Portuguese Football in English
In the final round of Liga II, three teams were fighting for direct promotion to the main stage in Portuguese football, Alverca, Vizela and Tondela. Any of them could finish in one of the two direct promotion spots or have their hopes put on hold by landing in the playoff.
José Ricardo Leite talks us through the drama of the last matchday and gives his assessment of the winners and losers of the Liga II campaign in 2024/25.
Vitória SC coach Luís Freire has been fired from the Guimarães club after just five months in charge, the manager paying the price for failing to secure European football.
Defeat in the last two matches of the season at home to Farense and away at Sporting allowed Santa Clara to overtake Vitória in fifth place in the Liga Portugal final standings, the Azorean team therefore qualifying for the UEFA Conference League.
At the start of the season Sporting fans were confident their team could win back-to-back titles for the first time in 71 years, and that is exactly what ended up happening.
However, what started out a seemingly straightforward, triumphal march to the trophy ended up a bumpy journey with multiple obstacles having to be negotiated along the way. Tom Kundert has 10 reasons why Sporting are the 2024/25 champions of Portugal.
“BICAMPEÃO! BICAMPEÃO! BICAMPEÃO!” was the chant that rang around the Alvalade stadium at full time as two unanswered second-half goals saw Sporting beat Vitória. It is the first time the Lisbon club has won back-to-back leagues for 71 years.
It was far from plain sailing though. Vitória, needing a win to ensure European football next season, battled hard and kept out the hosts until the 55th minute when Pedro Gonçalves finished off a flowing move to break the deadlock.
Fittingly, it was Viktor Gyökeres who sealed the deal, the deadly Swedish striker scoring goal number 39 in 33 Liga Portugal matches this season with 10 minutes remaining, and the party began. Lisbon will be painted green tonight.
Tom Kundert reports from Alvalade.
It’s a big weekend in Portugal. The country goes to the polls again on Sunday barely a year after the last general election, but the day before another kind of right wing, left wing and race to the finish line will dominate the headlines.
The curtain comes down on the 2024/25 Primeira Liga season tomorrow, Saturday 17 May, with practically all the major consequences of the season to be decided when the final set of matches kick off simultaneously at 6pm local time.
PortuGOAL runs through what’s at stake for whom in the race to win the title, qualify for Europe and avoid relegation.
