30/04/04 Portuguese football continues in a parlous state, according to a study made by auditors Deloitte & Touche, in conjunction with sports daily
A Bola. Revenues for the 18 SuperLiga clubs for the season 2002/2003 were 198.4 million euros, 20 million down on the previous season. FC Porto
generated the most revenue at around 55 million euros, followed by Benfica (42), Sporting (27) and Boavista (14). the other 14 SuperLiga clubs between them made a total of 60 million. The revenues of the
SuperLiga were a mere 11% of those registered in England, 18% of those in Italy The average gate at games was just over 6,000, 9% down on the previous season, while the average for the
Liga de Honra (2nd Division) did not rach one thousand. 28/04/04 FC Porto coach José Mourinho is as good as coach of Chelsea
for the coming season, according to national tabloid Correio da Manhã. The paper reports that during the celebrations to mark the winning of the title at the weekend, Mourinho told his technical staff that he
would be going. He still has two years left on his contract with Porto. 24/04/04 President of the Liga dos Clubes, Valentim Loureiro, was released Friday evening after
three days in custody in the wake of the 'Golden Whistle'
operations. But he is far from being out of the woods: he is accused of 18 counts of corruption in a sporting context, four counts of trading influence and one count of passive corruption. He has been relieved of all his official duties and is prohibited from leaving the country and contacting the other 15 individuals involved in the case.
Sporting left-back Rui Jorge has tested positive for a banned substance and faces suspension of up to two years. Jorge claims he suffers from sinusitis, and that the club OK'd the use of a drug
Plumicort, which contains the banned substances. The medical department has claimed responsibility. Jorge remains in the Portuguese squad for the friendly Wednesday against Sweden
because the FPF have yet to receive official confirmation of the alleged infraction. 23/04/04 FC Porto coach José Mourinho
was careful Thursday about rumours that Chelsea want to contract him for the coming season: "It's obvious that as I've got a lot of years ahead of me, one day I'm going to leave Porto ... but I haven't said this to any foreign media." Morinho went from
odds of 9/2 to 5/4 with Ladbrokes as the tabloid The Mirror reported contacts between the club and the coach. FPF president Gilberto Madaíl
has withdrawn from elections to the Executive Committees of UEFA and FIFA in the wake of the unfolding scandal of the 'Golden Whistle' (see below). Names mentioned by the Portuguese press in relation to the 'Golden
Whistle' are FC Porto president Pinto da Costa and former Sporting president Sousa Cintra, both allegedly 'helped' in different respects by Liga president Valentim Loureiro. Porto's shares
fell by 5% on the stock market following Wednesday's poor display and disappointing result in the Champions League and the news that president Pinto da Costa might be involved in the 'Golden Whistle' scandal.
22/04/04 Some of those detained in the 'Golden Whistle' operation (see below) were heard by the judge Wednesday and released, but others like the big fish Valentim Loureiro
and Pinto de Sousa were held for more questioning Thursday. 21/04/04 Portugal awoke Tuesday to a new scandal in the country's football. A police operation named 'Golden Whistle'
carried out during the night left 16 in custody, including Valentim Loureiro, the president of the Liga dos Clubes, former president of Boavista and mayor of Gondomar, a town near Porto. Also detained
for questioning were Pinto de Sousa, president of the National Refereeing Council, and six referees. At the centre of the case is corruption and the trading of influence.
At the moment, the police are interested in Gondomar FC, set to be promoted from the Segunda B to the Liga de Honra, but it is widely thought that the tentacles of the investigation will feel out
for higher targets. Football Federation president Gilberto Madaíl
said he was suprised at the swoop, but not astonished that something is happening about the refereeing in Portugal, given the constant sniping at it from all sides. The refereeing in games from the Segunda B
and below is under the control of the Footall Federation, while the Liga dos Clubes handles the SuperLiga and the Liga de Honra. 17/04/04 Two construction companies
, Somague and Vítor Frias, set up a blockade
on access roads to Aveiro's Municipal Stadium (to be used at Euro 2004) Friday to try to force overdue payment for work done on the stadium. The blockade was lifted later in the day after negotiations with the local city council, ahead of Sunday's game between the local
Beira-Mar and FC Porto. Central defender André Vilas Boas, who plays for FC Porto's B team, was in a nasty road accident Friday in which his car flipped over several times. It was feared
that the player had neck injuries, but he was released from hospital later. Former Sporting, Benfica and Celtic striker Jorge Cadete
has sold two shops he had in a shopping centre in Linda-a-Velha near Lisbon. The sale was apparently forced by failure to keep up with rentals of the shop space. According to some of the shop-owners of the centre, the former star, who recently failed a trial period with Partick Thistle of Scotland, is not the most popular person in the centre: "No one likes him here." (
Correio da Manhã) 14/04/04 FC Porto's president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa
has said that he intends to stand for another mandate of three years. He has already been at the head of the club for over 20 years, and will be voted in for yet another term.
Another case of longevity, the longest surviving SuperLiga coach, António Sousa of Beira-Mar, who joined the club in 1997, has announced that he means to leave at the end of the season, intimating
that his decision might have something to do with the lack of a firm offer to continue from the president of the club, Mano Nunes. Benfica
continue to renew contracts with their most trusted players. After it was reported Tuesday that Brazilian central defender Argel would continue until 2006, goalkeeper Moreira
has agreed to stay at the club until 2010. 13/04/04 FC Porto have renewed the contracts of captain Jorge Costa (two years) and Vítor Baía
(three). President Pinto da Costa said that it was in return for the good service the two have put in. 12/04/04 Estoril Praia remain top of the Liga de Honra, that gives access to the
SuperLiga, with four games to go. They are favourites to go up, plus two from Penafiel, Vitória de Setúbal and Varzim. Varzim received Penafiel Saturday and drew 1-1. The game was stopped
for 15 minutes near the end as the crowd threatened one of the linesmen following a penalty awarded to Penafiel, from which they equalised. The Segunda B, that gives access to the Liga de Honra,
is split into three zones, each of which gives a place in the Liga d eHonra to one team. From the northern zone, it looks like Gondomar
are favourites, although Dragões Sandinenses are only five poitns behind and have a game in hand. From the central zone, it looks like either Sporting Espinho
or Torreense, three points separating them. In the southern zone, Barreirense are just one point behind Olhanense. 11/04/04 International goalkeeper Vítor Baía
became the player with the second highest number of Portuguese league appearances for FC Porto
Saturday when he stepped out to face Marítimo. He has played in 348 games, still a long way though from full back João Pinto on 407. 09/04/04 The legendary Eusébio
has been voted the 7th best player ever in a poll made by UEFA. Sporting's Brazilian midfielder Fábio Rochemback will be out of action for six months after a knee operation. The Liga dos Clubes
is proposing stiff fines and possible loss of points for comments made about referees before a game. The proposal is currently in committee to smooth out the rough edges. 07/04/04 Sporting
's influential Brazilian midfielder Fábio Rochemback will need to undergo surgery on a knee injury picked up in the recent SuperLiga game against Alverca. Rochemback is on loan from Barcelona.
Sporting are planning a mini-tour of the USA in May. They are set to play San José Earthquakes on May 12th and New England Revolution on the 19th, plus one other game TBA. 06/04/04
In the Liga de Honra (second division), it looks like perm any three from four for promotion to the SuperLiga with just five games left, although Estoril Praia
are sitting pretty on top with 57 points. Penafiel (whose president is former National Team coach António Oliveira) are second on 52, Varzim have 50 and Vitória Setúbal, who won 2-1 at
Estoril Sunday, are fourth on 49 points. Three teams go up. |
