With Portugal’s second tier having completed the primeira volta this past weekend, it seemed appropriate to take the first of what will be a bi-weekly look at the Liga de Honra – or Liga Orangina as it’s currently known – by reviewing the season so far.

The volume of questions I receive about it on Twitter and in the comments below shows that the appetite for coverage is there. Ask and ye shall receive.

 

After fifteen rounds, the division has finally begun to produce some gaps, having been tighter than a boa constrictor’s embrace for much of 2010. No one team has yet staked a claim for the title, with almost half of the sixteen outfits tasting top spot at one point or another. At the halfway stage, the two automatic promotion spots are occupied by Trofense and Oliveirense, who are on 26 and 25 points respectively. Trofense (last seen in the top flight as recently as 2008/09) are something of a surprise package, with President Rui Silva declaring his intention to reduce costs following last season’s failure to make an immediate return to the Primeira Liga.

 

Coached by former Director Porfirio Amorim, the club have hovered around the top six since November, and their success has been founded on the division’s meanest defence, anchored by a pair of former FC Porto B players in Joao Dias and Pedro Ribeiro. The midfield is commanded by veteran Tiago (a former Benfica, Porto, and Boavista player), who returned to his hometown club last season. Out wide, another veteran in Jose Manuel (relegated with Leixoes in 09/10) provides some guile and experience.

 

Behind them sit Oliveirense, who have probably been the division’s most consistent outfit. With Pedro Miguel in his ninth season at the helm of the club he joined as a child, the Oliveira de Azemais outfit look a decent bet to secure their second ever promotion to Portugal’s top division. This is largely down to experience. Nuno Miguel, Magano and top scorer Clemente are all veterans of Portugal’s lower leagues, and although the squad is short on youth, solidity is the order of the day. Oliveirense are unbeaten since the end of October. Provided they can reduce the number of draws (seven so far), promotion is a realistic target. 

 

The slightest slip from the top two will be instantly punished however, with three clubs on 24 points; including the story of the season so far - Arouca. Only promoted from the II Divisao last season, but guided by the wily Henrique Nunes (a coach with over two decades of lower league experience on his resume), the tiny club from the countryside have taken some major scalps, including an away win at Trofense in Round 13. Arouca’s attacking philosophy has seen them earn both the best goalscoring record in the Liga and the worst defensive one in the top half of the table, and whilst it has brought them a couple of heavy losses, it should at least see survival in the league (surely the main pre-season goal) secured.

 

The goals of 37 year-old Jorge Leitao (pictured) and summer signing Jeremie N’Jock have been vital, as has been the creative input of Helder Silva, who has been with the club since their II Divisao days. Rugged midfielder Elvis has attracted attention from top-flight outfits. Whether Nunes can continue to maximise the potential of his band of lower-league journeymen remains to be seen, but Arouca have certainly announced their presence as a force to be reckoned with.

 

Below them are early pace-setters Gil Vicente, who also enjoy the division’s largest average attendance (around 3,200). Promotion is a minimum target for the boys from Barcelos, who finished a disappointing 10th last season. Their strength in depth is notable when compared with the likes of Arouca – Gil Vicente possess in right-back Rodrigo Galo, support striker Hugo Vieira and forward Ramazotti three of the division’s top players. Vieira in particular is a name to remember – the 22 year-old has been used sensibly, but has the ability to bamboozle defenders and deliver precise crosses, always a valuable commodity in any league. Paulo Alves’ side didn’t lose until mid-November, but the following month saw them slip out of the top places. Two wins in the New Year have righted them somewhat, and they are my tip for automatic promotion.

 

Feirense complete the quintet of sides within two points of one another, and having failed to secure promotion on the final day of the 2009/10 season, Quim Machado (appointed to maiden second-tier post over the summer) will be expected to go one better. The top half is rounded out by Desportivo Aves, Leixoes, Moreirense and Varzim. Leixoes will be desperate to make an instant return to the top flight, but it has been an inconsistent season so far for the club from Matosinhos. Augusto Inacio is undoubtedly the coach with the most pedigree in the division, having won the league with Beira-Mar back in 2006 (not to mention the Portuguese title with Sporting 1999/2000), and this alone gives Leixoes an edge over many of their rivals.

 

Varzim are also worth mentioning, and not just for their league-leading nine draws thus far. For last weekend’s match at home to Oliveirense, Eduardo Esteves fielded eleven Portuguese starters, including an incredible seven graduates from the club’s youth system. In a league structure that is increasingly defined by its reliance on imported talent, such an occurrence is rare indeed, and speaks to the superb harvesting of homegrown potential taking place on the Atlantic coast. Benfica didn’t select Varzim as the club to sign an accord with at random.

The outstanding prospect is probably 20 year-old Goncalo Graca (pictured), a forward capable of operating out wide or through the middle, and who has notched up four goals in eight starts this season. Central defender Neto and 19 year-old centre-forward Rafael Lopes are also names worth noting for future reference.

 

Given the youthful dimension to their squad, it is perhaps unsurprising that Varzim lack the consistency to progress beyond mid-table. Indeed, the entire bottom half of the Liga Orangina is embroiled in an intense battle for survival, with just three points separating Varzim in 9th and Sporting Covilha, who occupy the first relegation spot.

 

The most high-profile presence in the bottom half are undoubtedly OS Belenenses, who should need little introduction to fans of Portuguese football. Formed in 1919, national champions in 1945/46, and a stalwart of the top division for most of their proud history, the side from Belem were relegated from the top division last season after a decline of extraordinary rapidity (they were playing UEFA Cup football in 2007).

 

All the usual maladies are present and correct: principally chronic financial instability after years of mismanagement, and a mass player exodus following relegation. Current coach Jose Mota is the second of the season, with Rui Gregorio relieved of his duties after a disastrous start to the campaign, which saw the Lisbon club win just one of their opening eight matches. Things have improved under Mota, with an away win at Trofense the highlight, but the throwing away of a 2-0 lead against Oliveirense indicates that there is still much work to be done at the Restelo. New President Joao Pinho de Almeida is a politician by trade, but getting his club back on an even keel may prove more taxing than any parliamentary wranglings.

 

Belenenses have spent much of the season in the bottom two, but given the fact that the last time any of the six teams below them won was December 19th, the recent 4-2 win at home to Varzim was enough to launch them up the table. Penafiel, Estoril, Santa Clara, Freamunde and Sporting Covilha are in the same boat: poor runs have seen them plummet down the rankings, but two wins would see them climb up towards the promotion places once more. Covilha have had an especially tough run of fixtures recently, and given the fact that the Liga Orangina season follows the ‘mirror’ structure of the top flight, Porto legend Joao Pinto will be desperate to get some points in the bank over the coming weeks.

 

These are also worrying times for Santa Clara. The side from the Azores had much-publicised wage issues earlier in the season, and attendances at the Sao Miguel have taken a nosedive as Bruno Moura has struggled to engineer a turnaround. A repeat of last season’s promotion chase looks unlikely at the moment. Incredibly for a side sitting in 13th, Santa Clara have the league’s second-meanest defence, but an average of just a goal per game indicates where the problems lie.

 

Propping up the table are Fatima, mid-table last season but without a win since October 3rd, and on their second coach of 2010/11. Diamantino Miranda was fired in mid-November, after an acceptable start had given way to a rapid descent down the table. Joao Sousa has been unable to stop the rot, and Fatima begin the second half of the campaign six points adrift of safety.

 

The presence of Miranda in the dugout has meant that Fatima have enjoyed a raft of loanees and/or castoffs from the Luz (Abel Pereira, Mario Rui, Rafael Costa, Leandro Pimenta, Ishmael Yartey, Evandro Brandao and Jose Coelho all have connections to Benfica); but few of those have had the impact that Pedro Correia, Joao Pereira, Andre Carvalhas, and especially David Simao had last season. Two of those four are still at the club, along with the seven (!) listed above, but their contributions have been negligible as Fatima continue to struggle.

 

At the halfway stage, everything is still to play for in Portugal’s second tier. The product on offer differs in a number of ways from that of the Liga, and whilst the technical quality is undoubtedly inferior, there is a refreshing air of unpredictability to proceedings. I’ll be rounding up events for the remainder of the season here at PortuGOAL once every fortnight.

 

by Ben Shave

 

Liga Orangina Standings