Football Season Guide

Very tough last season. Only goal difference kept them out of the bottom 3 in the final standings. Achieved just 6 league wins D12 L16. Sacked coach Silva early, in mid-September, once Nuno took over played slightly better. Late in the season slowed down again though. Nearly got relegated but 2 vital draws against direct rivals in April proved precious. The late revival was thanks to another managerial change. In March Nuno was also sacked and Jose Faria took over. He was only a caretaker though. In the summer Pepa was appointed in charge. He spent the last 4 years managing in Brazil and Saudi Arabia. Estrela are likely to wait for the final few weeks of the transfer window when they could loan in or buy good players at a discount. New GK Linck and new LB Soares widely expected to be the regulars in these roles. Not certain if this means the team’s defensive stability will be better. Creative CM Zvonarek is an interesting new signing. He had 14 assists for Bayern Munchen’s U21s last term. He is young and might need more than a season to develop into a star. His arrival was a direct reaction to the sale of captain Jovane Cabral. Not like-for-like replacement by any means. That said Zvonarek has a greater upside long term and coach Faria will be keen to give him plenty of chances so he can develop faster. Losing Otavio and Lekovic in defence might hurt. Not done shopping for defenders though and replacements can arrive soon. Luan and Schappo are still capable CBs. Their main issues are staying healthy. Overall the team hasn’t improved much. This could change fast with over a month of transfer activity still left in the summer.