Portuguese football is highly asymmetric in that the top three clubs are always several levels above the rest thanks to their budget, squad value, fan bases and historical pedigree. In recent years Braga have made tremendous strides to get closer and closer to challenging Benfica, Porto and Sporting.
This does not mean, however, that the rest of Portugal’s teams should be ignored. This season has showcased several superb collective and individual displays across all the other 14 Primeira Liga clubs.
In the latest edition of the brilliant No Princípio era a Bola podcast, journalists Tomás da Cunha and Rui Malheiro highlighted the players from outside the top clubs who have impressed in the first half of 2023/24. PortuGOAL summarises their analysis.
Portimonense 1-2 Sporting
In the final round of matches of 2023, Benfica and Porto clocked up home victories over Famalicão and Chaves respectively to put pressure on erstwhile leaders Sporting, who must now win against Portimonense in the Algarve tomorrow to recover top spot.
As the Primeira Liga approaches the halfway mark, just three points separate the traditional three contenders to become champions of Portugal, with Braga only a couple of points further back.
In January 2021 Braga centre-back David Carmo was riding the crest of a wave. He was on the cusp of a lucrative €20 million transfer to Liverpool, only for Braga to pull the plug on the deal because they did not have enough time to bring in a replacement.