Football Season Guide

The sensation of Second Division, last season. Casa Pia made a surprisingly positive run last year, and clinched qualification to top flight just 3 seasons after ascending to Second Division. The team from Lisboa will have their second presence at top flight level, the first one having been 83 years ago. Unlike what usually happens, Casa Pia kept most of their squad in the transition from Second Division to top flight. They will only miss their star winger Jota Silva, who joined Guimarães for the season. Coach Filipe Martins has some experience in Portuguese top division, both as a player and as manager, having coached Feirense 4 seasons ago. Since then, he joined Casa Pia and has made himself a household name in the club. Casa Pia is the hardest team to predict and to analyse, as it’s difficult to know what will be the ideas that Martins will have, now that they will be underdogs in most matches. The centre-half Varela arrives at Casa Pia after having established as captain and idol in PAOK. He may form a very experienced duo with Vasco Fernandes at the back. Zolotic is also a firm option for the position. Afonso Taira (more technical) and Ângelo Neto (more physical, but also good with his feet), formed a decisive midfield duo, last season, which Filipe Martins will want to repeat. However, it is expected that a third unit will be added, and new signing Eketi is a big candidate for the role. In attack, Jota is no longer around, so Leandro Sanca, Lucas Soares and Saviour Godwin will provide talent on the wings. For scoring goals, the club brought the 33-years old Rafael Martins (60 goals in Portuguese football) and the 23-years old Clayton from Coritiba, in Brazil.