T
H
E
B
R
EA
K
D
O
W
N CUPFINAL
Theresultwas
never in doubtafter
prolificIranianstriker
MehdiTaremiput
Portoaheadmidway
throughthe first half
withhis 25 thgoalof
theseasonagainst
relegatedTondela,
the 3 -1victory
clinchingthe double
inthe wonderful
Jamor stadium.
EUROPEAN
QUALIFIERS
Yet again,Portoand
Sportinggodirectly
intotheChampions
Leaguegroupstage,
whileBenficahave
toqualifytojoin
them.EuropaLeague
specialistsBragaare
inthe competition
again,withGilVicente
andVitoriaGuimaraes
enteringtheEuropa
ConferenceLeague.
RELEGATEDAND
PROMOTEDTEAMS
Belenenseswere
hopelesslyoutclassed
andgodownwith
cupfinalistsTondela.
RioAvemakeaswift
return to thetop flight,
andLisbonminnows
CasaPiaareback
after 83 yearsaway.
Chavesreturnedto
thePrimeira Ligaafter
beatingMoreirense
inthe play-offs.
PLAYEROF
THESEASON
Vitinhawas
oneofthefew
Portugueseimports
whodidnotsettle
atWolverhampton
Wanderers,but
thebright,creative,
intelligentmidfielder
litupthePortuguese
leagueandwas
rewardedwithhis
fullPortugaldebut.
Porto’simperiousmarchtothe
Portuguesechampionship–the
Dragons’thirdtitleinfiveseasonswith
SergioConceicaoatthehelm–owed
muchmoretothetechnicalexcellence,
tacticalastutenessandfront-footfootball
thanthevigour andhardrunningthat
hadcharacterisedthetwoprevious
conquestsofthePrimeiraLigaunder
theirfirebrandmanager.
PreviousincarnationsofConceicao’s
league-winningsideswerepersonified
bythemanmountainsthatwereMoussa
MaregaandTiquinhoSoaresupfront,
andefforts tophysicallyoverwhelm
theiropponents.Thistimearound,the
drivingforceof theteamcomprised
Vitor Ferreira(akaVitinha)andOtavio,
twoslender, slivery,clevermidfielders
whoseperformanceswereso
SergioConceicaotakeshisimpressive
unittonewheightstoreclaimthetitle
Record-breaking
Portobackon
topinstyle
consistentlyoutstandingthey both
forcedtheirway intoPortugal’s senior
teamandcouldwellfeatureinQatar.
Bothplayersstandat just 5ft8install,
yettheirfootballIQ,stealthandtenacity
resultedinPortodictatingplayinthe
vastmajorityoftheirmatches.
NotthatthisPortosidecanbe
consideredasoft touch.Noteamwith
theagelessPepeasits captaincanbe
anythingbutexuberantlycommitted,
andColombianenforcerMateusUribe
alsoenjoyedafabulouscampaignin
central midfieldalongsideVitinha.
However, it is theoff-the-chartsskill
levelsofLuisDiazinthefirst halfofthe
seasonbeforehisswitchtoLiverpool,
theguileofFabioVieira,thelight-footed
enterpriseshownbywinger-turned-
right-backJoaoMarioandthezippy
unpredictabilityofthemanager’sson
FranciscoConceicao,nottomentionthe
stardustsprinkledbytheaforementioned
VitinhaandOtavio,thatmoststickinthe
mindwhendescribingPorto 202 1-2 2.
ThecaseforthisbeingPorto’s
strongest teamintheConceicaoerais
borneoutbythestatistics: 29 victories,
fourdraws andjustasingledefeatin
34 matchesisaremarkablerecord,
eveninPortugal’s traditionallylopsided
championshipwherethetopthreeare
inadifferentleaguetotherest. Porto
scoredthemostgoals (86),conceded
thefewest ( 22 ) andbroketherecord
forpoints earned(91),leavingnodoubt
aboutthejusticeoftheirtriumph.
Whenaskedaboutwhetherthiswas
thePortoteamthatplayedthemost
high-quality, easy-on-the-eyefootball
underhischarge,Conceicaomadea
pointofemphasisingthevirtuethat
unitesallhissides:unremittingintensity.
50 WORLDSOCCER
Runners-up...SportingcoachRubenAmorim
Champions...
SergioConceicao
leadsthePorto
celebrations
TEAMOFTHESEASON
AlexGrimaldo
(Benfica)
RicardoHorta
(Braga)
PepeP(orto) Otavortioo) Darw(infciNua)nez
ChancelMbemba
(Porto)
MehdiTaremi
(rto)
Vitinha
(Porto)
Pedro Porro
(Sporting)
PabloSarabia
(Sporting)
Diogo Costa
(orto)
TOMKUNDERT
PORTUGAL
