Football Season Guide

Famalicão ended up 8th in a relatively positive season, but they had a very difficult start with 8 games without winning. Coach Ivo Vieira had previously driven them to great results, but now the coach wasn’t able to get the best of a very rich squad, something that Rui Pedro Silva was able to do later on the season. Round 22 massive home win over Moreirense was a decisive turning point. Rui Pedro Silva is a very good gaffer and keeping him for the new season was an easy decision, certainly applauded by the fans. It remains unknown whether he’ll keep the 3-4-3 formation of last season or change it for a back-4. The squad seems less exciting than in the last 3 years, as Famalicão stopped investing so much. Important players like Alex Nascimento, Marín, Pickel, Pepê, JC Teixeira, Banza and Bruno Rodrigues are gone, and there hasn’t been necessarily a like-for-like replacement on all those cases. Still, the squad looks interesting, as there’s still enough talent and at it looks more balanced than last season. Zoblin in goal, Riccieli and Penetra at the back, Gustavo Assunção in the centre and Ivo Rodrigues on the wing are certainly enough to provide technical quality to the side. The exciting talent Ivan Jaime will hope to have more minutes, this time around. As for new faces, there are two experienced and well-rounded Portuguese players: André Simões in midfield and Rui Fonte in attack, while the Spanish Alex Millan is having a highly promising pre-season with his new club.