PortuGOAL podinho: Portuguese clubs in Europe - Matchday One
Audio wrap of Portuguese clubs in Champions and Europa League
In a new PortuGOAL feature, a mini podcast (6:42 minutes) briefly rounds up the latest Portuguese football news on a weekly basis. Today Ben Shave and Tom Kundert rattle through the performances of Portugal's six representatives in European action this week. We also hear from Porto midfielder Steven Defour and Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patrício.
They have more money and more fans, that's it. With less financial resources, Portugal's clubs have continually punched above its weight class so when keeping that in mind, we have one of the best leagues in the world. These other clubs spend more in a single transfer window, than every club in Portugal combined and they are not THAT much better.
Podcasts
7
Friday, 21 September 2012 18:06
The new weekly mini podcast format is a great idea. The problem I'd say with the old one is that they usually ran about 30-40 minutes long which doesn't suit those who are a little rushed and it's sort of a catch up on things that happened up to a month earlier. With the new podcast.. the topics are fresh and many are still talking about them plus you only have to spend 10-15 minutes per week to hear about all the latest news so great job on that and please don't change PortuGoal into a forum site. This layout is what made it unique.
Coefficient issue
6
Friday, 21 September 2012 17:17
People shouldn't get too worked up about the Liga's chase of Serie A in the European coefficient table. True we may not be too far behind Serie A in terms of the points/results system, and perhaps may even catch up to them at some point. But the truth is Serie A is a bigger and more renowned league than Portugal's, that's just a fact...and to most football fans around Europe, there's no way they would consider our Liga to be on par with Italy's.
Where I would say we match up to them is the fact that our top 4 clubs can definitely match up to their top 4 at the moment (in fact I would even say that our top 2, Benfica and Porto, are arguably better than Italy's top 2 at the moment). But this is where it ends. Outside the top 4, there is no question that Serie A has bigger and better mid-ranking teams than ours.
I saw Lazio play Spurs last night in the Europa league, Lazio finished 5th in Serie A last season, and there is no question that they are a better (and clearly much bigger) team than our 5th team, Maritimo. Lazio play in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and can almost fill it for the biggest matches, while Maritimo last night played in an absolutely empty stadium, for a European match (there couldn't have been more than 3 thousand fans there surely)! Further down the table, the teams that finish in mid-table in Italy, say Sampdoria or Fiorentina...again they are clearly better and bigger teams than the likes of Beira Mar or Pacos de Ferreira, with all due respect.
The truth is they are still ahead of us in terms of being a bigger and more competitive league, but there's no shame in this at all, Italy is a much bigger country with 6 times the population of Portugal, with bigger cities and more big clubs and their clubs have more money than ours too. Much more realistic for our Liga is the competition with the French league, and in my opinion we are stronger than the French League, both historically (France has only ever won a single European Cup) and currently. In all accuracy, we are the 5th strongest league in Europe and considering how small a country Portugal is geographically, that is a great achievement for sure.
Tom I know that...
5
Friday, 21 September 2012 15:36
That is why it makes it more impressive how your provide an open forum for us all to debate.
I think one of your greatest abilities is your ability to allow so many different views to a subject in an open forum that helps educate people.
I personally learn so much off of these boards by the dedicated posters that if they were censored I would be without.
I can count on one hand the amount of times you blocked a post of mine.. and I will admit.. at times when angry I have said some mean things.
But I respect many that I disagree with and enjoy reading their posts.
On other sites you just don't get the dialogue you do here.
That is a credit to you.. so when a troll posts from Russia or any other place you post it.. and it is good counter balance to the info shared by others.
You have maintained the highest ranked English Portuguese site for years.. it is all credit to you.
The work you and your friends do is amazing.. you are the number one site that I hit on the net.. not just for your reports but also because the personalities on here.
Bryan SCB would be banned on most sites.. but here I have read many posts from him that required me to follow up and gain some new knowledge. Don't tell him that.. and I am sure because this is not a Benfica thread that he will never read it. LOL
It takes many characters to make a site worthwhile and you are the master of it. Great credit to you.. you take all view points whether you agree with them or not.
These people are passionate and those that post usually have some insight that they share with others, whether we agree with them or not.
Today I went on Planet Benfica and found Mdot as Mod there and his posts were great.. I disagree with the guy all the time here but could not help enjoying what he wrote there.
It has affirmed to me that we have the most passionate fans on this site and how we all care about our teams and their success.. and spend so much time discussing it here.
You Tom are the reason for that.. the team you have assembled over the years makes addicts of us all.
Even though I disagree with some I find their posts addictive and so informative.
All I ever needed is a good home for debate.. and Tom and Co.. you have provided that for us passionate fans that care.
I have spent countless hours here as infuriating as some of them have been.. because I care what others write.
Thank you once again...
Thank you for providing that home for so many.
Podinho lol! Love it
4
Friday, 21 September 2012 15:24
As much as I hate Porto, when I heard Lucho’s story earlier this week, you have to give him props for coming out to the game after hearing that news of his father.
Given all the changes in new players, formation, and worries about the defensive, you have to be happy with the result for Benfica. I would have rather got the 3 points but we could have also came away with nothing. I expect the team to build on this and get stronger for the rest of their matches.
Braga was a disappointment. United and Galatasaray are two strong sides and if Braga wanted to finally make the knockout stages, they would need to beat Cluj and get the better of United or Galatasaray. Worse yet, if they are to at the very least to get 3rd for EL, you would assume they have to get the better of Cluj. It’s just the first game and they can still turn it around but they don’t have much room for mistakes and if Cluj luck out against Galatasary or United, it will be hard battle for Braga.
As for the EL, Maritimo were the only impressive side from Portugal. Both Maritimo and Académica have very hard groups and if somehow one of these two can make the knockout rounds, that would be an impressive result for them. Sporting was the same story, good players on paper but they can’t get goals. They have the easiest group out of the 3 Portuguese EL teams but Basel and Genk will not be easy away matches. A couple more mistakes and they could be in serious trouble. Keep in mind their next match is away at Genk and they also face Porto away around that time. This will be critical if they want to turn around their season or if it will be a write off by the end of October.
Giving it the name podinho is classic Portuguese English talk that I’m used to here in Canada. Great laugh and great name for these. Looking forward to these little summaries.
very good!
3
Friday, 21 September 2012 15:08
I quite enjoyed this and your other podcasts, I trust you'll be doing this on a regular basis whenever the Portuguese teams play in the Europa League/UCL?
FYI, because of the results you mentioned in your podcast, Portugal have now dropped to 6th in the UEFA coefficients rankings, Portugal had 1 win, 3 draws and 2 losses, whereas newly 5th place France had 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
Also, I know it would require a LOT of effort, but would it be possible to create a PortuGOAL forum? I know I personally would love it, as I can't seem to find many English speaking Porto fourms around
Very good " podinho " great name as well ha, looking forward to the next one
@Orlando Mac
2
Friday, 21 September 2012 14:57
Thanks Orlando. Always nice to hear positive feedback. I often don't agree with points in your posts but they never fail to be entertaining and thought-provoking. Keep them coming!
Very good format!!
1
Friday, 21 September 2012 14:42
Have to agree with you gentlemen,, on every point you hit the nail on the head on every point.
A lot of fans are upset this week by their teams performances.. much more is expected.. out of these squads.
Biggest winners on the week were Porto, Maritimo, Benfica
Biggest Losers were Braga, Academica, Sporting..
Porto and especially Lucho shone brightly..
An away tie at Parkhead is always a good result.. even though the Celts were ripe for the picking... for Benfica
Maritimo could've won.. that is how well they played..
Academica went to sleep after the Ref gave away a goal on a clear obstruction...
Braga's solid defence went to sleep and could never recover.. my saddest moment all week.
Sporting were so good yet could not capitalize on it.. maybe two up front would've done the trick... anyways in the end with 10 men it was not a bad result and we expect more from them in the first round..
Compared to the italians it wasn't that bad of a round.. although it does not gain us any ground.. the Italians.. as they usually do managed to squeak out points in games they were losing..
I still think that going forward we can still improve and get the results we need.. Benfica will be better, Braga, Academica, Maritimo, and especially Sporting.. so all is not lost yet...
Thank you Tom and Co.. for the excellent thankless work over the years it has been a pleasure to read and write for you.
In a new PortuGOAL feature, a mini podcast (6:42 minutes) briefly rounds up the latest Portuguese football news on a weekly basis. Today Ben Shave and Tom Kundert rattle through the performances of Portugal's six representatives in European action this week. We also hear from Porto midfielder Steven Defour and Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patrício.
Where I would say we match up to them is the fact that our top 4 clubs can definitely match up to their top 4 at the moment (in fact I would even say that our top 2, Benfica and Porto, are arguably better than Italy's top 2 at the moment). But this is where it ends. Outside the top 4, there is no question that Serie A has bigger and better mid-ranking teams than ours.
I saw Lazio play Spurs last night in the Europa league, Lazio finished 5th in Serie A last season, and there is no question that they are a better (and clearly much bigger) team than our 5th team, Maritimo. Lazio play in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and can almost fill it for the biggest matches, while Maritimo last night played in an absolutely empty stadium, for a European match (there couldn't have been more than 3 thousand fans there surely)! Further down the table, the teams that finish in mid-table in Italy, say Sampdoria or Fiorentina...again they are clearly better and bigger teams than the likes of Beira Mar or Pacos de Ferreira, with all due respect.
The truth is they are still ahead of us in terms of being a bigger and more competitive league, but there's no shame in this at all, Italy is a much bigger country with 6 times the population of Portugal, with bigger cities and more big clubs and their clubs have more money than ours too. Much more realistic for our Liga is the competition with the French league, and in my opinion we are stronger than the French League, both historically (France has only ever won a single European Cup) and currently. In all accuracy, we are the 5th strongest league in Europe and considering how small a country Portugal is geographically, that is a great achievement for sure.
I think one of your greatest abilities is your ability to allow so many different views to a subject in an open forum that helps educate people.
I personally learn so much off of these boards by the dedicated posters that if they were censored I would be without.
I can count on one hand the amount of times you blocked a post of mine.. and I will admit.. at times when angry I have said some mean things.
But I respect many that I disagree with and enjoy reading their posts.
On other sites you just don't get the dialogue you do here.
That is a credit to you.. so when a troll posts from Russia or any other place you post it.. and it is good counter balance to the info shared by others.
You have maintained the highest ranked English Portuguese site for years.. it is all credit to you.
The work you and your friends do is amazing.. you are the number one site that I hit on the net.. not just for your reports but also because the personalities on here.
Bryan SCB would be banned on most sites.. but here I have read many posts from him that required me to follow up and gain some new knowledge. Don't tell him that.. and I am sure because this is not a Benfica thread that he will never read it. LOL
It takes many characters to make a site worthwhile and you are the master of it. Great credit to you.. you take all view points whether you agree with them or not.
These people are passionate and those that post usually have some insight that they share with others, whether we agree with them or not.
Today I went on Planet Benfica and found Mdot as Mod there and his posts were great.. I disagree with the guy all the time here but could not help enjoying what he wrote there.
It has affirmed to me that we have the most passionate fans on this site and how we all care about our teams and their success.. and spend so much time discussing it here.
You Tom are the reason for that.. the team you have assembled over the years makes addicts of us all.
Even though I disagree with some I find their posts addictive and so informative.
All I ever needed is a good home for debate.. and Tom and Co.. you have provided that for us passionate fans that care.
I have spent countless hours here as infuriating as some of them have been.. because I care what others write.
Thank you once again...
Thank you for providing that home for so many.
Given all the changes in new players, formation, and worries about the defensive, you have to be happy with the result for Benfica. I would have rather got the 3 points but we could have also came away with nothing. I expect the team to build on this and get stronger for the rest of their matches.
Braga was a disappointment. United and Galatasaray are two strong sides and if Braga wanted to finally make the knockout stages, they would need to beat Cluj and get the better of United or Galatasaray. Worse yet, if they are to at the very least to get 3rd for EL, you would assume they have to get the better of Cluj. It’s just the first game and they can still turn it around but they don’t have much room for mistakes and if Cluj luck out against Galatasary or United, it will be hard battle for Braga.
As for the EL, Maritimo were the only impressive side from Portugal. Both Maritimo and Académica have very hard groups and if somehow one of these two can make the knockout rounds, that would be an impressive result for them. Sporting was the same story, good players on paper but they can’t get goals. They have the easiest group out of the 3 Portuguese EL teams but Basel and Genk will not be easy away matches. A couple more mistakes and they could be in serious trouble. Keep in mind their next match is away at Genk and they also face Porto away around that time. This will be critical if they want to turn around their season or if it will be a write off by the end of October.
Giving it the name podinho is classic Portuguese English talk that I’m used to here in Canada. Great laugh and great name for these. Looking forward to these little summaries.
FYI, because of the results you mentioned in your podcast, Portugal have now dropped to 6th in the UEFA coefficients rankings, Portugal had 1 win, 3 draws and 2 losses, whereas newly 5th place France had 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
Also, I know it would require a LOT of effort, but would it be possible to create a PortuGOAL forum? I know I personally would love it, as I can't seem to find many English speaking Porto fourms around
Very good " podinho " great name as well ha, looking forward to the next one
A lot of fans are upset this week by their teams performances.. much more is expected.. out of these squads.
Biggest winners on the week were Porto, Maritimo, Benfica
Biggest Losers were Braga, Academica, Sporting..
Porto and especially Lucho shone brightly..
An away tie at Parkhead is always a good result.. even though the Celts were ripe for the picking... for Benfica
Maritimo could've won.. that is how well they played..
Academica went to sleep after the Ref gave away a goal on a clear obstruction...
Braga's solid defence went to sleep and could never recover.. my saddest moment all week.
Sporting were so good yet could not capitalize on it.. maybe two up front would've done the trick... anyways in the end with 10 men it was not a bad result and we expect more from them in the first round..
Compared to the italians it wasn't that bad of a round.. although it does not gain us any ground.. the Italians.. as they usually do managed to squeak out points in games they were losing..
I still think that going forward we can still improve and get the results we need.. Benfica will be better, Braga, Academica, Maritimo, and especially Sporting.. so all is not lost yet...
Thank you Tom and Co.. for the excellent thankless work over the years it has been a pleasure to read and write for you.