Portugal: Weekly Round-Up

So far this time it’s seven, and it’s difficult to see where the first defeat will come from, such is the team’s solid assuredness (just one goal conceded). At least one punter got 80/1 from the English bookies recently for them to win the Champions League – a good outside bet, perhaps.

Across the city at neighbours Boavista. things aren’t looking so rosy. They’ve had an awful start to the season after getting a big broom to the squad in the summer. They managed to treble their goals scored at the weekend … to three … but still went down 2-4 at home to useful Belenenses. The card-carrying sócios had had enough, and so had club president João Loureiro; he resigned on Tuesday, with two months of his mandate still to run. Loureiro, who took over the reins of the club from his father Valentim in 1997, won a Taça de Portugal in his first season and oversaw the club’s greatest ever feat in 2000/01, winning the Liga title. Since then, though, it’s been downhill all the way and the team are currently second from bottom without a single win. For the time being, coach Jaime Pacheco holds on (Loureiro said it was up to him and his conscience whether he stays or not), but it will surely be just a matter of time.

Belenenses were one of the Portuguese sides involved in Europe last week, all of them except FC Porto seeking to expunge poor results in the first legs of their ties. The Blues of Restelo fought with dignity but went out of the UEFA Cup to Goliath Bayern Munich. Also out are União de Leiria and Paços de Ferreira, but both acquitted themselves well against Bayer Leverkusen and AZ Alkmaar, respectively. Sporting Braga had perhaps the easiest task against Swedish side Hammarby and, sure enough, are the only Portuguese team through to the UEFA Cup group stage (where they meet Bayern, Red Star, Bolton and Aris Salónika). But they will have to improve on their Liga form if they are to make an impression. In the Champions League, Porto and Sporting both won, but Benfica have no points from their two games after going down 0-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

On the international front, national team coach Luís Felipe Scolari saw his appeal against a four-game ban for ‘hitting’ (”I didn’t harm a hair on his head”) Serbian player Dragutinovic in the recent Euro 2008 qualifier changed to three months. This conveniently allows him to be in the dug-out for the last, possibly vital qualifying game against Finland. Strangely enough (or not), Portuguese Football Federation president Gilberto Madaíl is on the UEFA Executive Committee. Meanwhile, Portugal are in Eastern Europe for the upcoming qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. It’s just this kind of uncomfortable trip that Portugal’s stars don’t relish, but these are must-win games and no excuses will be accepted.

Finally, who’s currently the best Portuguese coach in action? That’ll be José Manuel. Who? you may ask. Well, he’s just qualified Egyptian side Al-Ahly for their third consecutive African Champions Final, against Tunisian side Étoile du Sahel, to be played over two legs at the end of the month. Al-Ahly won the last two Cups, under Manuel. The Portuguese veteran was mooted for the Portugal National team before Scolari but was not appointed, reportedly through pressure from the players. One club that would certainly welcome him back is Boavista, where he was in charge from 1991-96, but the chances of that happening are as remote as the Axedrezados winning the title this season. And pigs flying.