The curtain has come down on the domestic season in Portugal for another year.
As usual, the campaign gifted fans of Portuguese football with memorable moments, joy and heartbreak, along with a generous dose of controversy thrown in for good measure.
Perhaps more than any other recent season, the traditional Big Three proved to be a class above the rest. But how will Benfica, Porto and Sporting look back on 2014/15?
PortuGOAL asked its three club experts for their assessment.
Marco Lopes, Benfica expert
Did the team exceed, meet or fall short of your pre-season expectations?
Considering the brutal deconstruction of the treble winners of 2013/14, my expectations weren’t too high to begin with. You don’t typically lose 10 valuable players like Oblak, Siqueira, Garay, Rodrigo, Markovic, Cardozo, André Gomes, Cavaleiro and Enzo Pérez (albeit halfway into the season) and expect to be charging ahead with the same quality. Add the long term injuries to Fejsa, Silvio and Amorim, alongside the ambivalence around some of the signings (like Júlio César, Talisca and Samaris) and effectively I was anticipating a gap to the Porto of 2014/15.
The team exceeded my expectations. As the season developed, I expected a title challenge of sorts, and a drop off at the last hurdle. Instead Benfica stayed top from the moment they left Setúbal, and never looked back.
High point of the season?
It would have been very easy to cite the 2-0 victory at the Dragão or the drama at the Alvalade, but there were several poignant moments in the 2nd half of the season, when Benfica’s momentum was most critical to sustain. Short of the celebrations at the Marquês to mark a historic bicampeonato for the first time in over 30 years, the key high point in my mind had to be the fixture against Braga at the Estádio da Luz.
The champions showed class in a superb performance, driven by the pressure that waxed the atmosphere at the Luz caused by Braga’s previous two victories over Benfica. The match characterised some of the heroes of the campaign, unsung (Eliseu, Samaris) and obvious (Jonas). It was a key moment when a packed Luz erupted in belief that the back-to-back champions could indeed emerge.
Low point of the season?
The ying to the bicampeonato’s yang is without doubt Benfica’s performance in Europe. It’s somewhat unfortunate that the team, still raw in its development of rhythm, and evolution of both new players and new roles, had to navigate arguably the most difficult of Champions League groups since 2010/11. Monaco, Zenit and Leverkusen were by no means easy opponents. All four teams possessed qualities capable of empowering progression, but only Benfica had experienced a massive raid of talent in the summer transfer window.
The disappointment was already clear when Benfica lost the crucial opener to Zenit; dropping any points at home was always going to pose significant problems. By the time the team left Russia empty handed after the return fixture, Benfica were out of Europe completely, which while allowing the club to focus on the Liga, did little to enhance the team’s European street cred.
Job done by the coach?
This season, despite the obvious lowlight of Europe, Jorge Jesus had the task of settling a new goalkeeper fresh from a 7-goal nightmare in Brazil, a new left back, a promoted left centre back, a new defensive midfielder, a new box-to-box midfielder and a couple of new second strikers. He had to deal with the loss of 10 first team and squad players, and 3 others out to long term injury.
Over a season, Samaris was successfully converted into a functional defensive midfielder, and Pizzi converted into a box-to-box midfielder. Jesus masterminded a campaign which produced the most clean sheets (21; 62% of all Liga games), least goals conceded (16; 0.47 per game) and highest goal difference (70) in his entire 6-season history with the club. He also won the club their 34th Liga title in spite of a strong, if unassuming opponent in Porto, and the first back-to-back title win since the 1983/84 season.
It’s hard to pay a more glowing tribute than that.
Player of the season?
On the surface, this is an easy question to answer – Jonas Gonçalves Oliveira produced a massive 31 goals in 35 games for the club, the bulk of which arrived in the season’s second half. He was reliable and delivered when called upon to make the key differences in many of the big encounters along the way to the bicampeonato – his goal against Braga a particular highlight.
It’s important to stress though, that more than anything, this Benfica won the title as a very strong team and collective of talented individuals well configured to produce results.
Most improved player?
Come season end, Brazilian defender Jardel would emerge as cult hero and first choice left centre-back. It was a big season for him given how he was trusted to replace such an obvious talent in Garay. He may lack the Argentine’s technique, but Jardel brought some real grit. His game saw improvements in both anticipation and positional intelligence and it would indeed be difficult to discount his name as a starting centre-back next season.
Final grade - marks out of ten: 8/10
Europe was a disappointment which certainly left no sentiment to bear in assessing the team’s actual strengths, but for the team to produce a Supertaça, Taça da Liga and bicampeonato given all the factors in place, it’s hard to argue against this season as a successful one indeed.
Simon de Sousa, FC Porto expert
Did the team exceed, meet or fall short of your pre-season expectations?
Certainly, when FC Porto finish a season without any trophies, it's deemed a failure - plain and simple. Every failure or success will have a several reasons, but most importantly Porto were unable to take advantage of the small windows of opportunity Benfica gave them down the stretch. Draws against Nacional and Belenenses happened to come in rounds where Benfica also dropped points. Not to mention only getting 1 point off Benfica over 2 matches.
There is a lot of new talent in the squad, some whom were only on loan, but growing pains were visible and understandable. As Porto great Vitor Baia said, "Lopetegui knows he has an obligation to win trophies," so demands will be even higher going into his second season. Another European run like he had this year would be welcomed though - credit is due for at least giving Bayern a fight in Portugal.
High point of the season?
The high point of the season came in the form of the European run, specifically the 3-1 night vs Bayern at the Dragão. Sadly the reverse fixture was a horror show, but that magical night in the first leg will stick in the minds of many.
Domestically, the season’s high point was probably mid February to early March, where FC Porto took down Vitoria SC, Braga and Sporting to keep the title race competitive.
Low point of the season?
Losing to Bayern on a 7-4 aggregate is nothing to be ashamed about for a club on a shoestring budget in comparison to the Bavarians, but being unable to unlock Benfica the following weekend proved to seal the title for the Southerners.
Job done by the coach?
Opinions vary heavily following a losing season. I personally enjoyed Lopetegui’s footballing philosophy, especially compared to the previous Paulo Fonseca. There were obvious growing pains at the start of the season – getting 16 new players to understand a new system isn’t easy. I agree with Pinto da Costa allowing Lopetegui to have another season to grow into the league and look forward to a title.
Player of the season?
Danilo is a good shout, but Jackson Martínez was certainly the cream of the crop. Nothing much else needs to be said about the Colombian frontman. Goals, strength, power, will – he has it all and deserves the big money move which will be inevitable this summer.
Most improved player?
Easy choice for me, Ivan Marcano. Relatively unknown coming into the squad – but surprised many with his aerial and footwork, rarely beaten 1v1. Overtook both Maicon & Martins Indi as the best centre-back in the squad. Shoulder injury sadly did in his season with four rounds left.
Final grade - marks out of ten: 7/10
An 82-point season is good, but not good enough. Seven out of ten is fitting considering the good Champions League run.
Richard Cole, Sporting expert
Did the team exceed, meet or fall short of your pre-season expectations?
Sporting met my expectations this season, a top-three finish, an average run in Europe and a trophy was certainly enough for me. That said, I had hoped for more of a challenge in the league.
High point of the season?
The Taça de Portugal final, of course. Sporting showed a brilliant fighting spirit and to finally pick up some silverware once more was hugely important. It feels like that is success that can beget more success.
Low point of the season?
The away game against Maribor. The difference between the centre-back pairing of Maurício and Naby Sarr compared to Paulo Oliveira and Ewerton is evident. The calamitous defensive mix-up there cost us far more than the incredibly unfortunate game against Schalke.
Job done by the coach
Decent enough to get another season in my opinion but you wonder about Marco Silva’s relationship with Bruno de Carvalho and whether he will get the chance, although their relationship does seem to have improved since the start of 2015.
At times, I think Silva has been a little naive defensively and tactically. And the shocking amount of red cards this season needs to be addressed.
Player of the season?
I think it has very much been a collective effort with players at times blowing hot and cold. Nani was brilliant in spells, André Carrillo at times looked to be on the verge of something great, Adrien Silva was dominant all season and Islam Slimani was excellent despite his season’s interruptions, Paulo Oliveira looked to be the defender the club has needed for years at times.
I would have to give it to Carrillo though, hopefully the club can get the Peruvian to sign a new contract soon. At times he was unplayable, an absolute joy to watch on top of his game.
Most improved player?
Again, André Carrillo would be a good suggestion. However Carlos Manés impact from the bench at times was crucial. He popped up with some crucial winners and you feel working with Nani has improved his game considerably. He could really shine next season.
Final grade - marks out of ten: 7½/10
The Primeira Liga was never much of a possibility early on in the season, and there was some disappointment in Europe, however the Taça de Portugal win was a huge boost for the club. Hopefully this is a springboard to an even better campaign in 2015/2016.
Our thanks to Marco Lopes (Follow Marco on Twitter), Simon de Sousa (Follow Simon on Twitter) and Richard Cole (Follow Richard on Twitter).
