Portuguese Football in English
This week it’s back to work for footballers up and down the country after their summer break as pre-season activities get underway.
As usual, a whirl of transfer activity has kept things interesting during the dearth of club football. PortuGOAL rounds up the major movers among the playing and coaching staff of Portugal’s biggest clubs.
When Belenenses secured a final day win in Gil Vicente’s modest Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, they not only confounded critics by rounding off a fantastic season of achievement (European qualification for the first time since 2007 was secured), but they restored a little bit of historical balance to Portuguese football that has been missing for some time.
We all laughed at the Jorge Jesus rumours a few weeks back; now we face something of an action replay. Maxi Pereira has been linked with Sporting and Porto over the last week, but as with the Jorge Jesus stories, nobody really believed them.
Now both O Jogo and A Bola report that the Uruguayan full-back is very close to joining Porto, after turning down Benfica’s renewal offer. His contract ends in two weeks. Porto have offered Maxi a 4-year deal worth €2m/year, while Benfica “only” offered €1.5m.
Tondela. It’s fairly safe to assume that most folks outside of Portugal (and many within) are not too familiar with the town in the Viseu Municipality.
However, many people now know of its existence after a stunning Liga 2 season by the town’s local club, CD Tondela, who won promotion to the Liga NOS as champions this season.
PortuGOAL brings you the fairy-tale story of their remarkable achievement.
Rui Vitória was today officially presented as the new Benfica coach. The 45-year-old is the man chosen for the Estádio da Luz dugout after Jorge Jesus’s stunning exit for cross-town rivals Sporting two weeks ago
Vitória was presented on a podium set up in the Benfica museum behind a plaque that used a play on words with the new coach’s surname to read: A past of Glory, A future of Victory (Vitória).
“Benfica is a club of a worldwide dimension,” said Vitória. “The Benfiquistas can expect enormous dedication and my full commitment at all times. When you represent a club of this dimension, you have to be prepared to give your life for it.”
