevilla appears set for an acrimonious end after the Portugal international striker was forced to deny claims from the Spanish club’s head coach Joaquin Caparros that he was dishonest about his fitness.
The futures of many Portuguese will be speculated upon over the coming weeks and months, and Seleção full-backs Nélson Semedo and João Cancelo have seen their names appear in recent newspaper reports, while goalkeeper Jose Sá has ended any doubts over his whereabouts next season by signing a permanent deal with Olympiakos in Greece.
Wolverhampton Wanderers held their annual end of season awards on Tuesday evening, with the club’s Portuguese contingent – led by Player of the Season João Moutinho – dominating the prizes after a highly successful year for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side.
Meanwhile, veteran Portugal defender Bruno Alves was left to count the cost of his red card during Parma’s defeat to Bologna on Monday night, with the Serie A side still not sure of safety on their return campaign to the top flight.
The night of Tuesday 21st February 2017 might reasonably be bookmarked as the occasion Manchester City fans first became aware of what the future might hold for them.
It was the Etihad first leg of the Champions League round of 16 match with Monaco, the surprise package of that season’s edition. On an indescribably unstable night, Monaco led twice at 2-1 and 3-2, before succumbing 5-3 to a City side powered forward by a combination of Sergio Aguero’s unstoppable attacking prowess and the crowd’s semi-delirious fervour.
Bernardo Silva is celebrating back-to-back Premier League winner medals – his third consecutive league title – after Manchester City were again crowned champions in England. Bernardo played the full match as City won 4-1 at Brighton to move closer to a domestic treble.
Elsewhere, Monaco’s alarming slump now sees Leonardo Jardim’s side in the midst of a relegation battle in France. Meanwhile, a rare goal for Mário Rui gave Napoli a late win in Italy, while Sérgio Oliveira helped PAOK complete a domestic double and Pedro Caixinha's Cruz Azul were knocked out of the Liga MX play-offs.
