Portugal: A Team in Transition

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Fernando Santos - Portugal

On Friday, Fernando Santos will name the Portugal squad to face France on September 4th (international friendly) and Albania on September 7th (Euro 2016 Qualification). With both the U-21’s strong showing at the U-21 Euro and the U-20 team’s impressive run at the U-20 World Cup this summer, the Portuguese National Team are in transition. With young prospects such as Bernardo Silva, João Mário, and Ivan Cavaleiro now becoming integral parts of their club teams, will Fernando Santos begin to ween them into the national team setup? Will they become stalwarts of the Seleção, or will Santos favor older, more experienced players? These questions highlight the conundrum that Portuguese football is facing; one of how to go about this transition. Continue reading →

2015/2016 Season Preview: Sporting

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Jorge Jesus's arrival at Sporting has been one of the most interesting storylines of Portuguese football for some time.

Jorge Jesus’s arrival at Sporting has been one of the most interesting story lines of Portuguese football for some time.

The 2015/2016 Primeira Liga season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Here at PortugalFutbol, we’ve highlighted what fans can expect from Benfica and Porto this season. To shed light on Sporting’s chances, PortugalFutbol has brought in Sporting expert SportingSoul (@Sporting_Soul).

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Opinion: 10 Players Who Could Break Out This Season

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We could see big things from Carlos Mane this season.

We could see big things from Carlos Mane this season.

Portugal’s performance at the FIFA U20 World Cup and UEFA U21 European Championships strengthened the perception that Portuguese football is on the ascendency once again.

Andre Gomes, William Carvalho and Bernardo Silva are just some of the players that have established themselves over the past few seasons. The editors of FutebolFactory.com and PortugalFutbol.net have compiled a list of ten players who they think could make a big breakthrough this season. Continue reading →

2015/2016 Season Preview: Porto

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Much is expected of Giannelli Imbula, seen here in Marsielle colors, who made the move to Porto this summer.

Much is expected of Giannelli Imbula, seen here in Marseille colors, who made the move to Porto this summer.

With the start of the new Primeira Liga season now less than two weeks away, clubs are finishing their preparations for the new season. PortugalFutbol.net’s own FC Porto expert and creator of TripeiroNation, Mitchell Rua gives some extensive insight into what we can expect from the Dragons this season. Continue reading →

Part II: Primeira Liga 2014/2015 Top 10 Under-24…Outside the “Big Three”

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Danilo (left) was superb this season at Maritimo

Danilo (left) was superb this season at Maritimo

Two weeks ago, PortugalFutbol announced Part I of the Primeira Liga’s Top 10 Under 24 from last season. In Part I, we announced who were the honorable mentions, and promised the full list to follow. These are ten of the best under-24 Portuguese players from last season playing outside of the “Big Three.” The data has been gathered and the decisions made. Here’s the list. Continue reading →

Part I: Primeira Liga 2014/2015 Top 10 Under-24…Outside the “Big Three”

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Ricardo Valente (right), pictured here celebrating a goal scored against arch-rivals SC Braga this season.

Ricardo Valente (right), pictured here celebrating a goal scored against arch-rivals SC Braga this season.

At the end of last season, PortugalFutbol.net outlined the Primeira Liga’s top 5 under-24 Portuguese players playing outside of Portugal’s “Big Three” clubs (Sporting, Porto, Benfica). The purpose of this list was to shed to light some of the league’s lesser-talked about up-and-coming talent. For instance, out of the five players listed in last year’s edition, four of them have made their National Team debut since last season. This year, PortugalFutbol has expanded this list to ten.

For the purposes of brevity, we’ve split this year’s list into two parts. Part I outlines the honorable mentions, while Part II will reveal the actual Top 10 players listing.  Continue reading →

Trio Joins Porto

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Danilo Pereira has signed a four-year deal at Porto. Photo: FC Porto

Danilo Pereira has signed a four-year deal at Porto. Photo: FC Porto

Though only one has been presented, Porto have announced the capture of three Portuguese, Liga NOS-based players. Maritimo’s Danilo Pereira, Vitória Guimarães’ André André, and Paços Ferreira’s Sérgio Oliveira have all sealed moves to the Estádio do Dragão for the 2015/2016 season. Porto are strengthening heavily before the start of the season, with these three part of five transfers so far this offseason. And new players are exactly what they need, with last season’s starters Danilo, Casemiro, Óliver Torres, and Jackson Martinez having left.  Continue reading →

Five-Star Portugal Coast Past Germany

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Portugal's Ivan Cavaleiro celebrating his goal. Photo: Lusa

Portugal’s Ivan Cavaleiro celebrating his goal. Photo: Lusa

Portugal 5-0 Germany

2015 UEFA U-21 European Championship Semi-Final

A comprehensive performance from the Portuguese under-21 team pushed them past Germany in the semi-final of the 2015 U-21 European Championship to book a place in the tournament’s final. Goals from Bernardo Silva, Ricardo Pereira, Ivan Cavaleiro, João Mario, and Ricardo Horta gave Portugal an emphatic and entirely unpredicted 5-0 win over the Germans. The Portuguese will now face Sweden in the final, to be played on Tuesday.  Continue reading →