Liga round-up: Feirense relegated
Benfica victorious at Setúbal
 Saturday’s final round of the 2011/12 Liga season began with just one lingering doubt – would Académica or Feirense join União de Leiria in the bottom two? Ben Shave rounds up the action.
Gil Vicente 3-1 Feirense
Vitória de Guimarães 1-2 Académica
 The relegation battle saw Académica and Feirense searching for wins at Vitória de Guimarães and Gil Vicente respectively, with the latter needing an Académica loss into the bargain. Unsurprisingly, both sides set themselves up cautiously during the opening half, with neither wishing to fall behind. Académica in particular were somewhat negative, safe in the knowledge that they held a superior head-to-head record over the team from Santa Maria da Feira.
Although their fate was no longer in their hands, Feirense set about their task admirably. A clutch of fine saves from Adriano were all that kept the scores level after half an hour, along with some wasteful finishing from Carlos Fonseca.
With half time rapidly approaching, the two teams were neck and neck. However on 43 minutes the pendulum swung firmly in Académica’s favour, when Diogo Valente struck in first half stoppage time to put them ahead. Moments earlier, Hugo Vieira had turned home a cross from the industrious Richard to give Gil the lead in what is likely to be his final game for the club. Things were looking grim for Feirense.
 Yet hope sprang once again with barely a minute played in the second half. A goalmouth scramble saw the ball fall to Diogo Rosado, who kept his head and steered a shot into the far corner. With Académica still holding firm at Guimarães, Feirense were not safe, but they were at least back on level terms.
The away side continued to spurn a succession of chances, but their chances of survival were handed a firmer boost by the left boot of Bruno Teles, who rifled home from the edge of the box to draw Guimarães level at home to Académica. Seconds later, Feirense forward Buval had a goal (correctly) ruled out for offside, and as the final quarter of an hour commenced Henrique Nunes’ team threw caution to the wind, desperately seeking a second.
 As is so often the case in such situations, Feirense left themselves chronically short of cover at the back, and Gil were clinical in their exploitation of the newly-available space. A rapid-fire brace from Zé Luís put the outcome of the game – and the relegation battle – beyond doubt; and although it was hardly needed, Edinho headed home his second vital goal in as many games to restore Académica’s lead.
The scores remained the same thereafter, guaranteeing Académica a top flight spot next season. Despite a wretched 2012, the Briosa will also find themselves in the Europa League next season, thanks to their presence in the Taça final (edit: the situation is in actual fact less clear-cut, see the comments for details). For Feirense, only the will of the FPF with regards to the expansion of the Liga (and use of play-offs to fill the spots) can delay their return to the second tier.
Vitória de Setúbal 1-3 Benfica
 With nothing left to play for, the Eagles made the short trip to Setúbal looking to run down the clock on an ultimately disappointing season with the minimum of fuss. Unfortunately, the home side had other ideas. Young forward Rafael Lopes put Setúbal ahead on twelve minutes, and for a time the upset looked on. However, Bruno César levelled the scores on 37 minutes, after a superb Óscar Cardozo assist.
After a sluggish opening to the second half, César struck once again just after the hour mark to put Benfica ahead, and with Setúbal rapidly running out of ideas, the game entered something of a rut.
Except that is, for Cardozo. The Paraguayan went into the round level on Braga’s Lima in the race to be top scorer, and Benfica’s number seven was clearly desperate to increase his tally ahead of Sporting-Braga. After no small amount of effort, he finally managed to do so late in the second half, making the final score Setúbal 1-3 Benfica.
 All eyes will now turn onto President Luís Filipe Vieira and Jorge Jesus, whom since the Champions League exit and ceding of the title race to Porto have endured fierce criticism from some sections of the Benfica support. Summers are rarely dull at the Luz these days, and the coming weeks ought to reveal more about the Eagles’ long-term plan. But for now, we have only speculation.
Marítimo 1-1 Paços de Ferreira
 Two teams who have enjoyed different but ultimately equally satisfying seasons played out a largely uneventful draw at the Mata Real. Marítimo, who have secured the Europa League spot marked out as a target by coach Pedro Martins over the summer, took the lead through Ruben Ferreira on 53 minutes; but Vítor levelled for Paços, who after losing the spine of last season’s thrilling squad (not to mention coach Rui Vitória) will be pleased to have survived under Henrique Calisto.
Beira-Mar 1-2 Olhanense
 A rare goal from defensive midfielder Jander put Olhanense ahead shortly before half time at fellow mid-table dwellers Beira-Mar, and Dady doubled Sérgio Conceição’s side’s lead with five minutes gone in the second half. Nildo pulled one back soon after, but Olhanense held on to seal an 8th-place finish. Beira-Mar will also remain in the top flight for 2012/13, which after the loss of Leonardo Jardim and unsuccessful tenure of Rui Bento has to count as a success. Coach Ulisses Morais continues to build a reputation as a firefighter, having steered Académica to safety in similar fashion last season.
Leiria 2-3 Nacional
 Having seen the club coach seized by the Portuguese tax authorities over a €250,000 debt yesterday, relegated Leiria’s attentions have long since left events on the pitch. It was therefore no surprise to see Jose Dominguez’ makeshift side fall behind to a Mateus goal with eleven minutes gone. Claudemir added a second from the spot on the half hour mark, and at half time, Leiria appeared to be heading into the lower leagues in low-key fashion. Second half strikes from Djaniny and José Shaffer restored a measure of pride for Os Lis, but a second penalty from Mateus made it three wins from their last three for Nacional. Leiria are down, and it remains to be seen just how far they will fall.
Ben Shave
|
But I still think over the course of the whole season, Benfica overall was better than Porto. You finished the Liga campaign better, albeit with a lot of decisions coming your way in crucial moments. But i agree with NJ in his post, after your season last year, you were suppoused to be challenging for the CL this year. You couldn't even make it out of the easiest group possible, without a single opponent from the big 5 Euro leagues.. while we should've been in the semi-finals with a little more luck against Chelsea (who had ALL the luck!). It's a fine line between success and failure, and we were just below it, but we'll be back for more next season!
And btw don't be overly confident about "continuing to win championships". First off, good luck holding on to Hulk this summer, it seems he's likely to finally be going. Do you really think you would've been champs this season without him? No chance! Plus whether you like it or not, SLB is emerging out of our drought period, season by season, steadily improving...a forca enorme do SLB continua sempre!!! Plus Sporting are moving in the right direction too, and even Braga are proving to be contenders as well, so it's all becoming a lot more competitive these days. So I hope Portistas have enjoyed their period of dominance (they finally had one after 80 odd years!), because like all cycles, it will come to an end soon. Time will tell in the end...
I would have been much happier with a CL Semi and Taca win.
Overall we've done very well financially and have guaranteed money coming. Maybe we won't purge the squad.
Porto won the league title and should celebrate it. But
overall campaign was very disappointing. Porto failed miserably in Europe and like Benfica, in the Taca as well.
It will be interesting to see Portia off season with so many players looking to leave.
Sporting had a horrific start and has to be disappointed in not getting a CL spot. Will they be able to keep everyone.
Braga had a great year and it will be interesting to see what they do with the squad. A group stage spot would be great for the league.
I really enjoyed Gil Vicente and I was happy to see they gave their fans a good finish.
Arrest the Leiria president and good riddance to a farce. I hope those players find new teams and recoup the money lost.
Let's also hope everyone comes to their senses and the league doesn't expand.
Congratulations to Estoril. Ah how I miss the beach.
Now I'm not making excuses for Benfica not winning the title...our poor form from February is what cost us, even though that decision was very vital in helping Porto finish top, no doubt about it. No comments on that from you is there? Of course not! Please please stick to commenting on articles on your own team, cos nobody else cares alright...
What are you smoking? As if one close offsides call gone wrong could ruin the season? I guess Benfica have just been on the wrong end of bad calls during 8 out of the last 10 season!! lol
When i make comments they arent biased they are just how i perceive things to be.
As for our season, as time has passed since the refs gave Porto that win over us and changed the season, overall we did well with the resources we had. In the end we showed that for a re-building year we have some great talent to count on for next season.
Same would go for Sporting as they had a similar number of new players and I would think next year they will put on a better show.
Since it's LFV's last term, I get the feeling that he will stick it out with JJ and his re-election bid will come down to how they do next season. I don't fully agree with JJ staying on but that's the vibe I'm getting at the moment.
As for raffy, yea I can be proud of my team's performances in the CL this year. Outside of the liga, Porto was the biggest disappointment this year given that they kept all but 1 main player from their best squad in recent years. You guys were supposed to dominate all Portuguese cups and push for the CL title and in the end you barely got the domestic title and couldn't make it out of the easiest CL group.
Overall my comment was in regards to reviewing the full season, I say go back to the exceptions at the start of the season and no club outside of braga fans can boosting about not having major disappointments.
But i also agree with Mdot, that it certainly hasn't been a complete failure. We were in the title race right to the end, could and should've reached further than the quarters in the CL (with a little more luck), and will be in the CL group stage again next season. On top of that, almost all the new players (and there were many) fitted right in very quickly and had good seasons. So yes of course it should've been much better. But it's better to look at it this way: it was a serious improvement on last season and we have progressed. Patience is always best, and is something we haven't had in the past. I believe we can improve further next season.
Bruno Cesar capped off a great first season with 2 more goals last night. I really want to see him play in his best position next season, as an offensive midfield schemer (rather than as a winger). Aimar should remain in the squad as an experienced, novelty player (like Giggs or Scholes at Man United)...but he doesn't have the legs anymore for a whole season. Cesar should be our main number 10 next season, and I'd also like to see David Simao given more opportunity.
Gaitan I'm sure is a gonner, and perhaps Javi Garcia too. I wouldn't be too sad to see them go as the cash they would raise could really improve the whole squad. What we must make sure is we hold on to Witsel, Nolito and Garay. The good thing about Rodrigo's drop in form in the last few months, is that we can likely keep him for another season also, as interest in him might have cooled. If we can make some good loan signings to boost the squad, we could get away with selling just the two mentioned players, and still make a big profit.
What has to improve most for next season in my opinion is the defensive midfield protection of the back 4 (Javi's area), as well as pace and power in the flanks and service to Cardozo from wide areas (we must keep Nolito, he's the guy who can do it and should've done it this season...and which Gaitan didn't provide, hence I wouldn't be too sad to see both Gaitan and Javi go!). So all in all, yes disappointment at how the season ended for us...but there were still more than enough successful elements to the season, that gives me optimism for the next one...
Ever since then it was one heaping pile of mediocrity. Blowing a five point lead by drawing against, Academica, Olhanense and Rio Ave. Then the losses vs Guimaraes and FCP. Im noting even bringing up the Taca game against Maritimo...
Then playing a defensive game against Chelsea AT HOME!
This could have been the best season we have had in decades and it all went to hell.
Talk up your season all you want, 2nd is great for teams aiming to finish 3rd or 4th, 2nd is bad for teams who are aiming for 1st, so wake up to yourselves because Ben was 100% correct in what he said and suggesting any bias is very stupid, actually pretty much at the point of immature.
Goodluck to Maritimo in the europa league next year, they had a great year and i believe they had enough points this year to actually come 3rd in p-revious years so that is a great achievement and im glad they reached half a century.
The reason I used the phrase 'ultimately disappointing' is precisely because of the things Mdot mentioned - almost making the semi-finals of the Champions League, the way the last month/six weeks have gone. I take it as a compliment that you place such stock in our predictions but really...they're just predictions.
The phrase wasn't an indictment on the club as much it was trying to illustrate the vibe that's currently surrounding them...which even the most optimistic would struggle to describe as good, I think. A President and Coach taking flak from fans, the usual unsettling transfer rumours, a sense of what might have been, etc. I refuse to count the Taça da Liga (a tournament invented by and for television executives) as a proper competition, but maybe that's just me...
As for insinuating Sporting bias - I've written stuff this season ripping Sporting for some stuff they've done. The way Domingos was cast aside was embarrassing, definitely. So were some of the performances. I think if you go back and read/listen that I made that clear...
Also on the UEFA licence - those clubs can't apply now, the deadline to do so was in December.
Ben
Instead Benfica almost won the liga, almost went to the semi's of the CL, and all this was done by using a majority of new squad members. So from this websites own predictions we had a better season they these guys originally expected. I'll be interested to see the write-up on Sporting given their expectations early on. If we're considered a disappointment, is Sporting an embarrassment.
While the ending of the season did suck given the massive amount of bad calls by refs, when I look at our new players from this season (Nelson, Rodrigo, Witsel, Bruno, Nolito, Artur, Matic, L. Martins, Almeida, Yannick, etc...) we have some very good points out of those new guys to keep building on. Throw in the announcement of us hosting the CL in 2 years and more money being brought into the club and I'm happy in the continued growth of the club after what happened in the late 90s.
As for the liga, it will be extremely interesting who goes to EL. I wonder when the deadline is to sign up for that UEFA licence since it would be worth it for Nacional, Olho, or Gil to go for it. If they can make it to the group stage it's extra gate sales that they typically wouldn't see and maybe give them a chance to sell some players for more money then normal. Could also help with sponsor revenue.
RUSeriousBro?
2nd Place in the League, Direct qualification to the CL, Portuguese Cup Rd 16, League Cup Winners, and CL Quarter-Finalsts and Benny Boy has the audacity to say Benfica had a disappointing season? Just because you don't win the big trophies doesn't mean you had a bad season. An ultimately disappointing season is what the likes of Feirense and Leiria had.
"When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated, and the Europa League qualifiers that finish lower in the league are moved up one place, with the final place taken by the highest-placed league finishers that have not yet qualified for the Europa League."
So it'd be Guimarães, according to that. EXCEPT Guimarães haven't applied for a UEFA competition licence because they're a financial shambles. 7th-placed Nacional then. EXCEPT Nacional haven't applied for one either, according to Maisfutebol ( http://goo.gl/dDirH )
So...I think this leaves the FPF/LPFP with a decision to make. Académica are in the Taça final, and they've definitely applied for a UEFA licence. I doubt any of the teams who finished above them in the table (Olhanense, Gil Vicente, Paços, Setúbal) have applied for one due to the cost associated, so Académica might become the most 'deserving', if you like, by default.
Clear as mud, basically. Expect a decision on it about 48 hours before the first Europa League qualifying round is due to start, knowing the Portuguese football authorities...
Ben