• Renato Paiva

Renato Paiva spent 18 years as an academy coach at Benfica, rising through youth levels ranging from u14s, u17s and u19s before ultimately taking charge of the club’s B team. His spell at Estádio da Luz came to an end last winter when he decided to make the step into senior management as a head coach.

Like many of his countrymen, Paiva opted to venture abroad, but his decision to join Independiente del Valle in Ecuador represented a unique adventure for the Castelo Branco native. In an extended interview with Zerozero, the Portuguese spoke in fascinating detail about his experiences in Sangolquí based in the suburbs of Quito, as well as reflecting on his time nurturing some of Benfica’s biggest talents.

Almost three-and-a-half years have passed since Diogo Dalot arrived at Manchester United from FC Porto in a surprise big-money move. José Mourinho oversaw the signing of the teenager, whom he reportedly believed was the best right-back across Europe in his age group.

Despite occasional glimpses of his talent, the Red Devils fans are yet to see Dalot deliver on his billing. Injuries, lack of game time and a season-long loan with AC Milan in Italy have meant the Portuguese holds just 41 appearances for United, with over half coming in his debut campaign at Old Trafford.

Super agent Jorge Mendes reportedly has a plan: get Fulham midfielder Fábio Carvalho a transfer to one of Europe’s biggest clubs in the next two transfer windows as his contract nears its end.

Carvalho, who is 19, made headlines earlier this season when he scored in three consecutive games for Marco Silva’s promotion-chasing Fulham in the Championship. Injuries have since slowed the midfielder down, but Carvalho’s reputation as one of the country’s brightest talents remains and Mendes is working on his future.

This weekend saw a handful of Portugal’s best players compete against each other in the Manchester derby, with Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo going up against Rúben Dias, João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva. But while there was a balanced split of talent at Old Trafford, the match proved an easy outing for visitors City, with Bernardo scoring in a comfortable 2-0 win for the Premier League champions.

Elsewhere, Jota’s form at Celtic continues to astonish after the Benfica loanee starred with two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win over Dundee in Scotland. There was also a brace for Bruma with PSV in the Netherlands, while Beto maintains his penchant for scoring vital goals with Udinese in Italy having grabbed a winner against Sassuolo.