There was a sense of weariness among sections of the Manchester United fanbase when Erik ten Hag was sacked last month, the Dutchman the latest manager to start brightly at Old Trafford only to depart amid the usual chaos and wretched results.Just days later Rúben Amorim was secured as replacement,
Manchester United’s recent appointment of Rúben Amorim has brought Portuguese coaching into the spotlight on the world stage once again.From Europe’s most prestigious leagues to South America to the Middle East, Portuguese football managers have achieved remarkable success in all four corners of the
Viktor Gyökeres is the hottest property in football right now. Yesterday he bagged four goals in a match for the second time in 18 days, not to mention the small matter of a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City in between.He is scoring at a rate not seen in Europe since the heyday of C
With top spot guaranteed, it was an unfamiliar looking Portugal that took to the pitch against Croatia in Split last night with João Cancelo playing a free-roaming role in midfield, no recognised No.9 and Tomás Araújo making his debut at centre-back.And, weirdly enough, it worked. At least in an exc
Portugal remained undefeated in the UEFA Nations League group stage after earning a 1-1 draw in Croatia.The Seleção started strongly and took the lead in the 33rd minute, João Félix latching onto Vitinha’s perfect pass and slotting the ball past Dominik Livaković.Croatia fought back after the break
Central defender Miguel Campos scored a hat-trick in the Ukrainian League last weekend, the latest stage of a remarkable journey which has taken him from the lower reaches of Portuguese football to being a surprise contender for the national title in Eastern Europe.Oleksandriya, who have never been
The latest gem to roll off the conveyor belt of Sporting’s renowned Alcochete Academy, 17-year-old wing-back Geovany Quenda, is set to become the youngest ever player to represent Portugal at senior level against Croatia in Split tomorrow.Striker Fábio Silva, who like Quenda was promoted from the U2
The Seleção flattened Poland 5-1 at the Estádio Dragão last night.Another Nations Leage encounter, another avant-garde starting XI from Roberto Martinez featuring an untested CB duo and João Neves anchoring midfield in a traditional 4-3-3.While the opening half showcased imbalance in central midfiel
Portugal crushed Poland 5-1 at the Estádio do Dragão tonight to book their place in the Nations League quarter-finals as winners of Group A1.The well-known football saying “a game of two halves” could have been invented for this match. A slow, sloppy and sluggish first 45 minutes by the Seleção cont
Roberto Martínez’s Portugal are gunning to rubber-stamp their passage to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League tomorrow night at the Estádio do Dragão.The Seleção need a point against Poland in Porto to book their berth in the last eight of the competition, before travelling to Croatia on Mo
Spanish newspaper MARCA ran a feature on Portuguese U21 international Dário Essugo on Wednesday, touting the on-loan Sporting youngster as “the midfielder of the future”.Essugo is currently on a season-long deal at Las Palmas, but according to the Madrid-based publication there is widespread expecta
This week, we’re joined by Andrew Batista to discuss Jornada 11 of the Primeira Liga season.Rúben Amorim leaves Sporting in dramatic fashion as the Lions come from two goals down to beat Braga 4-2 at the Quarry, while later the same night Benfica thumped Porto 4-1 in the Clássico in Lisbon. To liste
Paulinho has only been in Mexican football for less than half a year, but the Portuguese has already made himself one of the biggest stars of the Liga MX with TolucaThe former Braga and Sporting striker is the top goalscorer heading into the play-offs with 13 so far, putting him four goals clear of
One of the latest Portuguese to land in the Premier League is Nottingham Forest attacker Jota Silva, who has already had some bright moments during the early stages of his career in England.Speaking at the Quinas de Ouro awards in Lisbon on Monday evening, Jota Silva admitted that his rise to what i
They now languish at the bottom of the football pyramid. Many even fear they may never come back from the bottom of the pit. If there’s a poignant drama in Portuguese football culture, it certainly is the shadow cast over the present and future of what was, once, one of Portugal’s greatest sides. Vi
Rafael Leão, Pedro Neto and Bruno Fernandes led the way this week with goals for AC Milan and Manchester United respectively, while there were also Portuguese strikes in the major leagues for Fábio Silva in Spain’s La Liga and Tiago Tomás in the German Bundesliga.Elsewhere, Seleção internationals Pi
The worst-kept secret in Portuguese football was made public today as former Portugal right-back João Pereira was officially unveiled as Sporting’s new head coach following Ruben Amorim’s move to Manchester United.Pereira, who had been in charge of Sporting’s B-team after previously working as the U
Chelsea 1-1 ArsenalPedro Neto scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea in sensational style on Sunday with the equaliser in their 1-1 draw with London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.After a goalless first half, the Blues trailed to Gabriel Martinelli’s opener on the hour, but former Braga
Manchester United 3-0 Leicester CityManchester United prepared for Rúben Amorim’s arrival with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester City at Old Trafford, with captain Bruno Fernandes scoring the opening goal with a sumptuous finish.Amorim may begin work with United as early as Monday, having ove
Benfica bounced back to top form by outplaying fierce northern rivals Porto, running out 4-1 winners in front of a huge crowd in Lisbon tonight.Álvaro Carreras put the Eagles ahead but Porto hit back to equalise shortly before half time through Samu Aghehowa.The second half was one-way traffic with
Rúben Amorim’s spell as Sporting Clube de Portugal manager concluded with a thrilling 4-2 victory in Braga.The Warriors took advantage of individual errors to take a 2-0 lead into the break, Ricardo Horta punishing the Portuguese champions on both occasions.Amorim introduced Jeremiah St. Juste, Hide
Rafael Leão is truly back in form heading into the international break, after the Seleção forward scored a clinical brace in Milan’s 3-3 draw at Cagliari on Saturday evening in Italy.Also in Serie A, Portugal winger Francisco Conceição provided another superb assist to help Juventus to a 2-0 victory
Fábio Coentrão, the former Real Madrid and Portugal left-back, made headlines when he transitioned to life as a fisherman after retiring from professional football. After his football career, he returned to his roots in Portugal, where he had always held a passion for the sea and fishing. Coentrão i
Benfica host Porto in Lisbon tomorrow. Whenever you think of matches between rivals SL Benfica and FC Porto many classic encounters come to mind. Probably none was as iconic and reflects how that rivalry became so huge as the day the northern side travelled to the Portuguese capital in 1992 to claim
