Portuguese Superliga - 2008/2009

Teams 2008/2009:
Futebol Clube do Porto
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Vitória Sport Clube [Vitória de Guimarães]
Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Marítimo da Madeira, Futebol SAD
Vitória Futebol Clube [Vitória de Setúbal]
Sporting Clube de Braga
Clube de Futebol "Os Belenenses"
Boavista Futebol Clube (or Futebol Clube de Paços de Ferreira - to be confirmed)
Clube Desportivo Nacional [Nacional da Madeira]
Associação Naval 1º de Maio
Associação Académica de Coimbra
Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora
Leixões Sport Club
Clube Desportivo Trofense
Rio Ave Futebol Clube

Past winners:
SL Benfica, Lisbon...........31 titles (Last 2005)
FC Porto, Porto...............23 titles (Last 2008)
Sporting CP, Lisbon.........18 titles (Last 2002)
CF Belenenses, Lisbon.......1 title (Last 1946)
Boavista FC, Porto.............1 title (Last 2001)

Last 10 years:
1998/99 F.C. Porto (18 )
1999/00 Sporting C.P. (17)
2000/01 Boavista F.C. (1)
2001/02 Sporting CP (18 )
2002/03 F.C. Porto (19)
2003/04 F.C. Porto (20)
2004/05 S.L. Benfica (31)
2005/06 F.C. Porto (21)
2006/07 F.C. Porto (22)
2007/08 F.C. Porto (23)

FC Porto - Confirmed so far:
Last update 01/September/2008

In:
Christian Rodriguez € 7,000,000 (70%, Paris Saint Germain, FRA)
Tomás Costa € 3,200,000 (Rosário Central, ARG)
Nelson Benitez € 1,000,000 (50%, Lanús, ARG)
Fredy Guarín € 3,000,000 (50% Saint Etienne, FRA )
Rolando € 700,000 (Belenenses)
Sapunaru € 3,000,000+João Paulo(loan)+Cláudio Pitbull(loan with buy out option) (Rapid Bucaresti, ROM)
Pelé - Quaresma deal(Internazionale,ITA)

Out:
Bosingwa € 20,000,000 - Chelsea
Ricardo Quaresma €18,600,000 up to 24,600,000 depending on objectives+Pelé - Internazionale
Hélder Postiga € 2,500,000+ 50% future transfer + 50% Diogo Viana (youth player) - Sporting
Paulo Assunção €(will be decided in court/UEFA) (Webster Law) - Atletico de Madrid
Ezequias € 200,000 - FC Brasov
Edgar, Luis Aguiar - Buy out option not used
Marek Cech € 1,800,000 - West Bromwich Albion
Alain €(undisclosed)- Sporting de Braga


Loans:

Foreign
Leandro(BRA) - Palmeiras (€ 200,000)
Ibson(BRA) - Flamengo
Vieirinha- PAOK
Paulo Machado - Saint Etiènne(Fredy Guarín deal with buy out option)
João Paulo, Cláudio Pitbull(BRA)(with buy out option) - Rapid Bucaresti(Sapunaru deal)
Nuno Coelho - Salamanca
Kazmierczak(POL) - Derby County

Superliga
Nuno André Coelho, Jorge Monteiro - Estrela da Amadora
Edson Silva - Académica
Bruno Vale, Bruno Gama, Bruno Moraes(BRA), Leandro Lima(BRA) - V. Setúbal
Diogo Valente, Federico Sccopa(ARG) - Leixões
Hélder Barbosa - Trofense
Renteria(COL) - Sporting de Braga

Lower Leagues
Stéphane, Steven Vitória, Castro, Edson(CBV), Ukra - Olhanense
Paulo Ribeiro, Rui Pedro, Maximiliano Assis(ARG), Bura - Portimonense
André Pinto, João Dias - Santa Clara
Joni, Josué, Marco Aurélio - Desportivo de Chaves
Ivanildo, Zequinha - Gil Vicente


Undefined
João Pedro, Adriano

Benfica confirmed so far:
IN
D/M E Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista - 0€)
MC Ruben Amorim (Belenenses - 1M€)
MC Yebda (Le Mans - Fra - 0€)
M/MA C Carlos Martins (R. Huelva - Esp - 3M€)
MA DE Balboa (Real Madrid - Esp - 4M€)

OUT:
GR Butt (Bayern Munique – Ale - 0€)
DE Tiago Gomes (end of contract)
DC Sretenovic (Politecnica Timisoara – Rom - 0,8M€)
MAC Rui Costa (Retired)
MAC Patafta (Newcastle Jets – Aus - 0€)
MAE C. Rodriguez (end of loan - Paco Casal)

FC Porto - Squad 2008/2009:
Not final-Last update 11/July/2008

G Helton
G Nuno Espirito Santo
G Ventura
LB/LM Lino
LB/CB Sapunaru
CB Bruno Alves
CB Pedro Emanuel
CB Milan Stepanov
CB Rolando
RB/LB Jorge Fucile
RB Benítez
CB/DM Tengarrinha(youth)
DM Mario Bolatti
DM Fernando
DM Pelé
M Lucho Gonzalez
M Raul Meireles
M Tomás Costa
M Freddy Guarín
W/F/M Mariano González
W Tarik Sektioui
LW Cristián Rodríguez
RW Candeias(youth)
S/F/W Lisandro Lopez
S Ernesto Farías
S Rabiola(youth)

Can you tell me anything about Kamel Ghilas of Guimaraes?

Read that too...apparently you just beat Arsenal to him.

He had a good season last year with Guimarães and helped them to reach the 3rd spot. Besides that i don´t know much about him except that he was an important player for them last season.

Whatever happened to Coentrao? He looked fantastic at that youth tournament a year or two ago. Has he not made the cut for Benfica?

Never given the chance. Now on a season loan to Holland. I think it's a mistake, but what do I know?

Olé wrote:Can you tell me anything about Kamel Ghilas of Guimaraes?

A very good player, when he fancies playing. Good header of the ball, pacy and with good control, but, a bit of a loose cannon tactically.

People of Portugal. Sparta is being offered with Tiago Gomes from Benfica. I know nothing about him aswell does any Sparta fan so we have no clue he is any good. Help would be appreciated.

Looks like Reyes is on his way to Benfica.

Lucky Atleti that Quique is trying to buy up every unwanted player at a major-ish La Liga club. Thought they'd never be able to get rid of Reyes.

Sporting won the Super Cup 2-0 against Porto...marker down for the season, or just Porto taking it easy?

Where are all the Portuguese posters? Summer vacation is over, it's football time!

How did Djalo play?

Scored 1 or both goals, can't remember exactly.

This seems as good a place to bring up a thorny subject as any - is there any news or rumours regarding Hugo Viana at all? I read a suggestion (which seems only a suggestion) that Valencia had offered to terminate his contract, but that he'd declined - that nevertheless, he's essentially waiting for a club to come in for him.

It's a real shame that a player with such talent (he's one of the best, most astute three or four passers of a ball that I've ever seen) is now 25 and has played little first team football, and that it looks like his career could very possibly go to waste. If I was a manager of any struggling-to-middling top flight team in a big league, I'd buy Hugo Viana, sell the rest of my squad, build my team around him, and then Hugo Viana's enemies would become my enemies, and they would fear us. Alas! - things are not so - and yet I will imagine that they are so - I will bear the idea and fulfill it within myself - and tonight, in a certain world, Hugo Viana will win in football at everything!

Djalo scored both goals for Sporting. Took is chances well (ok 2nd took a big deflection but it went in). Some shocking defending from Porto did not help

Over all Sporting was better on the night, but Porto did miss a penalty in the end.

Supertaca is not really a marker for the remaining of the season

Viana. What can i say. I don't know if it's because he does not play on is normal position, or what. He played some great games in Portugal. Maybe is just a confidence problem

Calidad wrote:Whatever happened to Coentrao? He looked fantastic at that youth tournament a year or two ago. Has he not made the cut for Benfica?

He is Playing in Spain i can see him creating goals for Oliveira/Milito this season

Damn.

Ignorant, naive tosser. wrote:

Olé wrote:Can you tell me anything about Kamel Ghilas of Guimaraes?

A very good player, when he fancies playing. Good header of the ball, pacy and with good control, but, a bit of a loose cannon tactically.

Ghilas has been superb signing for us - so far. He has great first touch and works tirelessly every single match. When he came on as a sub against Castellón he absolutely revolutionised the game for us.

How goes it? I've been away from the pc for some time now... I'm currently studying in Spain... so the Liga is kinda hard for me to follow right now... gotta find some Tugas in this country.. .anyone know of any particular place in Madrid?

Missed last weekend's action... gotta find out how Sporting did...

FC Porto 2-0 Pacos Ferreira
14' 1-0 R. Meireles
74' 2-0 Hulk

Benfica 2-0 Sporting



http://videos.sportmultimedia.pt/ojogo/video.php?id=251024

http://videos.sportmultimedia.pt/ojogo/video.php?id=251031

What an enjoyable game that was, with an excellent atmosphere, just as football should be.
When we went 2-0 up I was waiting for the charge from Sporting, as happened in the cup last season, but it never happened. Was a failure on Sporting part, or because Benfica did so well?

After the first 4rounds this season is looking very interesting.
Porto are playing $h!t, yet picking up points that they don't deserve, as against Paços. Bad news for Benfica and Sporting, because Porto will, at some point, start to play better.
Sporting have started quite well, but, something seems to be missing from their play, I just think they should be better.
Benfica have improved in each game they have played, they are starting to look like a team. But still, there's a long way to go, and we don't know when this improvement will level out. It was just nice to have players of the quality of Katsouranis and Aimar sitting on the bench against Sporting.

This season I dont think that these big three clubs will loose enough points for the likes of Braga to think about Champions League places. Although, from the strength of their squad, it's a realistic dream for them.

Too bad about the Benfica match, we should've widdened our advantage, but these games are always undpredictable...and plenty of times the side with less form wins... like this time.

Sporting-Porto next.

We'll see if Lucho is talking out of his ass or not...

I hate this periods of 15 days without football. We have only 5 rounds and already a month and something with the national sides. The guy who created our fixtures should be kicked hard.

Anyway our team was unlucky against Denmark and payed the price of our lack of concentration in the end, nothing is lost nevertheless.

A so so draw against Sweden is not a bad result but it is not a good one as we have to take back the 3 points we lost at home.
I still think we have the best team of the group on paper, now we have to prove it on the field.


Porto top of the league again even after playing away to both Sporting and Benfica. We are not performing very well but to be honest the other rivals are performing not very well too and in these terms our experience and quality shows. Still we have so many new players in our first eleven that we can easly say we have half a new team, and all very young. This will be a transition period so we can´t expect a lot-i still demand the league though.

In europe nothing new, the weak teams all kicked out of europe, Guimarães tasting their own bad karma (pretty unfair and with bad ref decisions in the pre-CL and unlucky against Portmout) not that they are pretty popular with Porto fans anyway after the CL problem.

Benfica with a good performance against Naples (but it is not a super result mind you, they aren´t exactly a top top club), Sporting winning the expected and losing the expected (like we) and Braga showing they have a good chance of going far.

Right about the fixtures, but when do they ever make sense in Portugal?

Sporting better wake the fck up... started ok, things quickly turning to $h!t... man managment seems to be a big problem/factor.

Sporting-Porto for the cup... horrible stage to have ths match imo... but whatever.

Liedson is back; positive note. The Levezinho has begun to work his magic again, 6 points in the last two matches due to him.

So, Judas discovers the real difference between playing for Benfica and playing for Porto. Long may it continue. Let's hope that the super dragons «appreciate» his efforts several more times before the end of the season.