Estrela da Amadora coach Vidigal goes on strike

Players and coaching staff still waiting for unpaid wages

The situation at Estrela da Amadora is looking grimmer and grimmer as each day passes.

As reported last week, Estrela admitted through their president Antonio Oliveira that the club were in dire financial crisis and that neither players nor coaches had been paid a penny all season, with some not having seen wages dating back to April.

After their 1-0 win against Academica in the Portuguese Cup over the weekend, Estrela coach Lito Vidigal confessed that he no longer could see himself turning up for work with such a dire state of affairs within the club.

“I do not have any more conditions to work,” stated Vidigal. “Resign? Take it as you will. We have done everything, through an issued statement; we have asked for help and nothing has changed.

“What more can I say of these players? They are tremendous. Because of this, maybe I have to sacrifice myself to see if this team has a future and if someone will come and help us.

“On Tuesday I will go to the Reboleira, but I will not hold a training session. As for the players, I do not know what they will do as I am speaking for myself. I am a man of my word and I am looking for a signature.”

Player undecided

Team captain Hugo Carreira, who has already been through this situation with the club last season, also does not know what will happen when he and his team-mates show up for a scheduled training session today.

“We will show up, as always, and afterwards we will decide what we will do. We will give our response then. We work hard and we want to receive what is ours. This has become very painful.

“We know that the president has made efforts to come up with the money and if he has not done so, we will see what happens.”

Relegation punishment

Player’s union president Joaquim Evangelsita, who is all too familiar with Estrela’s situation, has suggested that clubs who fail to pay salaries on time should be automatically relegated to the lower divisions, as has happened in Spain.

The player’s head representative also criticised the Estrela president for being, what he believes, careless with the club’s finances and the players’ livelihoods.

The sorry state of affairs makes Estrela’s extremely positive start to the season even more commendable. The team from the Lisbon suburbs are sixth in the table and have made it through to the last 16 of the Portuguese Cup.